I have three boys and before each son starts First grade I take them to a local climbing facility as a father/son rite of passage experience since officially starting elementary school can be a big deal. Recently I took my youngest to the local climbing facility. Since he had never climbed before he was a bit anxious when we started.
He steps up to the wall and tentatively climbs a few blocks high. He then asks me to bring him down and after a moment he begins climbing a little higher than before. At this point he wants down again and sets a new goal. He reaches his new goal, but fear strikes and he wants me to let him down. At this point, he is reluctant to climb further.
As he stalls and delays at the bottom I do my best to encourage him and let him know I believe he has what it takes to get there. During this time he starts asking about the rope and attempts to determine if it will hold him if he falls. To help his trust in the safety harness and me I have him climb up a little and let go with his hands. After a bit of time he seems to feel more confident and I tell him he cannot come down this time until he reaches the top.
He scurries up the first portion of the wall and I can see he wants to quit, but I challenge him that he can and is expected to get to the top. As he continues to climb I help him to see what he cannot see since he is in the middle of the experience. I give suggestions on places to put his feet or hand holds. Afterward we reflect on how this relates to his future experience in first grade and beyond. As I think about that experience I see a few leadership lessons through this experience.
- Be brave – as we look at the goal we want to accomplish it may seem extremely overwhelming and impossible to accomplish. The bravest choice we may need to make is to take the first step
- Persevere – when we are in the middle of the climb we get stuck and can’t see the next step. This is the point where we need to keep our eye on the goal and simply take the next step. Visit the next client, have that crucial conversation, do the work, etc.
- Perspective – as my son became comfortable with the process he would occasionally check to make sure I still had him and then he would hang, rest, and try to figure out the path. At times as we lead the team, group, organization, family, or ourselves we need to push away from the activity and take in the bigger picture to figure out the next step to get where we need to go.
- Trust – the biggest hurdle my son had to overcome in the beginning is trusting the rope would hold him and that I was doing my job to keep him safe. As we lead, a team will be involved and there must be mutual trust. This takes time, but similar to my son as the trust increased so did his ability to overcome more challenges and reach new heights.
These were just a few thoughts. What about you? What is the wall in front of you that you are struggling to climb? What is the first step you need to take? Do you need to simply take the first step and then pause to get clarity on the next step? Do you need a guide to ask questions to help you figure out how to keep reaching higher? Of these four areas which one will you take the next step to grow in today? Need help with your growth journey? Let me know here and we can climb together to help you lead your business, your organization, team or you personally.
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I totally resonate with this theme. I think so often #1 and #4 are the 2 things that become hurdles for me, and others. I often find that the initial “bigness” of the first step is minuscule compared to what I’ve built it up as in my mind. Thanks for the perspective!