Having lived in Sydney (the most beautiful city on Earth) all of my life, I have seen the Harbor Bridge literally thousands of times. It is one of the most distinguished features of our city, and I have been under it by boat, across it by car, train, and foot, and have flown over the top of it in a plane countless times.
Not long ago, I decided to face my fear of heights by undertaking the famous “bridge-climb” with my husband Nick. As we put on our very “attractive” outfits and harnesses, I remember looking up to the 134-meter-high summit, wondering why I had allowed Nick, my very risk-loving (and sometimes a bit too daring) husband talk me into this “adventure.” Needless to say, we survived the walk, and I learned many leadership tips from this “stretching” experience.
1. Prepare carefully
Before we even got onto the bridge, we had to undertake a preparation process on the ground so that we were aware of all the possible dangers and challenges that we could encounter.
When it comes to leadership, we must prepare and plan for our journey ahead; otherwise, we will just be wandering aimlessly. We need to factor in as many variables as we can in order to be prepared.
2. Train your people
Before we embarked on our climb, the experts taught us how to climb the ladder, hold onto the rails, and how to have three points of contact at all times. They showed us how to do it, they practiced it with us, and they watched us as we did it on our own. Only after making sure that we were well trained did they send us out onto the bridge.
We must equip our people to perform the tasks that we require. If we do not train them properly, then there will be frustration, and the desired outcomes will never be achieved. It is often not a lack of ability, but rather a lack of training that is a team’s downfall.
3. Listen to the instructions
Even though the climb appeared to be easy and like it would not require a lot of time, it ended up taking over three hours! This is because we had to stop to receive further instructions many times and different parts of the climb required different skills. We had to listen to know what to do next.
If you do not listen, then you will not know what to do in various situations. As leaders, we need to listen to those who have gone before us and to the voice of the Spirit so that we can complete our objectives.
4. Stay connected
As our group climbed the bridge, we were all attached to a rope with people in front and behind us. In order to move forward, we all had to move together, and no one was able to complete the climb until everyone completed the climb.
Leadership requires the constant effort of keeping everyone moving in a single direction and at the same time in order to achieve a desired result or outcome. Staying connected to the same rope kept us from getting off the path (or falling off the bridge), and if someone tripped, there was always another person to help pick him or her up.
5. Be accountable to the results that you achieve
I was particularly impressed when the guides handed out the review papers for us to assess their performance. Through these reviews, the guides were held accountable for their actions and rated based on the level of leadership they had demonstrated during the bridge walk.
As leaders, we must be open to evaluation and have a constant commitment to improvement. We should not be afraid of the results of our efforts or resistant to the instruction of others. Leaders are not lone-rangers.
6. Enjoy the trip
We had fun! Although there were some anxious moments, overall everyone enjoyed the journey. Life is meant to be fun, and we need to ensure that the journey we take our followers on is not so intense that there is no joy. I love Psalm 100:2, which says, “Worship the LORD with gladness.” It doesn’t say serve the Lord with madness or sadness, but rather with a sense of joy. Life has many challenges, and we must always keep our sense of humor.
7. Lead people where they are at
The guides had the responsibility to take 10 people from all different levels of fitness and age and get them to the top of the bridge and back. It would have been easier if we were all fit, all healthy, and all the same age, but that was not the reality of the situation.
We must lead those in the church and help each of them fulfill their potential (climb their bridge) from where they are spiritually. At all times, we must remember that we are leading people who are at different stages of their faith journey, and our job is to get everyone to take the next step no matter where they are at. This is not an easy task, as it can be challenging to keep those at the top interested while keeping it simple enough for those at the other end of the spectrum to not grow frustrated or give up.
8. Know where you are going to and how long it will take you
The leader understood that we should be in a given place at a given time during our bridge walk in order to see the sunset in the best location. We had a clearly mapped out path, a plan of how long each stage of the climb would take, and an estimated finish time. The guides monitored this timing constantly throughout the climb to ensure that we accomplished our task.
We must make sure that we are working according to a plan and schedule in every area of our leadership responsibilities. It shows a respect for others and keeps us accountable. In all that we do, we must aim to start and finish on time and have a clear timeline established so that everyone can work together towards the end goal.
9. Encourage those you are leading
I was impressed at how our guides found ways to encourage all of us individually throughout the climb. There were times people were obviously struggling, but their encouragement made all the difference.
As leaders, we can help people by believing in them and articulating that support frequently and sincerely. People are capable of far more than they think, and our job as leaders is to bring out the best in them and help them to do more than they ever thought possible.
10. Take time to celebrate
When we finished the climb, it was almost as if we had just won an Olympic Gold medal. We clapped, cheered, and high-fived one another, and there was a great sense of accomplishment and victory. We had achieved what many of us (including myself) had been unsure we could actually do. Some people conquered their fear of heights, while others achieved a life long dream.
Often in church life, we can get so caught up with the next project that we forget to take time to celebrate and thank God. I have found that a team who can celebrate together tends to stay together longer. There will always be the “next thing” that we have to do, but make sure that you always take the time to celebrate along the way.
