Mountain Climbing

The other week I walked up Snowdon with my girlfriend and two other close friends. We took the Watkin path which is about 4 miles long and has almost 1000m of ascent, including a difficult scramble for the last couple of hundred meters.

Despite it being hard work and freezing cold at the top we all have fond memories of the day. One of my mates even said, "I'm so proud of myself for getting up that scramble!"

We enjoyed it and have fantastic memories of it because we'd conquered a difficult challenge. It is the highest mountain in England and Wales after all!

And it's the same at work.

When someone completes a hard task or solves a tricky problem they are extremely proud of their achievement.

So, as a leader, delegate hard problems to challenge your colleagues and do the mundane stuff yourself. You colleague might struggle with the task at first, but as long as it's not unsolvable, they will feel a great sense of pride and triumph from completing the problem.

But remember; people like to climb mountains to get to the top. So make sure that the tasks set aren't too difficult. If you notice them having problems, give them some support and coaching to get through it.

Although climbing mountains is hard, it's enjoyable because you achieve something.

And our working lives should be exactly the same.