The class of Leadership and Hardiness 2012 has returned from Mt.
Adams with personalized stories and narratives that are unique to each climber.
Course content and experiential application of hardiness principles on the
mountain contributed to a richer and more meaningful understanding of our own philosophy on life and implications for personal leadership development. Visit the link to view pictures from the course and read student reflections and musings about the impact of the course and of the expedition on
Mt. Adams.
Mt. Adams.
click on picture
16 comments:
First, I would like to thank everyone that made the trip to Mt. Adams, with special thanks to my team and those that I had the opportunity to reconnect with! I wrote this summary through a personal lenses of personal learning and self-critique, please read it this way and not as a critique or critical review of anyone but myself.
This class provided a strong connection to both my belief in Servant-Leadership and congruence. The study of congruence in my personal life fit well with my experiences on the mountain, I am constantly striving to keep the “concentric circles” (Thompson, 2000, p. 32) in balance. I see these circles as my individual, family, extended friendships, and work. If anyone of these gets circles get out of round, grows or collapses in an unequal manner they interfere with another and my balance is compromised. Generally, the first of my circles to suffer are my individual and family circles – on this climb, because of the intensity and small group dynamic, my family was my team. I suffered and this out-of-balance affected my team.
While the summit may have been only half way, I encountered challenges well before the first day was over. I looked around at our class, we were very diverse in many ways, but what stood out to me were our differences in age and physical stature. We knew that approximately a third of last year’s participants did not make the summit; I was worried about the different loads we carried, the length of our individual strides, and our individual and team hardiness.
From my previous experience on this mountain, I had personal expectations related to my strength, tolerance, pace, and overall time it would take to get to Lunch Counter. Within the first couple of hours I realized that I was not the same physical person I was 15 years earlier and we as a group were not physically able to move up this mountain as quickly as I expected. Both these realizations hit me pretty hard, I had to form friendships with my partners to create personal connections. I knew from my professional life, my greatest success as a leader and team member came when I had a personal connection and shared purpose with those around me.
As the day slipped away, I recognized that I was in the drag position, motivating from the rear, a common and comfortable position for me, whether dirt biking, skiing, work, or climbing. My confidence and care for others comes out in this way, I like to keep sight and track of others and be able to monitor the groups I work with to ensure no one is left behind or lost. I don’t know if taking this position is a matter of lone heroism, overconfidence, or a need for control, but I realized that while I was able to monitor and push from behind, I was also wearing myself out.
Looking back and comparing to my professional life, I knew I had to take a more balanced approach to this team work, I had to rely and trust others and give myself a break to ensure I would have the ability to achieve our shared goal. But, I didn’t do this soon enough; I had expended too much energy and had to effectively abandon a portion of my team to save myself. I had to find a fluid pace that would allow me to cover the remaining distance to Lunch Counter before my feet gave out on me.
Part 2 of my post -
As many of you saw, I was exhausted and demoralized when we meet that evening at Lunch Counter, I had given up on the idea of continuing to the summit and resigned myself to simply eating and going to bed. I was angry and selfish; I was endangering my team by not being there for them. In the morning, while my feet felt good and I felt strong, my anger and selfishness were still there and I was still committed to not summiting – I was caught up in self-pity.
I have encountered this in my professional life twice, each time I had become overly burdened & stressed at work, I was unwilling to share my load, and eventually I was unable to see success, gave up on functioning, and further I didn’t earnestly seek help and in fact I refused help that was offered. In both of these instances I chose drastic change, and both times left my job, sold my house, and moved to a different state. Hindsight now allows me to see the number alternate courses that were available and the amount of help that was available, but like my Lunch Counter experience I withdrew and committed myself to failure rather than hardiness.
In the end, I was lucky to have a great climbing partner and tent-mate, he checked on me several times and in the morning without prodding, chastising, or daring me, he got me too break out of my personal funk. I thoroughly enjoyed the summit and the majority of the trip down the mountain, because I had a better frame of mind and continued support of a team. I committed myself to playing a different role that was based on helping another teammate down the hill, by sharing the load. I also was much more aware of myself and my surroundings, I watched as our injured teammate made her way down the hill, staying strong and not complaining about her very real pain, which was a real motivator to me.
The slog from Lunch Counter to camp was physically demanding, but was made easier than the assent because our team had better defined and communicated roles and we had a unified goal. Our team went down the hill in two’s and three’s to ensure each other’s safety and while we moved at different paces we rejoined repeatedly like a slinky.
One of the more challenging points and in hindsight, funniest parts, where our team had to lower our packs down by rope, slid off the hill unexpectedly, had a ranger rescue, and we all came down with a sense of humor, accomplishment, and a few laughs.
I am struggling again at work, but I believe based on past actions and consequences, and the experience at Lunch Counter I will endeavor to seek and accept help. My hope is to endure my current challenges and demonstrate the hardiness that we have studied in this course, and not pull my family through yet another knothole of change.
Thanks to the class and my team for this experience.
Thompson, C. M. (2000). The congruent life, following the inward path to fulfilling work and inspired leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Since my return from Mt. Adams I have spent a lot of time reflecting upon my first mountaineering experience. As I was the only one that made it to lunchcounter but didn't summit, many of you may think I was disappointed in the outcome of my attempt to conquer the mountain. However, I was pleased with my achievement of getting to lunchcounter and back as well as returning safely home to my family. I have had a number of physical challenges in my life and just to be capable of climbing a mountain is only by the grace of God.
"Getting to the top is optional, but getting down is mandatory. A lot of people get focused on the summit and forget that". I took this qoute from Ed Viesturs seriously and I spent a fair amount of time thinking about it prior to the climb. Would I know when I have reached my limit? Could I make the decision to abandon my quest for the summit if need be? As I lay in my tent at lunchcounter trying to breathe, wheezing, and coughing all night, I remembered a qoute from High Altitude Leadership; "Perseverance does not mean continuing on in the face of impossible obstacles, but having the capacity to retreat, rethink, and return". The next morning I decided that I would not attempt the summit.
The time I spent alone at lunchcounter was long, but the view of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens is something I will always remember. I also had a lot of time to second guess my decision not to continue to the summit and a couple of times I almost changed my mind. In the end I knew I had made the right decision and I would do it again under the same circumstances.
Climbing Mt. Adams was probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. I thought that I had trained enough, but it was harder than I ever imagined. I wouldn't have made it as far as I did had it not been for my team's help. I want to especially thank my friend Jose. He stayed back with me, subtly coaching and encouraging me to camp at lunchcounter. Jose is a true marine and demonstrated the marine motto of "no man left behind".
For most of the class the challenge is over and may not be repeated. Some may not be satisfied with just summitting and will return to attempt greater performance. As for me, I will persevere and return another day.
Take care my friends.
Reflections and meditation on Mt. Adams climb...
In deciding to sign up for Leadership and Hardiness, I merely thought I was signing up for a class which required me to hike up a mountain in Washington…little did I know. In my professional world, I believe in the power of leading from behind – pushing/challenging other up “the hill.” The experience on the mountain shifted this for me in that I was not the one motivating others and depending solely upon my intrinsic motivation style to motivate me up and down the mountain, rather I needed to seek extrinsic motivation to keep moving, especially during the decent. I shifted to seek feedback from my team and eventually leaning on them figuratively and literally in times when my motivation was dwindling – especially during the descent. In this dynamic I was able to experience a sense of vulnerability which challenged me to keep moving forward – that is down the mountain, with the support of my team, fellow classmates, Dr. Popa and Josh.
The vulnerability was not something I was or am comfortable with and frequently struggle with in the context of professional and personal worlds; however, this experience showed me that by showing this sense of vulnerability does not make me week. Rather, the ability to seek support from others allows me to use social support to facilitate my own personal resiliency – thereby expanding how I define meaning in my personal and professional life and shape my leadership perspective. The expanded understanding will help me to better assess and ground how my peers are being impacted changes in the organization and how they are responding to professional challenges as a result of these changes – expanding their understanding of resiliency and hardiness.
Part 2:
In moving towards the summit and back to Cold Spring, I carried with me the belief that no matter what happened (i.e. summit or no summit), my parents and close friends would excited and proud of the accomplishment. I took great delight in sharing with them challenges and the success of this experience! The decision to keep what I where I was going and what I was going to be on the “down low” (i.e. I like A LOT of privacy), creating an interesting dynamic when individuals questioned “what I did to myself.” Try explaining glissading and ice burns to your boss (who knew I was going to climb a mountain), in the context of why you will not be to work. Despite the physical issues related to injuries during the descent, I would do this again, as I learned quite a bit about my own resiliency and had an opportunity to observe the resiliency of my team and classmates.
I want to close this reflection with a song that has been looping through my mind since returning – Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time of Your Life):
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
Thank you all and I truly hope you had the time of your life…I know I certainly had the time of my life.
As I have reflected on my experience climbing Mt. Adams, one thought has returned time and time again. It is an impression that the most important idea taken from the entire experience; from the readings, blogging, discussion board, personal assessment paper, and finally the climb, is one central theme, teamwork. While this might seem an important and rather obvious concept concerning hardiness, it is something that can truly get lost when examining hardiness leadership concepts. A team is particularly important in the context of leadership because without a team or people to lead, there seems little point in studying these ideas.
For most of my experiences with the Organizational Leadership program the work, by necessity, is done independently. Every so often a group project comes up, but even this is done over the internet and with no person to person contact. That is why the actual climbing experience on Mt. Adams was really important as a way for my group to use the concepts in a practical and substantial way. It was a revelation that unlike many classes where information from the readings and can be applied to your work or personal environment, this experience would be different. This class would offer an experience in a team environment directly relating to the subjects we have studied and a place to practice those concepts. In order to have a successful climb and class this real world environment of hardiness, stressed the importance of what we were learning and provided a tangible situation to explore the group environment so important to leadership. The physical hardship of the Mt. Adams climb was made easier because I understood my teammates where coming from the same educational experience as my own over the past few weeks. We were to become a group of people with the basic ideas and concepts of leadership, hardiness, and resiliency, forced together in an environment that would undoubtedly test our understanding and implementation of the course concepts. This was one of the most important and motivating aspects of the climb fear of failing and letting my team members down and at it became so much more than just a personal vendetta to reach the summit. Granted I was very happy to reach the summit and achieve something for myself, but as rewarding was seeing my teammates reach the summit and realizing this was just as, if not more important to each of them. This was perhaps the hardest thing for me, realizing that throughout the course I was worried about making the summit myself, never giving much thought to my other team members and what it the experience would mean to them.
As part of team we faced some significant challenges while attempting to summit Mt. Adams. That first night at lunch counter it was obvious that everyone on our team was feeling the effects of a long physical day on the mountain. This seemed a time for each member to assess his or her own situation and prepare for the inevitability of the next day. As a result we needed our resources, equipment, and knowledge to decide what was best for the team and the individual. Taking the assistance of other has never been my strongest attribute and it was difficult for me to realize that in team situations it is important for me to not only offer assistance to others but also gratefully accept help when I need it myself (Maddi & Khonshaba, 2005, p. 139). Without a doubt, this is the most important thing I can take from the Mt. Adams experience. In closing I would like to thank all the members of team Aconcagua for sharing their equipment, knowledge, and teaching me the importance of not falling into the traps of Arrogance and Lone Heroism (Warner & Schmincke, 2009).
Reverences
Maddi, S. R., & Khonshaba, D. M. (2005). Resilience at Work. New York, New York: American Management Association.
Warner, C., & Schmincke, D. (2009). High Altitude Leadership. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
Hi All. It was a privilege to climb and learn with and through all of you. Best wishes for all your future success. Here's my final reflection. Enjoy!
Jesse
Considering Mt. Adams.
Atop the world from summit’s view
Stood classmates, friends now, climbers too.
Who knew as yet this journey began
The trials we’d grow from, hand in hand?
We started as most courses open
In different places, with different notions-
Of what this class would mean to each,
From what our texts we would beseech.
Leadership. Hardiness. Raison d'être,
We gathered online, day-by-day,
And studiously shared ephemeral thoughts
To what occurs on mountaintops.
We studied existentialism,
And lessons through a survivor’s prism.
We delved in Meaning, how it does drive
Man’s fervent hope of staying alive.
And of those living, biologically speaking
But wanting for a time of reaping
Some lone feat from externalities,
We found to be misguided fallacies.
We poured o’er shades of leadership,
Of mountain falls, and cold dim trips.
We touched on darkness, fear of death,
And wrest our minds from shallow breadth.
We partnered, forged friendships from afar,
There’d be no lone heroes, there to mar
The trip encroaching day by day,
Our bonds to tax, come what may.
The summer passed so, ever faster
And as time passed we set to master
Practicing resilience,
An outlook for accomplishments.
Then come the day our teams united,
In mountain’s shadow, ‘neath trees that sided
Up against cool alpine forests,
A stand of sentinels, a conifer chorus.
We set to reach the mountaintop,
And left at dawn with a spring and hop.
The teams diverged, each group together,
New partners, friends, our lots now tethered.
Steadily upward, we did go.
Through mud and shale, through steep and snow.
The sun shone with anticipation
As we practiced our present avocation.
And the going was hard. And the mountain was steep.
And we often stopped to rest our feet.
The air was thin. The snow was hot.
Some of us doubted of seeing the top.
But just in time, with diminishing hoping,
Entered transformational coping.
We re-evaluated our position,
Determined to climb, and renewed the mission.
That mindset stayed as we rose the hill.
We crampon’d, and ice axed, we sweated, we chilled.
And there, with the world below oblique,
We all did reach our personal peak.
The downslope was harder, as downslopes can be,
Sprained ankle, bad footing, filled packs pounding knees.
But we laughed a lot more, and we stuck with each other,
A commitment that rivals of Whistler to Mother.
Then through a clearing, just up round a bend,
We saw that our journey had come to an end.
We started as strangers, unknown but for voice,
And finished as teammates, together by choice.
And what of the moral, a mountaintop lesson?
The impact to me, to my self, and profession?
Did I find a new context for besting adversity,
Up there in the loftiest of universities?
I did, I must say, and so did my friends.
Though we each came to know this by differing ends.
I learned to discard certain goals, certain notions,
And focus instead on our team, on devotion.
I learned that the struggle does sweeten the goal,
That we get there much quicker when acting as whole.
I learned that commitment is key to it all,
That a life void of meaning is certain to fall.
I ponder at home now, our class at its close,
And think of this learning, ambrosia for woes.
I know in the future I’ll put lessons to test,
From that mountain cathedral, eternally blessed.
Prior to leaving for Mt Adams, I could have never known the life altering experience that lay ahead. Even after my return, I find myself reflecting on different portions of my personal journey ascending and descending the slopes.
In an age when community interaction seems on the decline due to electronic/ social media, I was pleasantly surprised by the community that was formed with the group as a whole over the course of two short days on the mountain (okay, they didn't really feel that short while we were going through them!).
For me personally, I realized just how much community can transcend the proximity of people; that community really does stem from the commonality of the goals of those in that community. Even in my tortoise-like pacing, I always felt very much a part of something greater than my immediate surroundings. Given this lesson, I will work to extend it to both my professional and personal life in looking to surround myself with those seeking the same goal, no matter what their pace or path. As the variety of those are that which can keep the journey interesting!
I'd like to say thank you to everyone that participated in our Mt. Adams experience. As it was each and everyone of you that made the adventure an amazing one. As we continue in our lives moving forward, I hope for us all to remember, "life is a journey, not a destination" (Ralph Waldo Emerson) and enjoy each step along the way.
Happy Journey to you all!
Thanks to all involved with ORGL 689. I had a great time meeting and climbing with everyone. I wanted to post some photos along with my final thoughts, so please go the extra step using the link below. Thanks again for the support!
-Jose
http://sdrv.ms/S8SJHt
During our climb to the summit of Mt. Adams, I found myself relying on the books that we read during the course. Out of all the books, I found myself continuously going back to Frankl. The first and half of the hike was fueled entirely on adrenaline. I was excited, happy to be with my team, and determined. I kept telling my team and myself it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when.
When we reached the continuous snow pack, my confidence was shaken. I had not trained on snow and did not realize how terrified I was of falling. I really started to question “why”. Why am I doing this? What kind of person would do this what is the point? Who cares? I was defeated and we still had so far to go. However, Frankl really pulled me back. Frankl stated, “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.” I knew my why.
At the beginning of the course, Adrian made us list our “why”. I was doing this class, because it was a challenge. I was not sure if I would be able to make it and I wanted it. At that time, I decided that I wanted to see Mt. Rainier. The only way to see the mountain was to climb to the top. Mt. Rainier is a symbol for my family. It is something my grandfather loved and has always provided me with reassuring comfort. Lately in my life, I have feeling lost and I was hoping that by being closer to the mountain it would lead me in a new direction. My ability to remember my “why” helped me continue.
More factors started kicking in. I was fatigued. I could not feel the effects of the elevation and I was not sure when Day 1. I could see the destination, but it did not appear to be getting any closer. Having my team in the front of me and the other teams behind us was very beneficial. Seeing my team members ahead provided me with the reassurance, that if they could not it I could do it. I was not going to hike as fast as they did, but I knew I could get there. The second large contributor to my success was having the other teams behind us. It was inspiring seeing them push to the next resting point. You wanted to cheer them on. I am used to being able to help however; being the slowest member of my team, I was not able to do much. I wanted to help the other teams the best I could. Trying to assist with packs, getting water and food if they needed it. Being able to assist them gave me the extra push to keep going. A third large contributor to my success on day one was the support of my team. At one point Kyle came down and helped me. Normally I would be stubborn and want to do it myself. However, my ability to release control and let others helped me played a large part to my overall success.
Day 2 was completely different. I remember waking up that morning and being so angry. My inability to sleep the night before created extra strain. I yelled to my team from inside the tent, “I am only 1% motivated to climb the rest of this mountain today.” However, I guess that 1% combined with the support of my team was enough.
When we started to hike, I was moving really really slow. My team was zooming ahead and I was comfortable with my pace, the pace of a sloth. At one point, I could no longer see my team because of a decline in the elevation grade. At this point, I started taking fewer consecutive steps in a row. I was finding more excuses. I knew I was still going to finish, but I was beginning to except that it would take me forever. At that point, I saw Kyle coming over the crest. I remember yelling something to the effect of go back I am coming. However, he proceeded down. Having him behind me counting my steps help me accountable for my actions. I could not let as many excuses stop me. When we reached the false summit, I was exhausted but determined. Kyle kept making me look back to see how far we had come and it was so inspiring.
We started towards the summit with some members of another team. It was great to be with them. Our team had one goal and that was to summit together. We did that! Kyle made us sprint (quickly walk to the top). Seeing Mt. Rainier made the journey worthwhile. Multiple times during the hike, I said I would never do this again. Now that I have stepped away and reflected, I cannot imagine not doing it again.
However, Summiting was only half the battle we still had to get down. Glissading down was a lot of fun. However, when we reached Lunch Counter and had to put our packs back on my resiliency was being tested. One of the things I had most is to fall. I felt unsafe for a large portion of the climb down. Some of my team members slowed down to try and walk with me. We tried pulling my pack. Glissading where you were unable to glissade. Nothing was working and I was becoming more and more frustrated. Finally, we found a section with a long glissade. I took that route and the rest of the team chose to walk. With every slip, I was becoming more and more frustrated. When Shauna and I met up we started to talk about the “Cold” video and how only summiting was only half of the journey. From this trip, I realized that it is fear that makes me less resilient and hardy. Going up the mountain I only had a little fear. The other large difference between going up and coming down was that I had a purpose for why I was doing it. The result of coming down was not as great as the result at the top. However when I was able to recognize why I wanted to get down it made it much more enjoyable.
“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”
I learned that for me to change my attitude I need to recognize my why. Now, I will strive to have control of my attitude even when I cannot find the why. Something in life happen and we will never know why they happen we have the ability to respond to the situation, and I hope to be resilient in those situations.
This trip was possible because of the support of others. Thank you to everyone who help contribute to my success in this journey. Special shout to team Kili! Our team had a little bit of everything and because of our ability to recognize and be honest about our strengths, weaknesses and concerns it provided us with the ability to define success and help one another reach our end goals.
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