HIGH ALTITUDE LEADERSHIP
WHAT THE WORLD’S MOST FORBIDDING
PEAKS TEACH US ABOUT SUCCESS?
By:
Ami. Kothawala
ROLL NO. 06
PG A
Introduction on Leadership
Leadership is a challenging task whether it’s a mountain
expedition or managing an organization
Overcoming the fears relating to leadership will help in
developing a better leader
Arrogance in the mind of a leader can ruin the progress
of an organization
Working in situations out of the comfort zone helps
develop a better leader
SIMILARITY
Leadership qualities required for a mountain expedition and
managing an organization are similar
Leaders in both cases face tough situations
Reaching the summit of the Mt. Everest is like a leader
performing at highest levels possible in an organization
Both have to make instinctive and decisive decisions to
overcome dangers
Both always face “life-and death” situations
8 GREATEST DANGERS
1. Fear of Death
2. Selfishness
3. Tool Seduction
4. Arrogance
5. Lone Heroism
6. Cowardice
7. Comfort
8. Gravity
1. FEAR OF DEATH
Fear of death plays against leadership both incase of an
mountain expedition as well as managing and organization
Mountaineers cannot reach the summit without facing their
fears neither can the leaders achieve their goals
Problem is that leaders are scared of making right and bold
decisions
Leaders must find out their fears and confront their fears
and not be scared of take chances
2. SELFISHNESS
Root cause of a selfish behavior is ego
Both a mountaineer and a leader in an organization with
a selfish attitude can affect progress
Selfishness depicts a dangerous, unproductive,
dysfunctional (DUD) behavior
Selfishness is biological in nature, one needs to create a
“vision that inspires others” to counter it
Adopt a strtegic approach for desired result.
[Link] SEDUCTION
The best leaders and climbers are not the ones with the best
skills and gears
Leadership qualities and skills evolve over a period of time
Individuals with the best knowledge fail to succeed in
leadership roles
Leaders are required to be adaptable, professional, potent
and co-operative
Leaders should be flexible and not rigid.
4. ARROGANCE
Egotism has a lot to do with arrogance which has
doomed lots of climbers as well as organizations
worldwide
Arrogance arises when leaders refuse to face reality and
believe that they know everything
To overcome arrogance in an organization, leaders
should accept their mistakes and failures
Co-operate and appreciate work of subordinates.
5. LONE HEROISM
Is when leaders and climbers refuse to ask for assistance
from others feeling it’s a character flaw
They want to take all the credit and believe they alone can
do what it takes
Lone Heroism lowers team morale, hamper the progress
which leads to failure of team
To counter this, partnerships should be developed
Partnerships can be developed between the various
departments of the same organization
6. COWARDICE
Cowardice is when leaders hesitate to accept their mistakes
Hesitate to raise questions against the ill-practices and the
wrong doings
Cowardice affects the organization as people hesitate to speak
up when things go wrong
Cowardice evolves out of secrecy which is a corporate culture
The only solution for cowardice is shame, i.e. people should
act bravely and push others to do so
7. COMFORT
Comfort arises when people are resistant to change
People want to operate and work in their own comfort zones,
which hampers the progress of an organization
High Altitude Leadership refers to confronting people who
disdain to come out of their comfort zones
Facing the toughest challenges is a perfect antidote
To do away with comfort, leaders should push themselves to
the limit without ignoring the reality
8. GRAVITY
Unfavorable conditions affect High Altitude Leadership
Leaders can do every right thing possible and still fail
Gravity refers to the sudden change in situation face by
the leader or the mountain climbers
Following instincts helps a leader greatly
‘Luck’ is the only factor which can counter such
situations
CONCLUSION
Overcoming these 8 dangers will make a great leader
and eventually will prosper the growth of an
organization
Leaders should use every bit of his talent and every
ounce of his strength to guide his team to peak
performance
A high altitude leader becomes leader whose career,
team and company excel in the most extreme
environments
