The 8^th and final competency separating merely good from great leaders is, according to recent research by Korn/Ferry Lominger, ‘Managing Vision and Purpose’.

To many people, the development of a company or departmental Vision and Purpose (also known as ‘mission’) seems like a light and fluffy assignment. Most organizations have a Vision and Purpose, but few use them to their full potential.

Vision and mission statements should be more than a plaque on the wall. When done right, and when genuinely understood by employees across the organization, they provide guidance in almost every decision made. They resonate with people’s values, connect their day to day work to the greater organizational picture and align individual efforts across divisions.

As always, the development and use of these tools is deliberate and conscious. You must lead the processes of crafting the mission and vision statements, and the processes of sharing them. You must help others explore the vision and mission to fully understand them, and to understand their roles in fulfilling them. You must be a change leader. This means, ‘walking the talk’, motivating and inspiring everyone (including the resisters), removing barriers and recognizing even the small successes along the way.

There are three related strategic concepts that organizations commonly express, including purpose (i.e., mission), vision and values.

• A mission statement describes the fundamental purpose of a group – why it exists and who it serves. It should be short, powerful and, usually, timeless in the sense that it fulfills ongoing needs of the clients. Mission statements may be renewed and refreshed, but the underlying purpose can remain valid for decades. For instance, a construction company might have the mission to “design and build safe, efficient transportation infrastructure for people with places to go.” Transportation methods may change from cars to trains over time but, in all likelihood, this company will always find a transportation “need” to be met with “safe, efficient infrastructure”.
• Values are important beliefs that are shared among the stakeholders of an organization. Values drive culture and priorities. Interestingly, organizations often seek to discover their shared core values, not create them, since adults usually walk into an organization with their basic values already formed. A clear understanding of shared values is very important to guide day-to-day decision making at every level within an organization.
• A vision statement paints a picture of your destination over the long term (usually about 3-5 years). It can describe what you want to achieve (your big goal) and, sometimes, who you want to become as an individual or team. It is ambitious yet achievable (unlike your mission, which is never quite completed). It represents the planting of a flag in the ground with the strong statement: this is where we are going. A vision statement does not tell you how you will get there (there may be many possible routes), but it provides the direction of travel. It provides inspiration and a call to action. It must be brief, powerful, passionate, easy to remember and easy to communicate to others. The construction company with the mission described in the first bullet might have a vision of “becoming the number one highway construction company in the country by 2016”.

Don’t skip this critical step and make sure you have a plan to fully utilize what you develop. Contact Summit to see what we can do to help.

According to Korn/Ferry Lominger, the ability to build effective teams is a critical leadership competency. It has been proven time and time again that effective teams get more done and make better decisions than individuals working in isolation. It has also been proven that, just because you put a group of high performing individuals together, you are not guaranteed a high performing team.

Building an effective team is, once again, largely the job of the leader in the sense that he or she initiates, drives and monitors the process. Done well, this is a very deliberate and conscious process that involves:

1. Creating a vision of what high performance will look like
2. Creating an action plan to get there
3. Periodically reflecting to gage success, and
4. Making adjustments where necessary.

Since engagement and commitment of all members are fundamental prerequisites of good team work, the leader must seek to involve the team in all of the above steps. A leader who does this, connects to the powerful drivers of personal values, sense of purpose and autonomy.

As a leader, you can:

• Create and share your vision
• Know what inspires and motivates the team and each individual
• Promote innovation and creativity
• Make sure you understand each individual and their personal needs
• Move management and rewards from individual to team-based
• Build a strong foundation and positive relationships through team building activities
• Provide training for essential team skills such as communications, conflict management, change management, trust, time management, etc.
• Understand and leverage the diversity of personal styles in your team, and help team members appreciate their differences
• Engage a team coach
• Remove barriers to success

Give us a call to talk about building the performance of your team. We run sessions to teach leaders how to develop their teams, and to help people understand how to consciously develop themselves into high performing teams.

The sixth critical leadership competency identified by Korn/Ferry Lominger is ‘Strategic Agility’. Strategic agility is the ability to look into the future and to select the right strategy to lead to your long term personal, team or organizational success.

If you want to have a great future, you need to plan for a great future. Start by making time for strategic planning. Take it seriously. It is not just about extending your 3 year plan to 5 years along the same trajectory. The world is changing at an alarming pace. You need to respond thoughtfully and creatively in step with or, ideally, ahead of the changes.

To do this, bring together key people from across your organization for a strategic planning initiative. Perhaps launch it with a retreat lasting a few days. Remember, this is about creating and driving change. Don’t just focus on current issues, but look to the future. Re-visit your enduring mission and your core values. Create a compelling vision of where you want to be in 3 to 5 years. Use tools such as a ‘SWOT’ or ‘force field’ analysis to better understand the current realities and trends in your environment. Identify your strategic priorities – your best bets – that will lead to your vision. Alternate between creative processes that will generate lots of new ideas, and critical processes that will narrow down the options, leaving only the best. Then identify actions that will lead to your ideal future. Create enough detail in your strategic document that it provides clear direction for the annual or quarterly departmental work plans that flow from it. If it lacks detailed actions, timelines and ‘champions’, it will not be implemented once you get back to the office.

Our strategic planning retreats help you develop direction and create a plan. Do not leave this to chance.

There is more to team success than leadership ... team members do play a critical role ... however, great leadership can make even a dysfunctional team great. How? Great leaders are very conscious in their approach and use what we at Summit Training call the “Deliberate Success” approach.

Deliberate Success involves developing yourself into the great leader you want to become, while simultaneously helping those you lead develop into the great team you, collectively, want to become. In both cases it consists of three simple (and deliberate) steps: Vision, Action and Reflection.

1. Create your VISION of success. This includes both a vision of the results you intend to get, and the values you intend to follow. Create a clear definition of success for your team and for yourself as a leader. It is not good enough to say you will be ‘high performing’ because that really has no meaning … or, rather, it can have any number of meanings. You need to be very specific as to the results and the culture that you want to have. You want effective interpersonal communication? Great. Explore and describe together what exactly that looks like in your work setting. After all, if you cannot define it, you cannot measure it. And, if you cannot measure it, you have no idea whether or not you are doing it. As Stephen Covey writes in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind”. When you create a team vision, it is very important to involve all team members in uncovering and describing the ideal culture that reflects their collective values and goals. In the end, they will be motivated and committed to achieving such a vision.
2. Take ACTION. Make a deliberate, focused plan and implement it. These actions must be directly connected to your vision. Deliberate and specific actions are essential to success. You can just do what you do and hope for the best, or you can do the right thing and get your desired result. Make sure you schedule your actions. State what you will do, when you will do it, who you will do it with, why you are doing it and what you expect as results. Without this level of detail, there is a very high chance you will not follow through.
3. Reflect. Without reflection, it is easy to lose your way, to stray off course toward some “shiny object” that catches your attention. Periodically ask yourself if you are achieving what you set out to do. Is your vision still the right one for you? Are you being who you said you would be? Are your actions getting you the results you had hoped for? If not, why not, and what do you need to change?

Great leaders will take this very deliberate approach to building the foundation of a high performance team.

Being able to build a plan and work your plan is the 5^th critical leadership competency identified by Korn/Ferry Lominger. A plan keeps us on track and focuses our energy. It can keep us from flying off on wild goose chases that expend great amounts of resources but achieve very little.

The ability to plan is not always natural. As we can learn through a Myers-Briggs session, some of us are naturally good at planning and some of us are not. Yet, this is another skill that can be cultivated and developed.

People who are good at planning can uncover what needs to be done, who needs to do it, how long it will take and what resources will be required. This is a very deliberate process requiring complementary skills in many other of the ‘Big 8’ competencies.

Those who do not develop good planning skills often fly by the seats of their pants. They may seem very energetic and creative, but their results often do no match expectations. They are often tired and stressed.

To be successful, be systematic in developing your plan. First set clear goals about what you want to accomplish, including performance standards and measures of success. Break your goal into smaller tasks that must be completed. Identify the resources required including budget, equipment and human. Match people to tasks, train them if necessary and give them appropriate responsibility, authority and timelines. Monitor your progress, reflect on your process and make adjustments where necessary.

This planning process fits very well with our Deliberate Success Model which focuses on developing a Vision, creating a Plan and Reflecting upon the results.

The fourth of the “Big 8” leadership competencies (Korn/Ferry Lominger) we’re exploring in this series is motivating others.

Once again, Dan Pink had tackled this topic in his book “Drive”. What motivates (and what does not motivate) others will surprise you. Marcus Buckingham also sheds light on this topic in his eye-opening book “First Break All the Rules”.

Motivating others is complex and challenging. Some of us are more naturally gifted at it than others, but it is a deliberate skill and we can all learn to be better at it.

Some of us feel that, just because we are self motivated, others will be as well. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. Leaders must build strong relationships with their team members and they must know how to motivate and inspire them.

Motivation is the use of external rewards to get a job started and completed. It is, in its simplest form, the “carrot and the stick”. Research has indicated that this carrot and stick approach only works well for simple tasks where thought and creativity are not required.

Inspiration, on the other hand, is a desire from within to do something you believe is worthwhile. You are not doing it just for a reward or to avoid punishment, but because you want to do it. As a leader, tapping into inspiration requires personal understanding of your team members. You must know people well enough to connect them to a compelling, shared vision, and to tie the task or challenge to personal outcomes that they find personally worthwhile.

Ultimately, a leader’s job is to make their team look good in the eyes of others and feel good about the work they do. When you facilitate them (as opposed to driving them) to achieve great results, you can tap into powerful forces of motivation and inspiration.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

We are exploring the “Big 8” competencies that separate good leaders from great leaders (as identified by Korn/Ferry Lominger). The third competency is innovation management.

Those who are skilled in innovation management are good at bringing ideas to life. They can facilitate others through the creative process, brainstorm effectively, select the good from the bad ideas and foresee how potential ideas will play out in the marketplace.

On the other hand, leaders who are unskilled in innovation management are unable to judge a good idea from a bad one and can’t predict which idea will best perform in the marketplace. They are often resistant to creative ideas, avoid change and stay in their comfort zones. They are unskilled at leading others through the creative process.

Being innovative involves understanding, selecting, and follow through.

You must understand your marketplace; what your customers want and what they don’t want. What will it take to bring non-customers on board? What is not currently being offered in the marketplace or is being done poorly by other players? If you do not have a clear understanding of your marketplace, there is a good chance you will not look in the right areas for innovation.

Once you have gone through a brainstorming process, you must be able to dig through all the ideas generated and select the best, most viable one. This will involve skill in dealing with ambiguity as there is no crystal ball that will point conclusively to the “right” idea. The key here is to select a good idea or direction and commit to it.

Once you have selected your idea or direction, innovation management involves bringing it to fruition. This is often where good ideas fail. Execution is key.

In this series of blogs we are examining what separates good leaders from great leaders. The second specific competency among the “Big 8”identified by Korn/Ferry Lominger is Creativity.

Dan Pink speaks to the importance of creativity in his book, “A Whole New Mind”. Most of us are not particularly creative; creativity is often held down in our risk-adverse Western business culture. However, as the Western business world loses its hold on manufacturing and such commodity skills as computer programming and accounting, we need to move back to our creative and developmental mind sets. This will be critical if we are to remain competitive and continue to grow our economy in this century.

Creativity involves immersing yourself in the challenge, thinking broadly and examining multiple options. You need to facilitate effective brainstorming sessions which will utilize the best of each individual involved. You need to have an effective process to keep you on track. You must also implement your best ideas. Coming up with the idea is relatively easy; following through on it is often the hardest part.

We need to break free of our restraints and become more creative. We need to lead the way and create the future.

There are many ways to influence creativity. At Summit and Frontier we have developed a program called The Art of Team that utilizes abstract painting to help individuals and teams access their right-brain creativity. This is a great session to use just before a strategy or planning session or when brainstorming is required to find a new and creative solution.

We have also developed a decision making protocol that allows teams to move through a brainstorming session with purpose. It encourages all individuals to contribute, and keeps the process on tract so you get results.

Creativity is a key competency. How will you foster it in your team?

In this series of Blogs we are examining what separates good leaders from great leaders. The first specific competency among the “Big 8” identified by Korn/Ferry Lominger is Dealing with Ambiguity.

According to studies, 90% of all decisions made by middle managers and above are ambiguous. The higher the position, the more ambiguity there is. It is rare to have all the information and know the perfect solution. Problems are often so complex and contain so many facets that it is impossible to have perfect clarity. Most people, given all the facts could make the right decision. However, this rarely happens. Great leaders are able to comfortably make more good decisions than bad with limited information, in less time, and with few or no precedents on how it was solved in the past.

To cope with this effectively: Take small incremental steps; Balance thinking with action; Broaden your horizon; Get organized; and Ask the right questions to define the problem.

To learn more pick up FYI - For Your Improvement by Lombardo and Eichinger.

What is it that separates a good leader from a great leader? This question has long been asked with no clear answer emerging. However, recent research by Korn/Ferry Lominger has indicated that there are very specific competencies that leaders must have. These have been called THE BIG 8 and include: Dealing with Ambiguity; Creativity; Innovation Management; Motivating Others; Planning; Strategic Agility; Building Effective Teams; and Managing Vision and Purpose.

A recent study revealed that 90% of all managers think they are in the top 10% of performers in their organization. However, further research has indicated that only 12% of executives are competent in 4 or more of the Big 8.

Obviously strengthening these competencies is essential to the overall success of your business. Through the use of the Voices 360, we can help each leader identify which areas they need to focus on most and, through the Development Tracker, we can help them create, implement, and assess their development.

In future blogs, I will discuss each of the Big 8 in turn.

Summit and Frontier President Scott Kress is excited to announce the release of his book “Learning in Thin Air”. The book shares the insights Scott has gained in personal, team, and leadership performance from years as a high performance consultant and trainer, and a wilderness guide. He shares stories from his early learning grounds to the biggest mountain on earth; Everest. Included are the tools, models, and strategies that have proven to be successful in helping Scott build high performance teams in the mountains and in the workplace. This book is a great companion piece to Scott’s keynote and also supports our training and team building programs. Go to www.learninginthinair.com to see the book and to order it today. Autographed copies are available upon request.

Ask any business leader what the formula for a successful team is and you will likely get a myriad of responses. While it’s true that high-performing teams come in all shapes and sizes and have different strengths, it is also true that now more and more of them share an amazing attribute – the passion to extend their success beyond their own boardrooms and to share their good fortune with our global neighbours who truly need it.

We know that this is true because we are asked about it all the time. Clients call and ask how they can provide an experience that will allow their team to grow while at the same time fulfilling the desire to give back. This really gets our attention! It is great to meet and work with organizations that share our view that Corporate Social Responsibility is more than just a “flavor of the week” and have baked this value into their culture.

It is immensely rewarding to send micro-loans to deserving entrepreneurs all over the world on behalf of our clients - in fact, it is my favourite part of the job. We are in the process of adding other program options that will both foster team development and provide an opportunity to improve the lives of others both in Canada and abroad.

We often quote Plato who says “you can learn more about a person in an hour of play, than in a lifetime of conversation.” Why not have that play, also be helping someone out who doesn’t have the opportunities we do. What can your company do to move beyond our borders and help our global community?

It is rare that Everest is climbed solo. Even if a climber is alone on the mountain, there is a team at home that has given this person the support to do what he or she is doing.

Everest is climbed step by step and each person must take those steps on their own. Nobody can do this for you. However, it is the team that gives the individual the power to perform.

As I was approaching the summit of Everest on that beautiful day in 2008 I was alone. I was alone in my thoughts and I was alone in my movements. Yes there were other people around me, but essentially I was alone in my own small world. I was performing alone, but I was climbing off the “backs” of my team mates and they were climbing off my back. The team had been essential in my success as they helped to give me the mental and emotional strength to do what I was doing. Without the team I never would have been able to accomplish what I did.

I had another critically important team with me that day. Back home my wife and two children were waiting for news of my ascent, but they were with me every step of the way. Death is common on Everest and many climbers will just sit down and never get up again. There were times when I wanted to sit down and give up, there were times when my body faltered, there were times when my mind wandered. This is when my home team came into play. Thinking of them would snap me back into the moment and force my body and mind to perform.

Everest is not often climbed by teams anymore. It is climbed by groups of people loosely bound together by a common goal; the summit. However, they are not bonded to one another and there is no common vision in most cases. This can work out just fine when the sun is shining and life is good. But when the mountain throws a curve ball these groups fall apart.

It often becomes “every person for themselves” with a few Sherpa and guides trying to help whomever they can. You can see the results of this in many of the tragedies on Everest and other high mountains such as K2. Having a strong and tightly bound team does not guarantee safety, but you have a much larger operating zone. You can tolerate greater extremes and come out on the other side.

In times gone by when small independent climbing teams worked together there was a very strong team bond. This is what was referred to as the “brotherhood of the rope” (It is not that different from the mariner’s code where ships will divert their course to help another ship in distress regardless of time and financial cost). These climbers worked very closely together and supported one another. Today the common practice is to climb Everest with a group of strangers. These people do not have the same bond to one another and there is not the same level of commitment.

If a climber becomes sick or injured it is the responsibility of the guide to deal with. Climbers within teams often will not sacrifice their summit chance to assist a fellow team member and this is even more prominent when it is a stranger in distress. People die every year as others walk by. Often there is little that can be done, but in some cases this help can save a life.

Ultimately being part of a high performance team will make any activity easier, safer and more enjoyable.

True Patriot Live expedition update:I have so far raised $2300 for True Patriot Love towards my $10,000 goal. Please go to www.expeditionhimalayas.ca to learn more and go to http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=19224 to donate to this worthy and patriotic cause.

My last blog focused on the destructive effects that poor leadership can have on a team. This blog will look at how to achieve success through good leadership.

There is more to team success than leadership ... team members do play a critical role ... however, great leadership can make even a dysfunctional team great. How? Great leaders are very conscious in their approach and use what we at Summit Training call the “Deliberate Success” approach“.

Deliberate Success involves developing yourself into the great leader you want to become, while simultaneously helping those you lead develop into the great team you want them to become. In both cases it consists of three simple (and deliberate) steps: Vision, Action and Reflection.

1. Create your VISION of success. This includes both the results you intend to get, and the values you intend to follow. Create a clear definition of success for your team and for yourself as a leader. It is not good enough to say you will be ‘high performing’ because that really has no meaning … or, rather, it can have any number of meanings. You need to be very specific as to the results and the culture that you want to have. After all, if you cannot define it, you cannot measure it. And, if you cannot measure it, you have no idea whether or not you are doing it. As Stephen Covey writes in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind”.
2. Take ACTION. Make a deliberate, focused plan and implement it. These actions must be directly connected to your vision. Deliberate and specific actions are essential to success. You can just do what you do and hope for the best, or you can do the right thing and get your desired result. Make sure you schedule your actions. State what you will do, when you will do it, who you will do it with, why you are doing it and what you expect as results. Without this level of detail, there is a very high chance you will not follow through.
3. Reflect. Without reflection, it is easy to lose your way, to stray off course toward some “shiny object” that catches your attention. Periodically ask yourself if you are achieving what you set out to do. Is your vision still the right one for you? Are you being who you said you would be? Are your actions getting you the results you had hoped for? If not, why not, and what do you need to change?

Great leaders will take this very deliberate approach to build a high performance team. While there is a great deal more to leadership than this, you can consider this the foundation.

True Patriot Live expedition update: I have so far raised $2000 for True Patriot Love towards my $10,000 goal. Please go to www.expeditionhimalayas.ca to learn more and go to http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=19224 to donate to this worthy and patriotic cause.

It is an honour to announce my participation in the True Patriot Love "March to the Top" expedition this October. True Patriot Love www.truepatriotlovefoundation.com was created to honour and support members of the Canadian military and their families. The March to the Top expedition will pair 15 wounded and ill Canadian soldiers with 15 civilian business leaders. Each civilian will be paying for the total cost of their partner soldier to participate in the expedition, and raising awareness and funds for the much needed work funded by True Patriot Love. These men and women have risked it all and sacrificed their chances for a “normal” quality of life, all in an attempt to defend democracy and pursue world peace. It is the least we can do to support them in their hour of need.

This team of climbers will trek to Everest base camp and then embark on a summit attempt on Island Peak. Amputations, burns, gunshot wounds and post traumatic stress disorder that they have endured in battle will add to the grueling challenges that they will face on the mountain.

My role will be as the Captain of the civilian team. Based on my previous mountaineering experience and my team building skills, I will endeavour to assist in the formation of this team, and to do my best to help each team member to stand on the summit of Island Peak. I will be blogging daily while on the expedition and you can follow along right here on this blog.

Joining us will be a documentary team from the CBC who will be filming the expedition. The documentary will be aired on CBC in January of 2013. The goal is to raise awareness of the challenges our soldiers face when returning from combat and peace keeping missions around the world www.cbc.ca/marchtothetop.

Part of my mission for this expedition is to raise funds for True Patriot Love. Please go to www.expeditionhimalayas.ca or contact me directly to learn more about this expedition and to make a donation as part of my goal to raise $10,000.00.

Leadership plays a significant role in the overall team success for several reasons. Leaders, good ones at least, define the vision, mission, values, goals, roles, and expectations for the team. Referring to Tuckman’s stages of team development (Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing), these are all things that need to take place in the forming stage. This is the foundation from which all else will be built. Start with a shaky foundation and your team will crumble in the first storm.  Build a solid base and your team can withstand great force.

A leader’s job ultimately is to make the team successful. Leaders are coaches and mentors; they help keep teams on track, remove barriers and prepare the ground so the team can perform unhindered.

Conversely, leaders can also create a toxic environment that leads to total team destruction and failure. Sometimes this is due to incompetence and sometimes leaders simply use bad tactics because they think they are right.

In my soon to be released book, Learning In Thin Air (the same title as my keynote), I share stories of good and bad leaders and the impact they had on overall team success.

On one of my first real big Himalayan expeditions I was unable to get any of my long-time climbing partners to join me. I was forced to sign on with a professionally led trip. This trip brought together a group of highly-experienced strangers with a common goal, and then added a team leader. We would not be using Sherpa support and our leader was not a guide, but someone there to coach and mentor us, and to help us navigate our way through the complex world of 8,000m climbing. Our leader did not lay a foundation of trust and communication, but actually alienated all of us, drove a wedge between team members and destroyed trust. There was no plan, no vision and no sharing of information. This very long story ends in epic failure. Not a single team member made it to the summit and it had nothing to do with skill, experience, fitness or weather. It had everything to do with the toxic environment created by our team leader and the resulting total breakdown of team function.

At the time I placed the blame solely on our leader. But, in time, I realized that my own inaction had also played a part in our failure. I had done nothing to counteract what was happening within our team. I just sat back and played the part of the helpless victim.

I learned immensely from this experience and have applied this learning to all future expeditions and in business as well. In my next blog, I will share a success that grew from this leadership failure.

This is a sensitive topic but, in my opinion, I would have to say yes. You may have noticed that this has been a common thread through all of my blog postings. I have told many stories of how inexperience creates issues on Everest.

Inexperienced climbers have a very narrow working window. When situations crop up that are outside of this window they are at a loss as to what to do. They can experiment and try to figure it out. But is Everest really the place for experimentation? This often ends in disaster, or requires the assistance of others. In my opinion, relying on the assistance of others as a back-up plan amounts to recklessly endangering your life and the lives of others. Is it fair that one climber loses his or her life, becomes injured or misses a summit bid just to rescue an inexperienced climber who should not have been there in the first place? As I have stated many times, I feel that every person on Everest should be experienced enough that they can be self-reliant in all but the most extreme circumstances. Yes, people will always get into trouble for various reasons. But, if you are experienced, when you do need help, it is often as a last resort.

The next question is what counts as experience for Everest. Once again, I can only state my opinion.

Climbing Everest requires such a variety of skills that it is impossible to learn them all when you arrive at the mountain. There may be a few specialized things that are unique to Everest, but everything else must be well-practiced ahead of time. For instance, I had never used oxygen before I went to Everest and it took me about an hour to adjust to it. When I first put on the mask, I was expecting a miracle, but this was unrealistic. With this "miracle" in mind, I pushed harder than I should have and I paid the price quickly. Out of breath, I ripped the mask off my face and vomited in the snow. Lesson learned. Once I got the hang of it, I loved it.

The required skills on Everest stem from every facet of climbing; rock, ice, big mountain, and aid. Therefore, I feel that each climber should be proficient in each of these disciplines before embarking on a climb of Everest. You do not need to be able to climb at a 5.13 level and lead an A4 pitch, but you should be a technically skilled climber. (If you do not know what 5.13 and A4 refer to, then you should likely not be going to Everest.) Many people may think these standards too high, but this is what I believe.

The use of technical skills needs to be so automatic that you can do them in an exhausted, sleep-deprived, calorie-deprived, hypoxic, wind-blasted, white-out, frozen-to-the-core state. This is the reality of climbing Everest and all big mountains. If you are not up to the task, bad things can happen. I believe that you need to prepare for the worst possible conditions and if you can survive them you are good to go. We all hope for perfect sunny, windless days, and it is amazing when we get them, but it is not smart to count on them.

The photo is of the Lhotse Face in a wind storm. It was extremely cold and the wind was fierce. Driving snow bit into any exposed skin. It became difficult to do anything. These were the conditions on my descent from Camp 3 after an acclimatization rotation. Because I had been in these situations many times before, it was well within my ability to handle. I actually thought it was fun and that it added excitement to an otherwise long slog of a climb. Others were not enjoying it so much. It took me about 1 hour to descend the face. Others took up to six hours. When I looked up the face from the bottom it was like a war zone. Climbers were hunkered down for protection, climbers were fumbling with gear, people were stumbling and making desperate moves on the ropes, and guides were working their butts off to get people down. Many, many climbers got frostbite that day. As I have said, Everest is not the place to learn how to deal with adverse situations.

My apprenticeship came over years of climbing. I have intentionally gone out in horrific conditions just to learn how I would react physically, mentally and emotionally. This way I learned my limitations. Anyone going to Everest should know their limitations and have a realistic understanding of what they need to know in order to be safe and successful on Everest. For me, this took about 20 years of climbing. Some can do it much faster, but this was my comfort zone.

The government of Nepal does not set the standards, and many guiding companies do not set standards either. So it is left up to each individual to decide if they have the experience and skills necessary for Everest. Everest is not just a ride at Disney in Florida. It is a big, bad and dangerous mountain. Play safe!

I am not a scientist and I can only share my observations, insights and experiences on this topic. Based on what I have seen in the mountains, I would have to say yes, climate change is having a negative impact on safety in the mountains. After all, most mountains are simply large piles of rock held together by ice. When this ice melts, the force of gravity takes over and the mountain starts to shed its “skin”.

This year on Everest was reported as a “crazy weather” year. Most years on Everest can be described as such, but this year seemed to be even crazier than usual. The winter of 2012 was a dry one for the Everest region and the mountain saw very little snow. The warm temperatures of spring arrived earlier than normal and as the first teams were arriving at base camp in early March they could tell this was going to be an odd year. Odd on Everest is usually not a good thing.

“Dry” is how it was described. There was a lack of snow at base camp and this caused concern for what the conditions would be like higher on the mountain. The temperatures were also much warmer than usual, and this was causing a rapid melting of what snow and ice there was.

The implications of this on Everest are many. For starters, climbers must negotiate their way through the Khumbu Ice Fall, a labyrinth of towering ice blocks, to make their way to Camp 1. This maze of broken ice is extremely unstable at the best of times and has claimed many a life. As this mass of snow and ice slides off Mt Everest, large blocks dislodge, tumble and crash. If a climber happens to be in the ice fall when one of these behemoth blocks of ice decides to fall over, the end result is unavoidably tragic.

The Khumbu Ice Fall is one of the scariest sections on Everest to climb and yet it is unavoidable when climbing from Nepal. Climbers will pass through this section of the mountain 6-12 times and the Sherpa climbers will pass through it almost daily as they transport loads to the upper camps on the mountain.

To safeguard passage through the ice fall, climbers depart base camp in the middle of the night when temperatures are at their coldest. The theory is that the freezing temperatures will help “bond” the blocks in place. As the sun warms the air later in the day, these bonds start to melt and the ice fall becomes very unstable and a veritable mouse-trap maze.

As the first Sherpa and climbers were making their way through the ice fall this season they noticed that this year was different. The ice fall had an even more unstable and menacing personality than normal. Ice block collapses were common, and the constant movement in the ice fall made the route ever-changing and treacherous. The Sherpas were scared; and when the Sherpas get scared, the climbers take notice. Discussions began about the viability of safely climbing Everest this season.

Although the snowfall had been low, avalanches were still a great threat. Avalanches in the mountains can come from two main sources. The first is an unstable buildup of snow on a moderately sloping face. When the bond between the snow layers breaks the avalanche roars down the mountain. The second source is from what is called hanging seracs. These are massive blocks of glacial ice that cling to the side of the mountain. At some point gravity always wins this tug of war and the blocks fall with devastating force. Once again, warm temperatures cause the foundations of these seracs to weaken and eventually to fail. The Ice Fall and Camp 1 are surrounded by huge, imposing walls covered with avalanche potential.

Traditionally, climbers have been most afraid of the West shoulder of Everest. They have slowly migrated Camp 1 away from this and closer to what was considered the relative safety of the steep face of Nuptse. This year, the odds were against the climbers and a massive avalanche roared off Nuptse and steamrolled into Camp 1 destroying tents and injuring several climbers.

Meanwhile above Camp 2, the Lhotse face was firing rock and ice missiles at unsuspecting climbers. The Lhotse face has long been feared by climbers, but is usually stable from a rock fall and avalanche standpoint. This year the snow was not there to act as a bonding agent. As the jet stream parked its self over the mountain, ferocious winds began to dislodge rocks at frequent intervals. Anyone who ventured onto the face was playing Russian roulette and many climbers lost. Nobody was killed, but bones were broken and stitches were sewn.

The Yellow Band is an outcropping of rock just above Camp 3 and must be traversed on the way to Camp 4. Beyond that, there is another rock band that guards the way to the South Summit. Snow and ice are much easier to climb while wearing crampons than rock. Ascending these rock sections with crampons on is comparable to walking across a marble floor with metal golf spikes on. Your traction is limited at best. Due to the low snow these sections would be more difficult than usual.

All of these issues can be chalked up to climate change, and they were weighing heavily on the minds of the climbers. One expedition leader who was supporting a large group of over 100 climbers and Sherpa made the bold move to pull the plug and cancel the all his expeditions on Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse. This was an unheard of move and it shook the community. Some agreed and some did not, but ultimately the decision was made in the face of danger with an extreme concern for safety.

Additionally there is photographic evidence that shows the retreat of the great glaciers of Everest and mountains around the world. There is no doubt in my mind that the climate is changing and that it is having dangerous consequences in the mountains.

Absolutely, I would say there is. There is much more crowding on the Nepal side than the Tibet side, but both have crowding issues. The challenge is that, at least where Nepal is concerned, Everest brings in a huge amount of revenue for the country. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia and the average per capita income is less than $500. Everest attracts climbers and trekkers to the country. As far as the climbers, go each person is required to pay $10,000 for their climbing permit. But the value of Everest to the country does not end there. Each climber then spends thousands of dollars on food, accommodation, transportation, porters, climbing Sherpas and a myriad of other things. Everest is immensely important to the economy of Nepal and I do not see limits to the number of climbers any time soon.

Based on this understanding, it is in Nepal’s best interest to sell as many permits as possible. The more people, the more money. The Ministry of Tourism is not really concerned with crowding issues, mountain logistics, or even the competency of the climbers. They leave this to the guiding companies and the various outfitters that run trips on the mountain.

In an open market economy I think there is very little that can be done to curb the number of people going to the mountain. Even if some guiding companies limit the number of climbers per team, and many do, there will always more guides who want into this very lucrative game.

As I have stated in previous postings, inexperienced climbers add to the congestion. Inexperienced climbers tend to move more slowly than experienced ones, and they slow down even more when a technical situation is encountered. Everest is a huge mountain and can accommodate a large number of people, but there are bottlenecks on the way to the summit. When one person in the line slows down, everyone behind them must slow down just, as happens in any traffic jam.

Something that many people may not know, and that adds greatly to the crowding issue on Everest is that there are at least as many, if not more, Sherpas than climbers on the mountain. The old days of the self-reliant climbing teams doing their share of the load carrying are long gone, at least on Everest. Each team employs dozens of Sherpa’s to help with the chores on the mountain. If teams were able to handle more of this themselves they would not require as many Sherpa’s and the overall number of people on the mountain would be significantly reduced.

The double-edged sword here is that working on the mountain is a very important employment opportunity for the people of the Everest region. Without it, many families would be worse off. It would also mean that many of the people climbing Everest today (and I may even be in this group) would not be able to be successful.

Ultimately I am not in a position to say what the right number of people on the mountain is. I have no idea on that. But I can say that those who are there need to be accountable for their personal role in the crowding. If people ensure that they have the required skills, experience and fitness before they go to the mountain, this would alleviate some of the traffic jam issues. Also, if individual climbers would take accountability to step out of the line and to even turn back when moving too slowly, this congestion would be reduced and lives might be spared.

One alternative to reducing the numbers climbing at any one time is to look at climbing in different seasons. Everest has been climbed in all four seasons, but there are advantages and disadvantages to each season. The winter is extremely cold and very few climbers have the ability to work in these conditions. The summer brings the monsoon with heavy snows and rain and this presents many safety issues. The fall climbing season is post-monsoon and usually presents deep snow conditions, avalanche hazards, and temperatures trending colder as the winter approaches. The spring season, the pre-monsoon season as it is called, has proven statistically to be the safest and the most successful and therefore this will attract the highest number of people.

There is never going to be a perfect solution to the crowds on Everest and I do not see limitations or qualifications being required by Nepal. It is up to everyone involved to be personally accountable for their role in the crowding and to take steps to reduce the impact this is having on safety on the mountain.

As we all know this was a deadly season on Everest with 11 people losing their lives. I think it is time we re-think our approach to climbing the tallest and one of the most dangerous mountains on the planet. It is not my place to tell others what to do, but perhaps my insights, gained over 25 years of climbing, can help to save a life in the future.

So, the question: Can Everest be guided safely? The simple answer in my opinion is no. Guiding implies a professional leading the way and helping a novice climber accomplish what they otherwise could not. Above 7,000m and, especially, above 8,000m a guide’s capacity to assist is greatly reduced. According to the standards set by many worldwide guiding associations, guides can no longer meet the requirements of their jobs at these altitudes.

Another question is: Can Everest be professionally led safely? To this I would say yes. A professionally-led expedition provides a leader to help organize the expedition and to be available for counsel on decisions, but the individual climbers need to be self-sufficient on the mountain. They need to be competent at all the skills required and must be able to do them without assistance.Therefore, I believe that guiding companies that offer such expeditions to inexperienced climbers are putting people’s safety on the line.

When I was on Everest in 2008, I was walking behind a climber in the ice-fall. This climber was connected to the fixed line, as were we all. Every 50m or so there is an anchor and the tether connecting the climber to the fixed line must be moved over the anchor and clipped to the other side. This is accomplished with what is called a lobster claw and is quite straightforward. The climber ahead of me had a guide walking right beside him. Every time the climber reached an anchor point the climber would raise his hands above his head and the guide would transfer his lobster claws for him. I could not believe my eyes. Did this climber actually have so little experience they could not be relied upon to transfer their lobster claws safely? I shuttered to think what might happen higher up on the mountain when things got complicated or if some type of an emergency situation cropped up.

I doubt that this climber made it very high, but it was wrong of that guide to take him on the mountain in the first place, and wrong for that climber to even think he should be there to begin with. As I heard Pat Morrow say just the other day (Pat is the second climber in the world to climb the 7 summits), “People pluck this dream of climbing Everest off a shelf and they have absolutely no understanding of what it entails”. As a society, we have become accustomed to buying whatever we want and being told that anything is possible if we just want it badly enough. We have lost sight of reality.

I feel that climbers should earn their right to go to Everest. They should pay their dues on mountain after mountain, building up the requisite skills. After learning on several 5,000m, 6,000m and 7,000m peaks, they can try a smaller 8,000m peak. If by that point they feel they are up to the challenge of Everest, go for it. But, buying their way onto a trip of this magnitude and relying disproportionately on others to execute tactical decision-making and satisfy the physical requirements, puts them and others at grave risk.

Can you climb Everest without oxygen?

The answer to this question is yes, but not for most people. Everest was first climbed without bottled oxygen on May 8, 1978 by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Up until that point, scientists thought it would be guaranteed death to go to those heights without supplemental oxygen. And it would be for most of us. The ability to climb to the summit of Mt Everest without bottled oxygen is mostly genetic. Obviously you need to be supremely fit, but you also need to have the genetic ability to do so. Without this, it does not matter how fit you are, you will not make it and you stand a strong change in dying in the process. This is not something you can test for in a doctor’s office; there is no blood test or MRI that will tell you and lineage alone does not guarantee it. The only way to know is to learn by experience.

The best strategy if you want to attempt this is to climb to higher and higher summits over a period of years. Not only will you gain the technical expertise required, but you will also learn how your body responds to the thin air. Similar to muscle memory, your body learns every time you go to altitude and it can make the adjustments slightly easier the next time. However, even this is not a sure-fire way to know. And even if you have never had any altitude issues before, it could crop up at any time without warning notice. Many highly experienced and strong climbers have died from altitude related illness when they had never experienced issues in the past.

Even the Sherpas need bottled oxygen. They are stronger than the average westerner and their bodies have adapted to living at altitude over the centuries, but they are not immune to altitude-related illness. A Sherpa climber will die from altitude almost every year, and this is partially because they work very hard and carry such heavy loads while on the mountain. Above 8,000m almost everyone, including the Sherpas, are wearing an oxygen mask and carrying oxygen in their packs.

The standard system on Everest is Poisk which is a Russian system that combines a lightweight aluminum and Kevlar oxygen bottle, a flow regulator and a mask. This system has not really changed or been improved in decades. There are a few other systems out there and one of the biggest changes in recent years is a new British mask called the “Top Out”. It uses the Poisk bottle and regulator, but adds in a more efficient mask design that delivers a greater percentage of usable oxygen to the lungs.

Most climbers will have five 4-litre oxygen bottles that they will use from Camp 3 and up. Running at full flow, the tank will last about 6 hours. Running at minimum flow, it can last 12-14 hours. Most people will run it at around mid-flow and this will allow them to climb efficiently and to not run out of oxygen.

Using oxygen does not make it feel like you are at sea level, but the general consensus is that it makes it feel like you are about 3000-feet lower in altitude. One of the dangers of using oxygen on Everest and other 8000m peaks is that it allows you to push beyond what your body could do without the oxygen. If your system fails, your regulator freezes or you run out of oxygen, all of which has happened on Everest, you are in big trouble. Instantly, your body acts as if it has been propelled 3000-feet higher and things go bad very quickly. If this happens to you, you will be extremely lucky to survive.

When I was climbing Everest there was only one person (that I am aware of) to summit without the use of supplemental oxygen. I spoke to him at the top of the Hillary Step. I was going down from the summit and he was going up. We had a quick chat and he seemed to be doing well. His lips were a little blue, but most people’s are at that height. He was a very experienced climber and had climbed other 8,000m peaks successfully without oxygen. I continued down and he continued up. When I woke the next morning at Camp 4 and stepped outside my tent, I saw him laying dead and wrapped in a tarp.

Somewhere on the descent he had run into trouble. After reaching the summit his body had started to shut down, as often happens. He had no resources left to combat the rapid deterioration of his body and he collapsed. I was not there so I do not know exactly what happened, but I heard that some Sherpa’s did put him on oxygen, but by that point it was too late and he died of heart failure.

Based on my personal experience, I do not think that I could ever climb Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen and I will never try. Some people feel this is cheating and an unfair and un-pure way to climb. But that is a whole different topic.

Going to Everest does seem a little crazy to some people. And, since I’ve gone there, I guess that would place me ... and many others I know ... in that category too. To me, crazy is not really the right word, as that implies reckless abandonment. I see climbing Everest as a calculated risk. Our lives are full of risk and we are better for it. The key is to take a smart risk.

I can only speculate as to why others go to Everest, and I will do so based on people I have spoken with. But I can also share my personal motivations for going.

I am a very goal motivated person. Without an immediate goal to focus on, it is all too easy for me to lose my drive and to flounder. My mind dulls and my body weakens. With a goal, I have the passion and drive to meet each day head on. My focus sharpens. I pay attention to my fitness. The benefits spill into my overall health and my life in general.

In everything I do, I want to be good. Don’t we all? In a study around what creates “drive”, Dan Pink found that the opportunity for “Mastery” is critical for having a motivated and fulfilling fife. Mastery is simply the desire to get better at something. For me this “something” is climbing.

I was a climber from a very young age and, as I grew, I began to test myself on bigger and bigger challenges. I started with local rock and ice climbs and then moved further afield to find bigger and more challenging climb’s in the US, Mexico and South America. I then moved onto mountaineering in what seemed to me as a natural progression. Looking for bigger and bigger challenges I finally set my sights on Everest.

Now that I am done climbing the 7 summits (the highest point on each of the 7 continents) I am still not done. Climbing was not just part of a check list or a “bucket list” for me. It is a way of life and it feeds me every day. I intend to continue to climb as long as I can, expecting that my objectives will change as time marches on.

I also see climbing as a way to explore new worlds and people. Climbing has taken me to places few people will ever go and I have had experiences that have made me a better person. Life is short and I believe that everyone should make the most of their life. I have chosen to do that via climbing.

So, if this is why I go, I can only assume that there are others like me out there. There are others for whom climbing Everest is just part of a check list. They are “peak baggers”, not climbers. Climbing is not the only activity to draw attention this way, but it is one of the more powerful magnets. These people often enter into the game for a short while and then move on. This is a reasonable proposition as this is how we learn if this is the right thing for us. They key is to enter at a place relative to your experience level. Starting with Everest is just not a smart move.

Ultimately, I think we all need some form of passion in our lives. Climbing is mine. What is yours?

Every year the drama is played out on the slopes of Everest and every year climbers die. The Media report and people judge. There are stories of climbers being left for dead and of people walking past them as they lay dying in the snow. People judge this as being inhumane and extremely selfish towards one’s own summit goals. However, the reality is that, often, you can do very little to help a climber in distress above 8,000m. This is why experience and judgement are so critical. Yes, freak accidents will occur, but climbers with the knowledge gained through years of experience can often make the right choices to avoid the majority of the dangers on the mountain. The basic rule, and it is a very harsh one, is that once above 8,000m if you cannot walk down under your own power you are not coming down. This means that if you break your leg (as happened to a climber on the Tibetan side of Everest last week) you are essentially dead. If you are unconscious or incapacitated to the point where you cannot walk, you are not going to come down off the mountain. Rescue at these heights is so dangerous and difficult that it is nearly impossible. The physical exertion to carry another person at this altitude is far beyond the ability of any climber. It is all most climbers can do just to put one foot in front of the other let alone rescue an unconscious or incapacitated climber. And, yes, the Sherpas are incredibly strong, but they are not super human and they cannot carry out these rescues without grave danger to themselves. Additionally, the ground on Everest is steep, rocky and icy preventing climbers from dragging a climber down.

When I was climbing Everest in 2008 I came across two climbers headed up towards the summit as I was heading down. They were well past the time when they should have turned around, they were far from the top, and yet they were still headed up. One climber was actually crawling on his hands and knees. He begged me for water, but I had none to give. I urged him and his partner to turn around, but they refused. There was nothing more I could do at this point so I continued down. Not long after my encounter with these two climbers they both succumbed to exhaustion and collapsed in the snow unconscious.

Other climbers dragged them down to the balcony. However, below the balcony it is steep and rocky and it is no longer possible to drag an unconscious person down. They stuffed these two climbers into sleeping bags and left them assuming they would die. Fortunately for theses two climbers, it was a warm night on Everest and they survived. The next morning they were discovered by another team and found to be still alive. With the rest from the night in the sleeping bags they were once again conscious. This team gave them fluids, oxygen and drugs and the two climbers miraculously stood up and were able to walk down under their own power. It was a miracle, and the only reason they survived was because they were able to walk down the mountain. This story has a happy ending but many such stories on Everest do not.

Although this event did not end it tragedy, it could have been avoided in the first place if the two climbers had made smart decisions. Once again this is where experience comes into play. You need to know how your body reacts to altitude; when to push harder and when to turn back. And the only way to learn this is to go to altitude on repeated occasions. Start on lower peaks and work your way up. By the time you get to an 8,000m peak you will know the tell-tale signs that will set off alarm bells in your head and tell you to go down. It is all about having a realistic plan of action that will provide you with the requisite skills and experience so that when the chips are down, you know what to do.

So why is Mount Everest so dangerous?

Eight thousand metres is a special line in the climbing world referred to as “the death zone”. While this is a very dramatic term, it means exactly what it says. If you go above 8,000m for too long, you will die, guaranteed. And just how long is too long? It can be anywhere between one to four days at the most. There are only 14 mountains in the world that rise into the death zone and Everest happens to be the tallest at 8,850m.

One reason altitudes above 8,000m are so dangerous is that the human body can no longer regenerate cells above this line. In addition, cells are dying at an accelerated rate. This is caused by a combination of oxygen deprivation and pressure changes, and by the way our body reacts to these changes. As our cells die and are not replaced, our body enters a “triage” state. It starts shutting down less important bodily functions by reducing oxygen and blood flow to the muscles, brain and extremities. This becomes a rapid chain reaction of events that, in turn, lead to a quick downward slide toward heart failure.

But, at altitude, other things are happening to your body as well. Your body is accustomed to operating in a pretty narrow range of atmospheric pressures. Once you go above around 4,000 metres your body loses its equilibrium. Due to the lower atmospheric pressure, fluids begin to leak from your cells, veins and capillaries. These fluids can pool in your lungs (pulmonary oedema) or in and on your brain (cerebral oedema). Both can quickly cause death if not treated, and the only real treatment is rapid descent to lower elevations where your body can re-gain its equilibrium.

If you are near the summit of Mount Everest and cerebral or pulmonary oedema sets in, you are in big trouble. It is unlikely you will be able to descend fast enough to alleviate the symptoms. The more it sets in, the more you become mentally and physically incapacitated, reducing your ability to descend even more. Affected climbers will stumble and fall off the route. They will make poor decisions. They will start to hallucinate and some will become combative to those who try to help them. It is a very frightening situation to be in.

Pure, simple exhaustion is also blamed for many deaths on Everest and the other big mountains of the world. By the time climbers start their summit bid they have usually been on the mountain for at least six weeks. They have not slept well for much of that time and they have lost a considerable amount of weight and muscle mass. They have likely not eaten much for days, and have burned tens of thousands of calories. They are far from the picture of top fitness, and now they must push their bodies harder than they have ever pushed. While the goal of reaching the summit is a very strong motivator, once it has been achieved, many climbers are unable to continue. Eighty percent of all climbers who die on Everest do so after reaching the summit. They die on the way down. They simply run out of gas, sit down, close their eyes and never get up again.

I have not even begun to discuss hypothermia, hypoxia, avalanches, snow and wind storms, extreme temperatures, rock and ice fall and the myriad of other potential dangers on Everest. The fact is that Everest is a bloody dangerous place and needs to be respected for the power it holds.

As a climber and a team and leadership specialist I want to take some time to discuss the recent tragic events on Mount Everest. You may have heard in the news about the deaths on Everest over the last few days. Everest is a dangerous place and deaths are part of every climbing season. However, this year there have been 11 deaths and the season is not even over. This is considerably higher than most years. When I summitted in 2008 there was only one death. So what makes this year different than other years? What is it that causes climbers to die on Everest? There are no simple or complete answers to these questions, but there are several factors that play into them. Over the next few blog postings I will reflect on and explore this tragedy based on my 25 years of climbing experience and, particularly, on my personal experience on Mount Everest.

As with everything in life some of the factors that are leading to climbers' deaths on Everest are outside their circles of influence. But many are not. I will touch on both in my blog.

I see three main factors that lie within our circle of influence that are causing issues on Everest: 

1. overcrowding,
2. inexperienced climbers, and
3. lack of team work.

Outside of our circle of influence is a big one: climate change.

Some of the topics I will discuss include:

• Why is Mount Everest so dangerous?
• Why are so many people going to Everest in spite of this danger?
• Is there an overcrowding issue on Everest?
• How is climate change impacting safety on Everest?
• Is inexperience playing a role in the deaths on the mountain?
• What role does leadership play in success, failure and death on Everest?
• How to be a great leader.
• What role does team work play in success, failure and death on Everest?
• How to build a high performance team.
• How can one prepare for a climb of Everest?
• What is a smart risk?

There are many choices in customized and ‘off the rack’ team assessments. The 4-D system by Charles Pellerin is very well-supported and well researched. There is a simple 25 question assessment in ‘Games Teams Play’ by Lisa Bendaly (McGraw-Hill Ryerson). The Internet provides many free assessment tools (e.g., Mind Tools, Team effectiveness assessment). Most are based on team members’ self assessments and scoring of a number of team attributes. In this era of metrics, you may wish to find statistically robust measurement tools.

However, I personally think that there is also value in teams developing their own self-assessment tool through a carefully guided process that includes going through an exercise to define what a great team and great teamwork mean to them. They can then develop a descriptive list of key behaviours that relate to such areas as trust, communications, responsibility, etc. and a scale for scoring.

Regardless of the tool you use, a single assessment yields only a snap shot taken at a moment in time. To get real value, report results promptly to team members, debrief and discuss them, create action plans and provide workshops on key areas for improvement. Repeat the assessment to measure progress and, once again, report the results. People need to know they are making progress, and so does your organization.

Risk is something we all face every day. We take actions and make decisions that could have bad consequences. Many of these consequences might affect other people, and most of us don’t like to feel responsible for another’s grief (or for a project’s failure). It is especially difficult to make decisions and take action in a culture where people are quick to shine the spotlight of blame. Though no one likes blame, the act of blaming often arises from a fear of being blamed.

High performance teams have a blame-free culture. That is not to say that people fail to take responsibility. On the contrary, people are willing to take responsibility for their role in any failure, look at it objectively, and take steps to draw learning from it so it’s not repeated. Team mates remain supportive of each other and refrain from personal attacks. Think what a team can do when there is no blame.

Charles Pellerin identifies ‘complaints’ as a related issue. Complaints are not the same as feedback. They are not productive. A complaint often starts out as an angry or negative voice in our head that eventually finds its way out to a variety of people who are usually powerless to address the issue. When we complain, we are usually blaming others rather than looking for ways that we can contribute to a solution. We assume the role of victim. The opposite, of course, is to take responsibility and do what we can to rectify a situation that concerns us.

Responsibility is a key individual ability for all team members. Each member acknowledges and accepts his or her role in the workings of the team. Each one exercises initiative and leadership to ensure it happens.

In your team, to what extent do people fear blame? Do they play the role of victim, or do they feel empowered to address issues that concern them? To what extent does each person take responsibility for their tasks and for the overall success of the team?

At the end of the day, and after the tough discussions are complete, high performance teams commit to a course of action. Every single person walks out of the room supporting the plan and is prepared to do their best to achieve success for the team.

Commitment is about knowing what to do, accepting responsibility for one’s role in a project and actually caring deeply about the outcomes.

Commitment also frees us up to be creative. We no longer need to waste energy thinking about whether or not we should ‘go for the prize’. That’s already settled. We can concentrate on being creative about how we’ll achieve success. In the process we inevitably set all kinds of events in motion and recruit others to our cause, all helping to make it a reality.

One of the best ways to gain commitment in a team setting is through consensus-based decision making. (Consensus means that everyone feels heard and supports the decision, not necessarily that everyone is complete agreement.) When people feel heard, they generally feel the decision is theirs too.

Ask your team: Do they feel they have a genuine say in decisions? To what extent do they care about and feel committed to the work of the team?

In my last blog I ended with my key steps in achieving goals that keep me focused and motivated: 1) Have a Vision, 2) Develop an Action Plan, 3) Do it with a friend, 4) Reflect on progress.

Vision

Vision is the first Step. You have to know what you want to do and where you want to go. As Stephen Covey writes, “begin with the end in mind”. Without a clear vision I find myself floundering. I train, but it is half-hearted at best. Once I have a vision and have set a goal, my attitude completely changes. In this case I am referring to my vision to climb the 7 summits. My current goal within this is to summit Vinson in Antarctica.

It is not just in fitness and adventure where vision is important. Every company needs a vision and every leader needs a personal leadership vision. This vision guides all interactions and decisions and keeps us on a focused course.

Action Plan

Once the vision and goal are in place you need to develop an action plan to bring it all to life. This action plan must be simple and easy to follow or it will become drudgery and quickly abandoned. You must have a way to track your progress and to measure your success.

Do it with a friend

Solo pursuits are very difficult. The physical challenge may be the same, but the mental challenge is far more difficult when alone. Some people thrive on this challenge, but most of us perform better with others at our side. A friend can help in motivation and the pleasure, I find, is much greater when you have someone to share it with.

Reflect

I really believe that you need to reflect frequently upon your progress. Sometimes we can get lost along the way and not even know it. When I reflect I ask myself if I have stayed true to my vision and action plan or if I need to course correct. Do I intend to continue the plan, adjust it or end it. Through a reflection process I can objectively assess where I am and select my next steps.

Let’s face it: without optimism, energy ebbs and life is a chore. A team without optimism can hardly be high-performing. Yet, misplaced optimism can be just as damaging. It can blind the team to the degree of challenge ahead; otherwise minor issues catch them sleeping. As a simple example, consider a recreational day hike in a rugged natural park. An optimist, looking at the sunny, warm morning weather trundles off in shorts and t-shirt carrying only a water bottle and lunch. A pessimist looks at the weather report with a 10% chance of rain, and stays home. A reality-based optimist looks at the weather report, thinks it will likely be a great day but packs rain gear just in case. To follow up on the scenario, if it does rain, the optimist gets soaked, risks hypothermia and spends a miserable day. The pessimist misses a great hike on a mostly sunny day and a reality-based optimist deals easily with a temporary shower and has a great excursion.

Reality-based optimism means that you believe you can meet the challenge and are willing to face the sometimes unpleasant realties that it entails. Perhaps it means that people have to put in extra work to succeed. Perhaps the chance of success is small but the rewards will be great. Reality-based optimism also means allowing people to be negative and critical at certain times in order to get all those feelings, fears and ideas out on the table. Then, you make your plan, commit and move forward with the sincere belief that you can succeed.

Does your team have a ‘can do’ attitude that is well grounded in reality? Are they open to confronting and examining the possible downsides of a situation and then resolve to go forward?

First off, let me tell you that I am not an elite athlete. I am a regular person who works hard to accomplish what I do. I do not have the luxury of being able to train all day with a personal trainer like most professional athletes. I need to fit my training into my lifestyle which can be a challenge at the best of times.

Obviously to climb in Antarctica or to climb Everest you need to be in great shape. The better shape you are in the greater your chance of success and safety.But fitness also increases your enjoyment. It's hard to enjoy any experience if you are constantly winded and struggling for each step. I want to be able to enjoy the environment I am in and to have the energy I need to make the most of the experience.

Physical fitness is a baseline requirement for participation in mountaineering but, once that has been met, I believe that mental and emotional fitness are next on the list. Our minds are extremely powerful tools and they can work with us or against us. Our attitude can help us soar or it can break us. I have seen it countless times in the mountains, on training runs, and even with my children in sports, homework, and piano.

I find goal setting to be the best way to stay focused on fitness. Without a clear goal I find my time is easily filled with other things. At the start of August, just after I returned from Kilimanjaro, I had minor knee surgery. I knew that exercise would be important for my recovery. I also knew that I have a big hill to climb in November so I need to build up my strength and endurance. Running was not an option for 6 weeks so I figured cycling would be a good way to go. I registered for a 50 mile road race in Collingwood on September 18. This ride would climb the Niagara Escarpment three times. My time was slow and the ride was tough, but it kept me focused and gave me a goal. I have registered for another 50 mile ride in Niagara in October and am going out for a run today to test my knee.

The key steps in motivation are: 1) Have a Vision, 2) Develop an Action Plan, 3) Do it with a friend, 4) Reflect on progress. More on this next time ...

In How NASA Builds Teams, Charles Pellerin addresses the team behaviour of keeping agreements. At Summit Group, we often describe trust as the foundation of a team; without it, you cannot build a solid, high performing team. Stephen R. Covey has written and lectured extensively on trust and has even developed a model likening trust to a bank account. Certain behaviours are like deposits to our trust account with another person, others are like withdrawals. High performing teams have team members who keep a healthy balance in all of their trust accounts.

It is important to specify that team trust is based on much more that intent and effort. The quality of the outcomes is also important.

There are specific behaviours that we recognize contribute to trust. Keeping our promises is one of the most important. This includes ‘inferred’ promises such as meeting project/reporting deadlines, being prepared and prompt for meetings, following up on actions we’ve committed to and, basically fulfilling the responsibilities of our own jobs in order that our colleagues can do theirs. In a high trust environment, people also spend fewer wasted hours second-guessing and generally fretting that others may not come through for them.

Sometimes, breaking a promise is unavoidable and understandable. Serious family matters, weather events and technology failures can contribute to missed deadlines or late appearances. Here is where a timely ‘heads up’ and a sincere apology come in. Your ‘trust account’ may take a small hit but, if the balance is healthy, trust will remain high, particularly if you take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Trust is also about loyalty. Leaders and team members that go to bat for one another create loyalty. Those who act or gossip behind the backs of their colleagues create suspicion and mistrust.

So, do your team members enjoy a climate of high trust? Do they keep promises with each other, with partners and with clients? Do they feel strong loyalty to the team, the leader and their partners?

This is Number Four in a series about what behaviours to assess, monitor and develop with respect to high team performance. It gets to the heart of becoming a team and overcoming fractious behaviours. The key behaviour is finding our shared interests. By shared interests, I also mean shared 'wants’.

In our training workshops, we sometimes use an icebreaker that we call the “common ground” activity. I like to use it if I am facilitating a planning session where there is potential for conflict or disagreement about which direction the group will be heading at the end of the day. I start off asking people to stand up, mingle and find a partner. I give them 2 minutes to find as many things as possible that they have in common (besides the obvious things that come with being human and working with the same company). When two minutes is up, this pair finds another pair and repeats the process to find things the four of them have in common. I have continued the process until I’ve had the final group of 30 or more finding those things they have in common. Finding common ground and things we agree upon in this way sets a positive tone for the day. And while disagreement is very valuable at times, we generally try to start the day appreciating simple things we have in common so that, at the end of the day, we can also share a desire for outcomes that meet everyone's personal needs and wants.

Conflict between team members or between a team and other groups is often based on conflicting interests of this type: I might feel that outcomes that satisfy your needs can’t meet mine. Furthermore, If I don't have a good relationship with you, I might have no interest in meeting your needs. A team that has the ability to find the commonality in their 'interests' and 'wants' as a starting point will likely have a better chance to care about one another and find ‘win-win’ solutions in the end.

To what extent do your team members enjoy common ground with other team members? To what extent do they care about meeting the needs of team mates, clients and partners? To what extent do they strive for ‘win-win’ solutions with others?

I’ve been writing about Charles J. Pellerin’s book, “How NASA Builds Teams”, and measureable team behaviours he identifies as important to effectiveness. This behaviour that Pellerin describes is also related to how much people are made to feel that they “belong”. Though many people, particularly technical people, like to think they are independent, they need to feel appropriately included in the important workings of the organization and team.

What is appropriate inclusion? It is far more than sending out information willy-nilly. We all have in-boxes stuffed with information that should not concern us. Ideally, people feel they get the important information they need to do their jobs and to remain tuned into the big picture, but not so much that they are overwhelmed by incidental detail.

One of the best ways to gage if a person feels included is to find out if they feel heard, and if they believe their opinion matters to their team and to their leader. On high performance teams, people do feel their opinion matters, and so they will go to great lengths to put their best ideas forward. Imagine what great creativity, not to mention critical thinking, can be contributed from all those brilliant people you hire when everyone believes their ideas matter.

Appropriate inclusion should also be considered in your decision making, and this can go beyond simply soliciting input. Are there situations when your team can make meaningful consensus-based decisions?

Thoughtful inclusion is also important when it comes to celebration, reward and other forms of recognition. It is often difficult to remember all the people who may have contributed in some way to the success of a particular project but if someone feels overlooked they can become demoralized and hesitate to put that same effort forward the next time.

At this moment and on your team, can you measure to what extent do people feel included in the important affairs of the team? To what extent do they make the effort to appropriately include other team mates, clients, partners and customers?

A high performance team has a culture that meets the emotional and intellectual needs of all the team members. People are inspired to do their very best every day while caring deeply about the welfare of their colleagues. They also feel that their colleagues and the organization itself care about them. People know what to do, they are equipped to do it and they feel they have the power and support to move forward. So what does this culture look like in terms of measurable behaviours?

In How NASA Builds Teams, Charles J. Pellerin describes a number of team behaviours that he has determined are key to creating the type of culture where people can be most effective. (Pellerin has developed this into his 4-D Assessment Process.) The descriptions alone are very insightful.

A key behaviour relates to “Expressing Authentic Appreciation”. As Pellerin points out, this behaviour helps to address our emotional need of belonging, something that Abraham Maslow identified as fundamental to human motivation. When we feel we belong, we are happier and free to focus more fully on the tasks at hand. One of the important aspects of appreciation is that it must be felt and offered genuinely. Another is that we are appreciated for the things that we ourselves value. I will get less satisfaction from your appreciation of my coffee-making ability that from your appreciation for my leadership ability. (Well that’s only partly true.) Also important to note, High performing teams exercise authentic appreciation for others, such as clients, partners and customers. They do this even in high stress situations, framing negative events and perceptions in constructive, appreciative terms.

So, at this moment and on your team, to what extent do people feel appreciated for the contributions that they feel are important? To what extent do they express the positive aspects of a situation or relationship?

Why Assess your Team?

At Summit Group we often emphasize how important it is that teams have a clear vision of who and how they would like to be as a high performing group. This type of vision is about team culture: how people will ideally work together, treat each other, relate, communicate, support one another etc., as a high performing, productive team. Such a vision is critical. Whether on a remote mountain side, a busy freeway or a country road, we need to know the destination before we can go there together.

But simply knowing the destination is not enough to get us there. Even when we are taking a drive through familiar territory we must constantly check for landmarks, watch for signs, even use GPS technology to assess where we are along the route. Then we can anticipate and plan our next move. Whether we are drivers or passengers, I think this need to know where we are is pretty close to innate. (If you have ever traveled in a car with toddlers you will be familiar with the persistent and urgent phrase, “Are we there yet”?) Team members also need to know and confront where they are with respect to their vision of high performance culture. You can give them that information through simple, regular team culture assessments.

There are many existing assessments of team ‘health’ or ‘performance’. They can help you gauge where you are on your collective journey, and if you are moving towards or away from your target. If you have described clearly your vision of a high performing team, and have identified key member behaviours in a “best practices” or “code of conduct”, you may be able to create your own meaningful assessment tool by attaching criteria and a scale to each item. The important thing is to assess the team’s progress in a meaningful way and at regular intervals. It opens dialogue, motivates and keeps the team developing in a positive and deliberate way.

Over the next few blog entries, I will describe some ideas about which behaviours are reported to be most crucial for high performance and productivity, and give some sources of available assessments.

As we all know, great teams do not just happen, they are built from the ground up. As Jim Collins writes in his bestselling book Good to Great, you first need to get the right people on the bus and then get them into the right seats. But once you achieve this, your job at forming them into a high performance team is far from over. Use this simple model to guide you in the formation of your team whether you are a new team or one that has been together for quite some time.

For years we tried to determine how to create high performance teams. We read dozens of extremely complex models that presented countless steps, but the complexity of these models always ended in confusion and frustration. We knew there had to be an easier way.

We created the Deliberate Team Development model to provide a simple and effective framework to achieve the end goal you are looking for as a team. This model consists of three steps; Vision, Action, and Reflection.

Vision: As Stephen Covey writes, begin with the end in mind. In the formation of a team you should know your end goal. You want to determine success factors such a business goals, but before these can be achieved you need to determine team dynamic goals. You must identify what high performance is for your team in relation to your business and your company culture. It is not enough just to say you will be a good team, you must discuss and determine what high performance is in relation to leadership, team interaction, communication, problem solving, conflict resolution, etc… This vision will provide you with a measuring stick to know if you are being who you said you would be as a team. Without the clear identification of the end goal you are really just doing things and hoping for the best. Be deliberate in your team formation.

Action: Without specifically applied action a vision is useless. Once you have your vision in place you must determine specific actions that will bring this vision to life. How do you live your definition of high performance communication? How will you deal with conflict in a positive manner? Be deliberate in this phase and the benefit will be huge down the road.

Reflection: As a leader and as a team retrospection is critical. Sometimes we lose our way in the fogy complexity of reality and sometimes the landscape changes under our feet. Without dedicated reflection time these changes may go un-noticed leading your team toward an impending downfall. Take time as a leader and as a team to reflect upon your team, your actions, your results and your vision and course correct when necessary. Fine tune your sails as you navigate the seas of business and you will sail a much truer and faster course.