The guide of the lost

On June 03, 2010, in Leadership plus, by Neculai Fantanaru

Transmit to people the testimony of what you are, optimizing your actions according to your own functioning mechanism.

Many years ago, namely in the first year of college, I was with some friends on a trip in the Fagaras Mountains. I will never forget the first day we climbed the mountain.

The climbing was held under the leadership of Vlad, one of the locals, which was used to such excursions. He had climbed several times some of the mountain peaks in Romania. It could be seen by his strong arms and vigorous legs that he was an experienced and capable mountain climber. With no doubt, he was that kind of man who is full of vitality, who would not draw back for any obstacle, and we were determined to follow him. We could rely on him.

Unforeseen things baffle big plans

After about three hours of climbing upwards, we were barely at half the distance we had to walk. Suddenly, the girlfriend of one of the boys huffily exclaimed: "I can't do this anymore. My feet hurt. I want to go back". Two other people in the group, the girl's boyfriend and his sister shared the same wish, to go back.

For the rest of us, were eager to continue climbing, Vlad agreed for the three to go back, on the condition that they strictly follow the markings on the tree barks, indicating the return route. Said and done. We continued on our road, hoping that the three of them will return safely to the pension.

After a quarter of an hour, being on a side of the mountain, we watched down and saw our three friends on a path, but which clearly does not lead to the pension. We shouted at them, but they could not hear us clearly because the echo distorted our voices. We tried calling them on their cell phones, but we did not have any signal. What was there to be done?

The great search

Vlad, as not to ruin our plan, not taking any moment to think, took a brave decision: "I'll go to them and lead them on the good path. In 25 minutes I'll be back. Wait for me right here and rest on a while because we have a lot more to climb." Then, hastily, he went following the three strays.

Well, what happened afterwards seems to be taken out of the adventure movies. We did not have any choice, so we waited. However, we waited a lot, an hour or so, and Vlad did not show up. Seeing that he does not show up, we decided to return on the path on which we came. And what do you know? We got lost, as well, on one of the paths leading down the mountain. Luckily for us, a small group of tourists, lead by an authorized guide, was going down the mountain and, thus, they helped us get to the pension.

Nevertheless, what happened to Vlad and our other three friends? As they were not at the pension when we got there and only later, in the evening, we saw them again. Well, Vlad has caught the other three, but Maria, one of the two girls, sprained her foot, so that their little group came down slower and in a longer time than estimated by Vlad. When he returned to the place where he had left us, he could not find us anymore, since we took the initiative to come down all by ourselves.

He could not impose himself in front of us

We could not get to the destination we wanted because Vlad, our guide, in whom we put all our trust, behaved like a novice, and has allowed leakages. He lacked the organizational capacity. He could not take a stand in front of us, meaning the entire group because he has not had a well-developed plan with alternatives and rapid-response measures in case of unforeseen things that would occur, a plan which had to be brought to our attention.

First of all, Vlad should have warned us right from the beginning of any problems that may arise, and to ensure him that no danger threatens us. Then, he obviously had to assess our capabilities and personal skills. An authorized guide, thus with real experience, would have first evaluated our physical capacities, our states of health and knowledge regarding mountain climbing and previous experience. As when you are climbing a mountain, every step can turn into a decisive step, and one thing not taken into consideration can jeopardize the entire trip. So whoever cannot face the mountain should not be on the mountain.

A wandering light

A wandering "light" can only stray from the path and make everybody get lost. In vain, you are a scout capable of discovering unbeaten tracks, who does not get defeated by dangers or hardships, if you are not capable of imposing yourself in front of people showing that you are the most important piece, taking the right decisions, assuming consequences and making yourself respected. How could people keep their trust in you if, instead of safely leading them to the destination, you made them get lost at least one time?

A guide has the role of leading the team to the destination in conditions of maximum safety. This desideratum can be reached only when there is a competent, capable leader, experienced in the field, as well as in working with people, with a special ability to analyze people, with a plan of action very well conceived, with a special ability to foresee the unforeseen and to act quickly and efficiently.

On the other hand, the role of the team is not to be underestimated. A very good leader with a weak, unprofessional, divided team is just like a very good team with no leader. In both situations, the result is none other than a total fiasco.

Transmit to people the testimony of what you are, optimizing your actions according to your own functioning mechanism. In other words, the way in which you function is determined by how well you show off your potential, on the way you coordinate every decision, and the way you guide your actions.