The Impassioned Workforce

A few months ago I was fortunate enough to witness a presentation by Sharon Wood, the first North American women to reach the summit of Mount Everest. During her presentation, Sharon relived the events that led to her climbing the highest mountain on Earth. She described how she originally became interested in climbing. How early successes led to increasingly challenging climbs and how she was selected to become part of the team that would attempt a summit reach in 1986.  

Sharon described her journey in passionate terms, as you might expect. But what was less expected was her humility and her graciousness in describing the impact of being part of a passionately committed team. The goal was clear (reach the summit), the route was picked (by the difficult West ridge and North face) and the competition was fierce. Not only were members of her team each personally motivated to reach the summit, but another team were also on the mountain and aiming for the same goal.

During moments of tremendous challenge and disheartening setbacks, Sharon continued her pursuit by adopting the mantra “better is possible”. At the end of each day, with her heart almost broken from the difficulty of this task she had set herself, she determined that she could do more. When close to giving up, she took her final tonic of strength and determination from the team members she arrived with. People who, although their own bid had ended, continued in their faith, support and encouragement to will Sharon to the peak. In sharp contrast, the team on the opposite face were isolated and independent from each other. Those who had lost their chance to bid for the summit were preparing to leave, while the remaining pair (including another woman with the potential to be the first North American woman to reach the top) struck out on their own. Sharon credits her accomplishment to the strength and support she received from her team mates when she was at her lowest ebb; her face and voice still showing how emotionally charged those memories are all these years later.

Believe me, if you ever need to hire a motivational speaker to keep your team going through the toughest of challenges, Sharon is outstanding!  She reminds us that no matter how tired we are, how tough the journey has been and how far we believe we still are from our goals – better IS possible. She also reminds us that no matter what a career superstar we are, we are only as good as the team around us. A team that is committed to the end result, for the greater good of the whole team, will more likely succeed than a collection of athletes only interested in their own bid for the peak.