As a geographer, I suppose it should be of no surprise that I often find that landscape images spark my imagination when trying to describe the process of leadership development.

I have been reading the book, The Living Mountain by Nan Shepperd which describes her life-long encounter with the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland.  In her book she draws a distinction between those whose goal is to reach the top of a mountain and those that are focused on the long climb.  She says, “The short-sighted cannot love mountains as the long-sighted do.  The sustained rhythm of movement in a long climb has also its part in inducing the sense of physical well-being, and this cannot be captured by any mechanical mode of ascent.”

I have been thinking on the difference between short-sighted modes of obtaining leadership versus long-sighted movements, according to Sheppard’s distinctions. Short-sighted modes include strategizing on how to get to the top as quickly as possible and “techniques” to use to achieve this goal—loving the top but not the mountain.  I see long-sighted movements as those that get pleasure out of the hard work and discipline of building something good with others—there is a sustained rhythm of skill-building and the inherent satisfaction from the personal growth that comes from taking on one challenge after another on the path.  And I wonder if this long-sighted, character-building rhythm doesn’t lead to deeper relationships within and across an organization.  The leader develops a deeper relationship and understanding of the institution itself.  I tie the long-sighted movement to character formation on the journey toward high leadership positions.  In many ways, once you are well on the long-sighted path, the short-sighted techniques may be helpful because they are implemented with wisdom and discipline.  However, the short-sighted without the character-formation is destructive.  A recent podcast titled, “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Church,” show the dangers of short-sighted modes over long-sighted life pathways.  The podcast points out the problems of leaders who come into positions before they have developed the character necessary for the role has been developed.

Many years ago, someone asked me why I was drawn to leadership roles.  In truth, I’m not sure I was drawn to leadership roles.  What I remember saying was that I was drawn to roles that required hard things of me—they required me to make difficult decisions with integrity, pushing me deeper as a person—I was drawn to the rhythm of the long-sighted path because it changed me and the journey gave me a deeper understanding of the institutions that I served.

Nan Shepperd says, “There is more in the lust for the mountain top than a perfect physiological adjustment.  What more there is lies within the mountain.  Something moves between me and it.  Place and a mind may interpenetrate till the nature of both is altered.  I cannot tell what this movement is except by recounting it.”   

May we be on the long-sighted path that changes both us and the institutions that we serve.