July, 2013 - Blair Singer

I wrote earlier about our amazing experience recently climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. While I learned many life changing lessons on that mountain, I chose to write separately about something else I learned there that may be invisible to most. It is a lesson about leadership.

Taking average folks from the comfort of their Scottsdale homes to the outstretched arms and spirits of children in need in far-away Tanzania, and then safely to the top of the largest free standing mountain in the world, is the work of incredible leaders. Leaders by the way, unsung in the world of business, media, social gatherings and popular circles.

The leaders of K2 Adventures did what I talk about in all my programs in a way that I have seen few do it. They created a CONTEXT or environment without workshops, without preaching, without snappy slogans, without books, podcasts, seminars, titles, broadcasts or endorsements that not only transformed all of us on the expedition, but have become instrumental in transforming a country.

In the last 5 years, Kevin Cherilla and Kristen Sandquist have raised over 2.5 million dollars for medical equipment, resources, and supplies for an orphanage and school in Moshi Tanzania. It is part of their quest to support disabled and disenfranchised children and families around the world by providing healthcare and education from the proceeds of their expeditions and charitable fundraising.

I could spend thousands of words talking about the immense heart and spirit that they and their team exhibit supporting kids that the world has given up on and left behind. They do this in Tanzania, Peru, Nepal and across the US.

You see each mountain that they climb represents the even bigger mountains that these kids have to climb either to stay alive or to have a life; mountains of disease, abandonment, blindness, poverty, and lack of education. As a student of great leaders and building championship teams, I took note of what they did to get others to step up to such great heights (literally).

K2Leadership Secrets:

As always, it is about creating a context or environment that creates extraordinary results not words.

Create and identify narrow time boundaries. Kevin and Kristen were always very clear to tell us to never ask about what was going to happen tomorrow or the next day. We were only allowed to ask about today. We were told about how many hours we would be climbing and what to expect, but nothing more. Everything was compartmentalized into understandable and limited time frames. Wake-up to breakfast, hiking to lunch, hiking to camp, unpacking and rest, afternoon tea and dinner sleep. I always say that most people cannot plan past lunch. Long term goals and strategies are fine, but to keep a team focused you have to shrink the space.
Eliminate uncertainty through preparation and frequency of contact. Lots of mental stress comes from not knowing how to prepare for the unknown. Every night at dinner we were told what the next day would look like, what to pack and how to pack it. How many times have you ever thrown your team into a task and let them figure it out. Months before leaving, we had team meetings, team hikes and team packing parties. We learned to be comfortable with our gear, our bodies and our tasks. It eliminated a whole chunk of potential anxiety and worry about what will happen and questioning if am I prepared.
Tight rules. Never pass the lead guide on the trail, stay together, be on time, drink lots of water, etc. It brought the team closer together. You felt safe because, while you were way outside your normal comfort zone, you were safe inside a bandwidth that you knew you could trust and did not have to think about. Once at the summit, our orders were clear. Take your pictures and start your decent right away. Those who were showing signs of altitude sickness go immediately. Even in moments of victory, close vigilance was maintained. Many times that is when we take our eye off the game in order to celebrate. Lives depended on it.
Lots of humor. Everyone on the team got a nickname. My son was sleeping beauty because while most of us had trouble sleeping at higher altitudes, he would crash at 7:30 and sleep like a rock until 6:30 the next morning. It made for lots of laughs. Mine was peebottle because it took me two days to finally use a pee bottle in my tent at night rather than getting dressed and having to go out of my tent to weather the cold in the middle of the freezing nights. Laughter breaks the tension, reminds you that you are human and that nothing is so big that you cannot enjoy and laugh at and with each other.
Forced focus and presence. We were continually told to focus on our feet, one step at a time. Only inches at a time. It forced your whole perception to narrow to a very small space at your feet. We were told, rest step and pressure breath over and over. So that became a kind of a mantra that created a rhythm and a focus that over 5 days got us to the top.
Removal of distractions that would cause stress to the team. There were 3 porters for every one of us on the climbing team. They carried the food, tents, supplies and most of our mountain gear. They were at our tents at 6:30 every morning with coffee and tea, cooked delicious meals, cleaned up, broke camp and set it up again the next day. All we had to worry about was ourselves, getting rest, eating a lot and hiking. As a leader, you need to eliminate the distractions that cause your team to wander, de-focus and stress out. Keep them focused on what they are setting out to achieve. How well do you take care of them?
Being tireless students of their own trade. Kevin and Kristen continue to take classes on mountain safety, first responder courses, the local culture and the details of conditioning and training. Do you love what you do enough to be a voracious student about it? It reflects.
No smoke but tons of encouragement. They rarely told us you will make it. Rather they were always there in or alongside our team hiking column periodically saying, Great job keep working youre doing great! Their words always came at the right moments to feed depleted lungs and tired muscles with the right amount of energy.
Continually watching the team. They seemed to know exactly when the team was waning a bit. They watched us all day like hawks, coming up to us individually and asking how we were doing, how we were feeling and just as you thought you were fading, they would magically call a break for rest, food and water. It always seemed like the perfect time. Are you focused only on the objective or are you continually watching and calibrating your team?
Incredible graciousness. Their treatment of the porters, guides, locals and the community was nothing short of magnificent. In fact, the whole reason for the expedition was to support the kids in the school and orphanage. Serving others who serve you is the stuff of great leaders. The friendship, trust, camaraderie and caring between K2 and those who supported our expedition, creates a context in which K2 is always welcome back, always watched out for and always appreciated.

At 19,340 feet it seems to come together, but you know what? It starts way before that. It is about creating a context that is designed specifically for the outcome that you want. Creating an environment that is safe, certain, gracious, fun and rigorous takes work. What I can tell you is that their work changes lives.

Thank you Kevin and Kristen for giving so much by being the awesome leaders that you are.

To learn more about K2Adventures, visit them at their website: http://www.k2adventures.org

They say that Kilimanjaro will test a person in ways that you never expect. Some of the most fit and agile athletes succumb to the fatigue, muscle stress and rarified altitude conditions that lie ahead on such a climb. With her glistening glaciers sparkling in the distance, she both invites you and taunts you at the same time. Kili even touched Earnest Hemingway years ago when he referred to the Snows of Kilimanjaro as the House of God.

However, few people are ever able to actually touch those snows and claim a place at the top of Africa. As many of you know, last year, my son Ben and I attempted that climb as part of a community service project supporting amazing children and teachers in an orphanage and school in Moshi Tanzania.

This life changing experience is the brain child and part of the mission of K2 Adventures Foundation who is committed to supporting children worldwide that are disabled, disenfranchised and in need of education and healthcare. (I will write again about the amazing lessons of leadership I learned from the K2 team!!)

Some of you also know what transpired on this attempt a year ago. While the days with the kids were life changing, little did I know that a few days later, Kili would test us in a way I never imagined. On the second day, we had to turn back because Ben got extremely ill. Unable to hold fluids and losing strength with every step, I had to make a decision whether to send him down the mountain for medical care or to go with him to support him. I will not go into that story again, but it suffices to say that moment at 10,000 feet changed my life. I realized that there was something bigger than a mountain called love. That the mountain would always be there but the relationship with Ben was so much bigger. So we never made it up the mountain.

Yet, months later in our living room watching a video of that same team summiting the mountain, Ben turned to me and said, We have to go back and finish! He said, Dad there is not a day that goes by that I do not think about not completing that climb. Now you have to get that my son has never really been the break all barriers, take on every challenge, never give up type of kid. Yet Kili had touched his heart in a way that dozens of coaches, teachers, friends, role models and even parents had not been able to do. He wanted to go back.

On July 3, 2013 at 11:10AM we fell into each others arms crying and celebrating as we reached Uhuru Peak at 5895 meters (19,340 ft) the highest point in Africa the largest free standing mountain in the world.

It is said that the only thing better than winning is winning at something that has previously knocked you back. So true. As we stood there in the brilliant sunlight, breathing deeply for those rare oxygen molecules, I handed him a key chain that I had been secretly carrying. It said: We start together, we finish together I will always have your back – Dad.

Yes Kili will test your endurance. She will test your strength. She will test your will and your Spirit. But as a famous song says; a heros strength is measured by their heart? she tests your heart. She grabbed the heart of a 17 year old kid and his father and tested it to the max and then taunted us, coaxed us, but touched us to complete our mission together. She taught me love in 2012 and then showed me the magic of a whole new level of love that comes with commitment.

She also showed me true peace. In 2012 I learned peace by making the right decision based upon my values and Code of Honor. In 2013 I learned peace in another way.

You see one of the biggest things I learned this time was to BE PRESENT. The climb was clearly one step at a time, very slowly for 6 days. I learned how to get in touch with a very deep connection between my emotions, thoughts, Spirit and body. It was amazing. When I learned about how high altitude actually affects your body and the criticalness of CO2 and Oxygen exchange, every night in my tent I would say to myself…”My body is the perfect exchanger of CO2 and O2.” I made it a point that I would train my body to master this exchange all through the week with each step and each breath.

Guess what? By the time we got to the summit, while others were feeling weak and even sick… I was jumping around, having a blast and felt literally on top of the world.

Physically it was grueling. There were times that it was difficult to keep going, but by just focusing on one step at a time – it all worked.

At about 15,000 feet (4600 meters) I felt a shift. It was as if we had left humanity behind and had now moved into a new dimension. The rocky walls, Mars-like landscape, glaciers and snow felt like we had moved into God’s realm. The strange and powerful silence, whirling winds, brilliant stars, the flooring of clouds so far below us made you feel closer to heaven or eternity for some strange reason.

I learned that presence and focus were the rules of the day. There was no past, no future, no thoughts about business or anything… just the task at hand. I have never before really felt all outside anxiety just melt away like that, particularly for that long! Such peace amidst such hard work and so much fun.

I learned that your Spirit, your thoughts, your emotions and your body can become one seamless Spirit. That you are so much more than any one of those components. They say that Kilimanjaro will always test you and teach you something.

This time it taught me that my being-ness, when present and in the moment, is more powerful and magical than I ever imagined. That without distractions, I got stronger with altitude while others got weaker. That I became more Spiritual as others got fatigued and edgy. That I fell more in love with myself and others around me, more centered and more peaceful the more present and focused I became. It was about one breath and one step and then another breath and another step. In some strange way, it was heaven.

For Ben, he now walks with a different gait. He has an aura of peacefulness, confidence, power and warmth that is infectious to all around him. He is in such a great place.

A few days later, as our plane departed and we climbed above the cloud line, I saw Kili one more time glistening in the now fading sunlight. In a strange way I felt sad to leave. Like I was leaving a great teacher, great mentor, great companion, great lover behind. She gave me so much love, relationship, peace, Spirit, strength, closeness to God. Kili will always challenge you in ways you do not expect. I thank her for helping me be who I always hoped I could be.