Reviewed by Emily Kittle
“There exists a rare and special breed of leaders who…are constantly pushing past current leadership trends in order to achieve…extremely challenging goals. We call these people high altitude leaders.” –High Altitude Leadership
High Altitude Leadership: What the World’s Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us about Success introduces a new approach to leadership, a concept called high altitude leadership. Written by experienced climber and entrepreneur Chris Warner and accomplished leadership consultant Don Schmincke, the book discusses the relationship between mountain climbing and leadership development.
Warner and Schmincke describe the “high altitude leader” as a person who recognizes and survives eight dangers that emerge when leading a team to high levels of performance. The eight dangers include fear, selfishness, tool seduction, arrogance, lone heroism, cowardice, comfort and gravity. Each fear is described through a mountaineering story, complete with life-or-death circumstances. Warner and Schmincke then compare these dangers to similar dangers that occur in the business world. The authors discuss that in leadership, as well as in climbing, the higher altitudes you reach the greater the challenges become.
High Altitude Leadership initially addresses the fear of death as a main danger in leadership. Warner and Schmincke agree that leadership responsibilities can be difficult and dangerous. In both the world of mountaineering and the business world, many people let fear control actions which ultimately leads to failure. According to the book, “acting decisively in the face of great fear triggers the actions needed for success.” High altitude leaders embrace the death of projects, goals, careers, teams and companies to become an effective leader and increase profit.
Sometimes selfishness also destroys the possibility of profits within companies. This danger can weaken the culture within an organization. The authors advise leaders to overcome this selfishness through a “compelling saga,” actions that inspire passion for a strategic focus. At times, high altitude leaders must accomplish this “compelling saga” without the necessary tools. The section about tool seduction discusses the inevitable breaking or failing of tools that leaders often rely on. In other words, the authors state that people are “seduced” by these tools and often disappointed when they do not work. The authors agree tools can be useful at times, however, high altitude leaders should adapt the tools to the organization rather than the other way around.
The authors provide a positive perspective about humility. Warner and Schmincke approach humility as a simple cure for arrogance within a business community. They believe humility strengthens a business and produces growth. However, high altitude leaders cannot allow this humility to cause ego-driven individuals or selfish heroism. To treat the effects of this lone heroism, the authors suggest creating partnerships to leverage the strengths of many. High altitude leaders must not allow partnerships to create cowardice, because it would show weakness in a team. The authors suggest using bravery as a tool to defeat cowardice; for example, always telling the truth and not feeling shameful.
People tend to commit to tasks when they feel comfortable, and according to Warner and Schmincke this comfort is not always a good thing. “Great achievements sometimes require enduring extreme discomfort.” High altitude leaders must persevere through difficult times, and remain alert for signs of too much comfort. Equally important is the ability for leaders to remain aware that failures can occur. “Gravity” emerges in business environments as an uncertain and often catastrophic event. A high altitude leader allows luck to take control of the situation and does not fear failure. The leader must remain open to new experiences and expect success in all cases.
Warner and Schmincke address the dangers of leadership and methods of defeat to provide a basis for leadership. According to the authors, “how you respond in the face of real dangers defines you as a leader.” Remaining alert of the danger that can occur and consistently challenging these dangers is what makes one a high altitude leader.
There are many great leadership books and studies on the most effective leadership skills, but in my opinion, high altitude leadership is the most ideal approach to management and leadership. Instead of focusing on the individual like many books and studies do, high altitude leadership focuses on the essential role of teams. It emphasizes the fact that whether you are leading a team on a mountain or on a project, you are a part of something bigger than yourself. High altitude leadership proves that highly focused teams that are confidently rooted in one vision are able to defeat the inevitable eight dangers. This defeat ultimately leads to greater success. In addition, it recognizes that leaders are made by the circumstances they encounter. This is a good approach because it educates the reader on how to defeat distractions when trying to succeed.
Not only does this leadership theory examine the dangers that are inevitable with leadership, it provides a basis of leadership that many organizations are following today. High altitude leadership focuses on the “compelling saga,” a focus that has driven success for many companies. For example, Wal-Mart used a strategic focus when they chose a specific mission for the company- “ordinary folks the chance to buy the same things as rich people.” In addition, Nike had a strategic focus to create a brand for every competitive athlete. These leaders aligned the company towards a higher cause, creating a high altitude organization. Although these companies may not have used the title of a “compelling saga,” there was a saga component that separated these organizations from their competitors. The companies had a specific strategy for high-performance behavior and succeeded with this approach.
High altitude leadership greatly resembles the leadership skills used by Arlene Blum during her team expedition on Annapurna, a series of peaks in the Himalayas. In fact, I would consider Arlene Blum the ideal high altitude leader. Although being a leader during this expedition was often emotionally draining, Blum never let her emotions override critical decisions that could affect her team’s success. She faced all eight dangers during her expedition, particularly the fear of death. However, Blum challenged the dangers and succeeded despite these obstacles. Blum committed herself to a “compelling saga,” and maintained a strategic focus during the entire expedition. Through this “compelling saga”, Blum mobilized and unified her teammates as she maintained a vision and a passion to succeed.
High altitude leadership differs from management by objectives (MBO) which focuses on results and function rather than the process. I do not think this is a good way to measure success. A main element of MBO is accountability which focuses on rewarding an individual for his/her own successes. On the other hand, high altitude leaders believe that accountability is on the entire team rather than an individual. In addition, High Altitude Leadership emphasizes the importance of every step in the process, not just the overall success in the end. I believe high altitude leadership is a more effective leadership than MBO because of its emphasis on the team rather than the individual and it addresses the dangers leaders must face in the process to achieve success.
I would highly recommend this book to other public relations students. It is a logical and factual book that will help any person, regardless of his/her field of study, understand why people do the things they do. High Altitude Leadership is not only a “page turner” with vivid mountain-climbing stories, but it also presents a very unique perspective on characteristics of a leader. The book is a relatively quick read that discusses the common dangers that can apply to any business situation, including PR.
An extremely relevant section of the book for PR practitioners is “tool seduction”. Many students and professionals studying and practicing PR rely heavily on the internet, social media, and other modern ways of communication. “Tool seduction” confirms that sometimes tools will fail and professionals will need a plan for crisis. The “gravity” section is also a good section for PR practitioners. It emphasizes that no matter how great leadership is there can always be an unexpected failure. With the seemingly infinite projects and events that PR practitioners handle, it is inevitable that failures will occur. However, the authors reassure that failures can be positive and failures should motivate professionals to simply work harder.
Learning, creating and communicating a “compelling saga” is essential
for every leader in the world, especially in the current economic environment. High Altitude Leadership is a must-read
for any student or professional seeking to improve his or her leadership
abilities.
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