The Point: How do you envision your job as a leader? One of the leaders we work with at Tip of the Spear recently answered this question with a metaphor: Leadership is like climbing a mountain. If that’s the case for you also, then ask yourself; Where are you climbing to? Where are you on the mountain? Are there days where you make progress, or did you regress? Who’s helping you along the way? Will you ever reach the summit? We put together the following post to share our thoughts on how ascending ‘’Leadership Mountain’ can be conducted effectively/efficiently/effortlessly… Enjoy!
Preparing to Climb
Climbing leadership mountain can, and should be considered quite the leadership development task. While most leaders would prefer to start at the base camp level and simply work their way up, unfortunately this would spell disaster. The reason for this disaster is that climbing leadership mountain actually needs to begin in the preparation phase. In other words, you’ve got to get yourself in position to climb before you ever take the first step on the mountain. Preparation should consist of accomplishing the right physical, mental, rest, and stress states.
Base Camp
So you’ve arrived at Base Camp. Perhaps this is your first leadership assignment, a new role within the same organization, or perhaps a fresh start at a new organization. Regardless, know that the decisions you make in the first 100-days will spell disaster or dictate success for you. The direction of your climb, the goal per day, etc. will play a key part in your climb.
The Climb
The climb itself is typically one of ups, as well as downs. You will visit many crevasses, determine that the steepness of the grade is not climbable, and even encounter climate change that will attempt to push you off course. Determining your best plan forward (or up as it would be) is almost as crucial as who you have around you.
Where are Your Stakeholders?
If you’re going it alone, you’re going to have limited success. Business requires a team, sometimes one that’s close by (proximity) and other times geographically removed (a long way away!) Either way though, their ability to climb with you should be determined pre-climb, as well as periodically throughout the climb. Their own leadership development moments should be addressed along the way.
Do You Have a Sherpa?
If you’re the most experienced climber on the mountain, then you probably will still need/require/want a Sherpa to assist you. We typically engage in executive coaching (our offerings are titled Centered Executive Coaching) with experienced C-Suite Leadership as well as those identified as ‘high potentials’ within organizations looking to grow their own. We’ve identified goals, established dashboards (metric measurement tools for organizations), and insured that progress was made so as to accomplish results on-time and on-target!
Reaching the Summit
The goal of any climb is to achieve the summit. But what then? A leader who masters such climbs recently reported to us that there’s always another mountain to climb. It’s a response in like-kind to that of the ‘Why did you climb the Mount Everest?’ question posed to George Leigh Mallory in 1923. At the time of his Mount Everest climb, no one had ever achieved the summit – the highest peak on the planet. After two failed attempts in 1921 and 1922, he informed the New York Times reporter that asked ‘Because it’s there.’
Summary
So you’ve decided that you’re ready to climb ‘Leadership Mountain’ have you? Here are a few Centered Executive Coaching questions that we’d have you consider:
Centered Executive Coaching
- Why are you climbing ‘Leadership Mountain’?
- What’s in it for you?
- What plans will you make before your climb?
- What contingency plans will you prepare for in your climb, just in case things don’t go as planned.
- Who is going to help you during your climb?
- What happens when you make it to the top (or if you don’t make it this time, as George Leigh Hillary never made it)?
If you’d like to know more about the Tip of the Spear Ventures’ Business Advisory Services, including Centered Executive Coaching, Leadership Development through The Leadership Challenge methodology, and our award winning Communication Skills Training for Leaders Series use the CONTACT US page of this website.
