Sir Edmund Hillary-a true leader

When I took sabbatical more than two years back, one of my goal was to climb a mountain peak in Himalayas. During one of the chit chat in close circle of my friends I came to know that Anit Sah, a veteran mountaineer is leading an expedition to peak Kanamo in Himachal. The expedition was of 15 days and I was told that it was relatively a tough expedition requiring a certain level of physical and mental endurance.

Kanamo is the highest peak in Spiti valley at an altitude of ~6000 Mtrs ( 20118 ft ). To put things in perspective, Everest base camp is at 17000 ft and Kanamo is like going to first camp on Everest expedition which is also at about same height i.e. 6000 Mtrs.

It was once of a lifetime experience for me and I would never trade the memory of this experience with any other experience I have had in my life. When finally I reached at the top of Kanamo peak after 12 days with my other expedition members, it was our own 'Aha moment'. We forgot all the pain in our leg muscles and numbness in fingers due to chilling cold once we reached at the peak. I could relate with what Sir Edmund Hillary said many years back - "You don't really conquer a mountain, you only conquer yourself".

Whenever I look for a role model as a leader, Hillary tops my list. Here was a person who was academically poor. As a gangling teenager his limbs were almost uncoordinated. Yet he successfully achieved many milestones including becoming the first person to climb Mount Everest which is not only the highest peak in the world but an ultimate symbol of challenge and achievement. To have to climb Mount Everest is to have a seemingly impossible task on your hands. And to be atop the Everest is to experience that unique, top-of-the-world feeling for every mountaineer.

Everyone knows that the first people to climb Mount Everest were Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay almost 64 years back. But not everyone knows that it wasn’t their first shot at scaling the world’s highest peak.

The story goes that after a failed attempt some years back earlier, Hillary found himself back at the base camp, wondering if he’d ever make it to the top. And then suddenly, he stepped out into the sun and looking up at Mount Everest, he screamed, “I will come again and conquer you! Because as a mountain you can not grow. But as a human, I can!”

Perhaps, Hillary was just sending out a message to the world at large. A reminder that we can all keep getting better and better. We all keep growing. And we can overcome life’s challenges and climb all those mountains we set our sights on.

Hillary recognized that no matter what the challenge, you can’t get there alone. And so he partnered with Tenzing who helped him achieve that goal. Let me ask you an interesting question here? Who was the first among the two who reached Mount Everest first? Interestingly, there is no photograph of Hillary atop the Mount Everest but yes, there is a photograph of Tenzing at the top of the Mount Everest. 

Hillary always maintained that “We climbed Mount Everest” without mentioning which of them was the first to reach the summit. Tenzing later divulged that Hillary was indeed the first to get to the top-but the leader in Hillary was never one to appropriate the credit. A true leadership quality.

It was Hillary who took picture of Tenzing on the summit, but when Tenzing offered to return the favor, he declined. Leaders learn to turn the spotlight away from themselves and on the people around them! For a leader, it is always about “them” – not “me”.

Several years later when a team aiming to climb Mount Everest left a mountaineering colleague to die so that they could continue with their journey to the top, Hillary was scathing in his criticism of their decision. He slammed the attitude of wanting to climb to the top at all costs! Good leaders learn not to sacrifice their teammates at the altar of their personal ambitions.

And what did Hillary do after climbing Mount Everest? Once you get to the top, what’s next? Hillary returned several times to the region and climbed ten other peaks. Later, he was also part of team that reached South Pole. And some thirty years after scaling the Mount Everest, he flew a twin engine plane to the North Pole. Wow! New challenges, new mountains to climb, all the time. Standing still is seldom the preferred option. Climbing down can be humbling and for some humiliating. Which is why leaders learn to constantly set new goals and seek fresh challenges. 

Hillary was a hero for the Sherpas of Nepal. Not just for his Everest achievement-but for what he did after climbing it. He set up the Himalayan trust to build schools and hospitals in remote areas to help the Sherpas lead better lives. He gave of himself. And he made a difference to the lives of other people. And ultimately, that is what leadership is all about. Making a difference. To ourselves, and to the people we work with.

Hillary's life proves that everyone can become a leader. We can all climb our mountain whether it is scaling Everest or any professional or personal goal.

Let us get set for an interesting expedition. Our Mount Everest beckons. Success is calling. Are we ready?