Many of you know that I’m a section hiker of the Appalachian Trail. So far, I’ve done about a quarter of the 2,200 mile trail.

For my first trip I packed far too much. I had about 45 pounds in the backpack just for a couple of days. At the end of my hike, I had a memorable encounter with a through-hiker – someone who hikes the entire trail in one season.

He looked at my pack and said: “I know what you have in your pack”. I thought, he has no idea. Partly because there was so much useless stuff in it. He said “Yeah, but I still know what is in there … It’s all your fears.”

What he meant was that I carry food because I’m afraid to be hungry for even a short while. I carry clothes (far too many) because I’m afraid of all sort of weather possibilities – and of getting wet. I carry (don’t laugh) bacon for breakfast because I’m afraid to not being comfortable.

I’ve come to realize that I do the same in other parts of life as well (do we keep photos because we’re afraid we forget?).

Most importantly, I also notice it in leadership. In preparing for too many contingencies and possibilities simple because I’m afraid of not being able to deal with it in the moment.

Take the Next Step

 

What are areas where you hold on to things because giving them up seems risky? Where does the need to be ready for a myriad of contingencies show up in you leadership? How does it impact your team?

If you want to go a bit deeper, here’s one of my articles that was published recently by The Financial Managermagazine about my adventures on the Appalachian Trail and the leadership lessons I take from them.