Lessons from Kilimanjaro

As many of you know, I had the opportunity to take two of my daughters to Tanzania in July to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, a 19,000 foot mountain range. Our adventure was in the planning stages for almost a year, so our dreams and expectations were high. However, the true outcome was even better.

I could share many stories of our adventures, but the very best part of all was getting to spend 3 weeks with Emmy and Ali, 24 and 22. During their college years, our time was mostly limited to weekly dinners and ping pong games. Imagine three weeks and almost 24 hours a day in tents, on trails and in jeeps. It's not an exaggeration to say that I now know my adult daughters - and understand and admire them, at a whole new level.

I must be hard wired to think about leadership, because even at 19,344 feet, I was thinking about simple insights that will help me in everything I do. I bet these quick points will resonate with you too.

1. Trust your guides. Folks, we wouldn't have come close to the top if we had not learned from and trusted our experienced guides. We saw and talked to many other climbers who did not learn from and trust their guides. Many were giving up and some were even being carried down on stretchers. But in the corporate world, do we have the confidence and curiosity to learn everything we can from our peers, people in other departments, and even outsiders? We all have experienced two truths: There are brilliant ideas and expertise waiting around every corner.

When we ask appropriate questions and then appreciate the help, almost everyone loves to pitch in. I believe that every single one of us can dramatically enhance our results by doubling our inquiries and observations. We don't have to reinvent every wheel. We are not alone. There are brilliant guides everywhere.

2. Establish clear compelling goals.    Mt. Kilimanjaro was hard work! We would have stopped many times if we hadn't had a crystal clear compelling goal.  In most cases, our corporate work is even harder.  Have we developed and communicated a crystal clear compelling goal?  Have our teams been given the chance to share their ideas about how to accomplish those goals?

3. Build trust and teamwork. Mt. Kilimanjaro is no Mt. Everest, but people can die up there if the whole team is not working closely together, or trusting each other and covering each other's back. And, no surprise, we would have never reached the top without the power of the whole team.

I was amazed at how much attention our head guide put into picking the right team, developing and mentoring individual team members, developing the team's overall spirit, communication and trust, and giving credit wherever credit was due. In the corporate world, the difference created by a great team is more than a factor of 10 or 20%. The difference in our amazingly competitive world is winning or losing.

4. Decide to succeed. There were a few times where the climb was painful and not much fun. But, barring any medical emergencies, we had already decided to go to the top. Have you?

5. Measure progress in Degrees of Strength. It was essential to measure our progress in degrees of strength. Folks, MT. Kilimanjaro is very steep and long. Our progress was often very slow and torturous. The next step often seemed overwhelming. If we had looked at how impossible it was, or listened to some of the nay-sayers that were giving up, the energy and courage needed to take the next step would have been sapped and we never would have reached the top. Instead, we measured every molecule of progress in degrees of strength and each little degree propelled us to the next step. In the corporate world, what are we focused on? How strong is our awareness muscle? What kind of questions do we ask that keep our team members measuring in degrees of strength?

As we bid farewell to Tanzania, we three tired individuals could look back with a great sense of satisfaction on accomplishing our goal of making it to the top!