Leadership Lessons from a Climbing Adventure – Part 4 in a Series

I went rock climbing recently. It was a ball! I used to make time for it consistently and hope to make it more of a priority again.

It’s always fun to revisit an activity like that after years. You find that you have a whole new perspective. I am at a very different place in my life than I was when I last strapped those shoes on and tightened that harness.

I guess that I must still feel pretty at ease way up the wall because my mind was on more than where I would put my foot or hand next. I couldn’t help but think about how many analogies there are to make between climbing and leadership.

For instance, in climbing there are precise commands used to communicate. On belay, belay on, climbing, climb on. These are the precise commands used in the climbing world to assure that you and your belayer are on the same page. Very important. If you fall you certainly don’t’ want to hear, “oh I wasn’t ready”, “I didn’t know we were going”, or “I didn’t know what that meant!” That can mean doom with a fall.

It isn’t optimal to hear these phrases in your business either. Where are there constant missteps from a lack of communication, “I thought she was doing it.” “No one told me.” “He didn’t’ tell me she was coming.” “I never knew that was an issue.” On and on they go. Poor communication in business may not lead to physical injury (though it certainly can) but it does lead to lost productivity, poor customer service and drama.

What impact is poor communication creating in your business? Where do you need to fix weak links? Communication takes no money just intentional use of language and perhaps a little extra time but it can have a huge positive impact on your bottom line!