Leadership....On and Off the Mountain

I have been in leadership positions of various organizations on and off for just about 7 years, but it seems that, despite my "experience," that I struggle with understanding leadership and becoming a better leader. Since becoming president of the Intervarsity Chapter at IV, I have been constantly challenged by how to learn to be a better and more effective leader and have gotten a lot of feedback, mainly from my campus staff worker and those that I lead. Leadership is still a struggle for me, but I continue to learn every day that leadership is not just about managing and getting things done, but also about encouraging and building people up along the way as well. I still struggle with putting this idea into practice, but while I was reading a book on mountaineering I was encouraged to see this principle of leadership presented in a fresh new way.

The book that I am reading, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, is essentially a very fat book full of all the various aspects of mountaineering, from hiking to climbing to ice climbing to cooking to glacier rope-work. I especially enjoyed the chapter on group leadership because I am always interested in improving my own leadership, both in my everyday context and within a outdoor guiding context. Essentially, this chapter said that a climb leader has to have to very important and equal responsibilities. One, the leader has to constantly set goals and encourage others to attain those goals. In the context of mountaineering, this would mean making sure party makes it across a glacier, over a rock face, and onto the summit in time. The second and equally important task of the climb leader is to be the guardian of group cohesion. This means that the leader has to constantly have his or her finger on the pulse of the groups morale and makes sure they are both being challenged and having a good time. In other words, the climb leader has to realize that the real point of climbing is not about attaining the summit (even though it is a very important aspect), but that the real point of climbing is enjoying nature and experiencing the excitement, challenge, and adventure of being in the mountains. The climb leader sets goals and wants to attain them, but the leader always has real point always in mind.

At first, I really enjoyed this chapter only because of the possible applications that I could use for it when I lead others in the wilderness, but then it struck me that that idea is what has been drilled into me since I became the president of IV. I really like to focus on goals, business, and getting things done, and really skimp on group cohesion and the real point of being on leadership in IV: to be challenged in our adventurous walk with God and be challenged in how we serve others as Christians. Attaining goals is important, but our victories would be empty if we really miss the point of growing closer together and seeking to enjoy and follow God more closely.