A Push to the Top

I remember one of my very first hikes. I was in Yellowstone National Park and had met Joe while eating dinner at the lodge. I’m wasn’t much of a hiker back then, in fact I flat out told him I wasn’t even sure if I would like hiking. But it was a chance to hang out with a new friend and get in a little exercise, so we set out to hike Mt. Washington. I didn’t realize I was also in for a lesson on leadership.

Part of the way into the hike, my non-hiker nose was running hard. I realized I had the wrong shoes. It was hot out. I had plenty of excuses. But I guess I had something to prove. To whom I don’t know, I guess myself. I knew I could do it. I ended up walking at a faster pace than my new friend, and being the type of person he was, he told me to ‘go ahead’. So I did. As I kept hiking, I wondered why… I could have stopped. It would have been easier.

As I continued on, I felt bad. I had let my new friend down. When I hit the summit, I was proud of what I had done. I knew starting out that it would physically challenge me, but I never doubted that I could do it. What I didn’t like though was being up there alone. I texted Joe to see where he was. He replied that he couldn’t go any further and would wait for me back at the trailhead. He then asked if I was at the top. I told him I was and he gave me a virtual high five (what a great friend). Why didn’t I stop when he did and encourage him to advance up the mountain with me? I don’t know. I sure had thought about that a lot on my way up and down again to where I met him on the trail.

This really made me consider. Was this how I show up in life? I set goals, I set out to accomplish them and I do it no matter what the sacrifice. Yep, sums me up pretty good. When I look at my role as a manager and as a role model to others,  I know I am there for people. I provide encouragement, I lead by example and often times I hold people’s hands. This last one – holding someone’s hand is definitely where I can grow. I want to breed independence with those I’m trying to teach and mentor, but then I also want to do it with them – not just lead them.

There’s no time like the present, right? So here is what I did. When I made it back down the trail and met Joe I looked at him and said “alright let’s head back up.” He looked at me and said OK. I didn’t say much else on our way up. It was getting hotter and my legs were getting tired, but I kept going. I wanted to do this WITH him.

We made it to the top and it was a delightful accomplishment for both of us, to do this together. To PUSH past our limits. On the way down I asked Joe why he had stopped earlier. He said he had some cramps and mentioned that he felt like he was holding me back because my pace was faster than his. I had to stop to think about that, when Joe told me to continue on – I didn’t pause to ask any questions. I learned after the fact that I could have slowed down and we could have done it together the first time.

I also asked Joe why he had waited for me to come back down. Why didn’t he keep going? He replied that he thought that he couldn’t do it. But then I got to say, Well, that isn’t true, YOU JUST DID IT. We joked about that Seinfeld episode where George does the opposite of everything he would normally do and marveled at the success that brought him. Sometimes that silly voice inside our heads that tells us we aren’t good enough, or that we can’t do something, needs to be annihilated and we need to do the VERY OPPOSITE of everything it has us thinking we should do.

It would have been great to have climbed up together the entire way. But the lessons we both learned on the trail are priceless. I learned that communication is KEY and encouragement and support are gifts I have to give. I do lead by example, but often times I don’t do enough to ensure that the others think they can do it. I didn’t set out that morning to learn or teach anything. But both Joe and I walked away with so much.