Seven Leadership Lessons I Learned from Climbing the Mountain

While in California with The Salvation Army's Metro Youth Band, a dozen of us decided to climb to the "big cross" at Camp Mt. Crags. During the New Year's Day ascent and the even more exciting descent, I learned (or re-learned) some leadership lessons.

1. Past failures make current obstacles seem greater than they actually are.  I attempted the same climb several years back, but got winded and gave up.  It just seemed too overwhelming - impossible even.  This time, when I got to the same point and stopped short of breath with my heart beating out of my chest, I wanted to give up again.  Because I gave up before I also wanted to give up at the same point.
2. Overcoming obstacles gives us confidence to tackle the next challenge.  After climbing the mountain this time, I felt more empowered to pursue some dreams that I had previously put on hold.  Climbing the mountain made other projects not seem so impossible.  It gave me inspiration to revisit my New Years' resolutions.  Watch out, 2010!
3. Each person has different strengths that help them lead the team during different parts of the journey.  The first part of the climb was a steep dirt path that was best pursued by running uphill.  This was the part that caused me to give up before.  I was quickly left behind by my fellow climbers, and I had to stop several times just to catch my breath.  The next section, by contrast, was a steep climb up a rock face, which was much easier for me.  This helped me to overtake and pass many of the others.  This surprised them, especially since I was more than twice the age of any of the rest of the climbing party.
   
4. Sometimes the easiest looking path is simply a dead end.  Once on the way up, two of us were separated from the others for awhile.  We came to a fork and made our best guess of which path to follow.  We agreed that the easier looking path was the best.  Unfortunately, we were led up to a dead end precipice.  We had to backtrack to the fork and climb again, this time following the more difficult path.
5. Keeping your eyes on the goal can help overcome adversity.  While about halfway down the mountain, we discovered that the whole party had taken a wrong turn again.  This meant that we had to rescale the mountain almost to the summit in order to find the correct path.  By now, it was starting to get dark, and  it seemed certain that we were not going to finish before light was gone (and before supper was served).  This caused some panicked feelings among the group.  I also was concerned, but we kept encouraging each other to keep up the descent and that everything was going to be OK.  "We're going to make it down together," we kept saying.  By concentrating on arriving safely, we were distracted from the perception of imminent danger.
   
6. It's always more fulfilling when you climb with someone else.  Because we all pulled for each other and encouraged each other on the way, we were each a part of the other's success.  I can't imagine doing it without this great group of friends, and I felt satisfaction from seeing them succeed.
7. Being at the summit, even temporarily, can permanently change your perspective.  From the cross at the top, we were able to see for miles around - from Catalina Island to the 101 freeway and all across Malibu Canyon.  I remember seeing the road that leads up to camp.  The next day, as we left in a bus from camp, I remembered seeing the road from the mountain and looked up.  I noticed the cross from there for the first time.  It had been visible each time I drove down that road, but I didn't realize until then where to look, let alone that it was there to see.

Thank you so much to my climbing partners.  It was an unforgettable experience, and you helped me meet a long-term goal in my life.

These are just seven lessons that I learned.  There are many others, perhaps observed by others.  If you want to, go ahead and post what you have learned.