Quick E-tips
April 2008
We hope you enjoy this newsletter brought to you by International Advantage® LLC - Leading Across Cultures™. Every month we bring you tips to help your team and organization, especially those operating in culturally diverse environments, reach their business goals.
This Month's Topic
Lessons on visioning from a hike in the Grand Canyon
I just spent a long weekend hiking the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River. It’s the third time I’ve gone all the way to the bottom since moving to Arizona in 1992. There were four of us who went three miles to Horseshoe Mesa, three miles to Hance Creek and then 6.6 miles to the Colorado River. And then back. More than 25 miles and 10,000+ feet of elevation change in 2.5 days with packs strapped to our backs and pockets full of vital necessities like sunscreen, lip balm and energy boosters. We each drank up to 10 liters of water a day to stay hydrated in a climate where the lack of sweat is deceiving since it evaporates as fast as it forms. My experience can be described as both beautiful and brutal. (For more on this, see below.) The experience also lends itself to an analogy about visioning that came to me as I was hiking.
Let me begin by stating that for anyone seeing the Grand Canyon from the top – or any other overwhelmingly impressive work of natural or manmade wonder – you know that it’s common to feel a sense of inspiration and awe. But since the first time I saw the Canyon 15 years ago, I have always felt it was so big and beautiful that I couldn’t fully appreciate it. While cognitively I recognize the wonder in front of me, I never felt I had the capacity to take it all in. It’s too much.
But by hiking half way to the bottom of the Canyon, I’m able to experience the beauty that I can really take in and appreciate. I can look up to see the rim where I started. I can look down and see the valley. I see the canyon walls and rock folds in every direction. From part way down the trail I have the capacity to perceive the Canyon’s size and power and am close enough to notice its delicate ecosystem. I can fully appreciate its beauty and complexity. It’s not too much.
As I pondered this walking along the Tonto trail, I began to think of how this relates to other ideas and concepts that are too big to take in. Like visioning for the future. Consider these examples: To be #1 in the industry when you are not currently in range. To weigh 25 pounds less when you hate to exercise. Your example?
It has been my experience that while having a vision as large as the Canyon is inspiring and worth having, I often cannot possibly work toward the vision without “going down the trail”. Going down the trail allows you to see the Canyon in parts where you can really take it in, appreciate the nuances of the situation and the opportunities around you. When the vision is too big, it is helpful to occasionally see it, and very helpful to bring it down to a reasonable size.
My role as supporter of teams and organizations is to ultimately help frame the important themes in manageable pieces that more easily allow people to take it in and to act so they can get the results they seek.
Insights for leaders on visioning based on Canyon analogies:
If you don’t all look at the same canyon (i.e. vision) you can never achieve it. What you can do to make sure you and your team continue to see the same vista? How are you and they a part of the vision? The greatest challenge and opportunity for groups is establishing a shared reality so they can achieve forward movement. 2. Would you say that the majority of your team is on the rim or down the trail? Leaders are generally paid to spend more time on the rim, but that can also be deadly if they never descend the trail. I’ve seen this happen a number of times. I’ve also seen the opposite: leaders who spend most of the time on the trail and none at the rim. Generally they are just managing and not leading. 3. Sometimes the best strategy is to focus on only the next step in front of you instead of a grand vista. We know through life experience that taking one day at a time is the only way to avoid being overwhelmed or discouraged. This one was critical to me as I ascended the steep grade back to the Canyon rim!
The lessons are around us – in our work and in our play – eager to be pondered by a curious soul. I wonder what you have learned from your environment lately. I would enjoy hearing your story. Consider sharing at lisakoss@intladvantage.com.
Interested in what was beautiful and what was brutal? Read on.
Beautiful.
The wildflowers were the most spectacular I’ve ever seen in the Canyon. They bloomed everywhere -- but in small patches -- in every direction. The pink, purple, orange, red and yellow flowers were clumped and interspersed with prickly pear, barrel cactus, agave and scrubby-looking bushes and plants of thousands of shades of green. All this with the majestic backdrop of buttes, mesas, canyons and rock walls that change continuously with the shifting shadows. And then being in the middle of it all…What a powerful and humbling experience.
Brutal.
The physical challenge in a harsh environment proved once again to be impressive. My thigh muscles and calves were arguing for much of the trip because of the demands I put on them. The bottom of my feet asked me what they had done to deserve the treatment, especially on the morning of day two when we hiked 16 miles roundtrip to the river in one day. Thankfully a leg soak in 40 degree water refreshed us for the hike back to our campsite. It’s two days later and I can still barely walk!
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To your success around the globe,
Lisa Koss, Principal Consultant International Advantage® LLC Consulting, Facilitation, Training Phoenix, Arizona U.S.A. Direct: +1 - 623-866-8893 www.intladvantage.com lisakoss@intladvantage.com©Lisa Koss, 2008