The best lesson of Leadership happened on a Mountain!

February 5, 2021
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Cover Photo : Ashok Rai

On January 16 and for almost one week after that, a footage of a group of mountaineers stormed every social media platform. The video showed a group of mountaineers, heavily equipped, marching and chanting as one synchronized body, on what seemed like a very high mountain top.

At 5 P.M. local time on Saturday, January 16, a team of ten Sherpas and Nepalis stood on K2’s summit, located on the border between Pakistan and China.

It took us, humans, 33 years to successfully summit K2 in winter since the first attempt by 13 Polish climbers, seven Canadians, and four Britons, in the winter of 1987-1988.

From top left: Dawa Tenji Sherpa, Mingma G, Dawa Temba Sherpa and Pem Chiri Sherpa. From bottom left: Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Nirmal Purja and Geljen Sherpa. (Not pictured: Kilu Pemba Sherpa and Sona Sherpa.) Photo Credit : Ashok Rai

Summiting a mountain like K2, famously known as the savage mountain because of its steep faces and technicality, is a big achievement to almost any mountaineer out there. Not to mention, summiting it in the most difficult season of the year.

While every mountain enthusiast was thrilled about the news, the will power, mental strength and dedication of those great climbers, there was a deeper meaning to what had happened.

In fact, first summits always seem to have a certain tag, imprint, and identity to the feat:
Sir Edmund Hilllary on Everest, Tabei Junko as the first woman on Everest, Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli on K2, Reinhold Andreas with his incredible ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen, and the list goes on.

Nirmal Purja climbs to Camp 2 in fine weather. Photo credit : Nirmal Purja

This time, it was different. This synchronized, marching and chanting summit moment, credited the team rather than an individual, rendering this achievement as one of the world’s best lessons of Leadership.

While taking their last steps for the summit, the team sang the Nepali national anthem, delivering to the world a message of unity and solidarity. Making the statement that this climb was for the nation, a mountaineering pride, a climb for the community and not for the individual.

Nirmal Purja — shown here at Camp 4 — and a team of Nepalese Sherpas are hoping to summit K2 in winter on the afternoon of January 16. Photo Credit: Nirmal Purja.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and Nirmal Purja Pun Magar lead their team members to become a unified organism of support and motivation. The group managed to behave as one body, with everyone in charge of everyone else.

‘Leadership is a synchronized organism working towards a just cause.’
Wolfpack

While you read this, think about moments in your life right now, where you can be a leader, an inspiration, an achiever not only for yourself, but for your community, for your nation, for humanity.