I’ve had the privilege of exploring high altitude mountains in and outside Kenya as a hiker. When I’m out there in the wild, I think about the lessons I can pick from the different experiences that I would translate in the workplace.

When I write an article like this, I like to always start with a disclaimer – if you are ever looking for a ‘fun’ activity to make a hobby, hiking definitely does not qualify. That’s because aside from the physical and mental strength that you need to walk those steep trails, sometimes outside factors such as altitude changes and extreme weather – extreme cold, heavy rains and strong winds – especially in the high altitude regions make the experience daunting. So why choose hiking then? You might want to ask. If you love nature, outdoors and the calmness and freedom it brings with it, if you enjoy challenging your physical capabilities and mental strength, if you want to build your endurance and mental toughness and if you want to discover the simplicity of life, you might want to try hiking. Most hikers I know will be swearing never to do it again, cussing, threatening their friends and fighting for their lives for 5-7hrs on the trail and soon after start planning for their next hike immediately they enter the vehicle back home. It is a cult – pun intended.

I’m just coming back from Mt. Kilimanjaro’s Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa – I still smell like the alpine desert and the heath and moorland. And before I can post my victory dance (which I rightfully deserve but doesn’t have because that trail nearly took me out), my experience starting from preparing for this hike to the six days spent on the mountain is why I’m writing this article. Hiking expeditions are not cheap, emotionally and financially, and like any other investment, you want to look at your return on investment (ROI). As a HR professional, I’m aware that organizations want to see the ROI in any project they put their money, time and resources into. And that’s why as a hiking client, I’m very keen on the experience I have during the entire hike because I’d love to see my ROI. With that said, these are my key take always during this and previous expeditions that you may look at when it comes to your work:

1. Focus on the now – just like your work, hiking is a project that has a lot of moving parts that all lead to the desired result – getting to your summit point (also, this is generally glorious!). Like any major project, it can be overwhelming emotionally. You must learn to break down the project into smaller tasks/moments and deal with them one day (or hour) at a time. Like hiking, instead of focusing on the summit day alone, think about what you need do on a day by day basis until the summit day. For example: one week to – gear cleaning and check; 2 days to – packing; day 1 of hike – walk 10km the rest etc. If you become too obsessed with just the summit, you might be too overwhelmed and end up not summiting. This is the same with focusing only on the end result at work without thinking about what needs to be done daily to get there. Every activity leads you to your end goal; break it down, make it easy to track and that way, you’ll see progress.

2. Planning is key – you don’t just wake up one morning, hop into a bus and head to Mt. Kilimanjaro. There is a lot of ground work that needs to be done prior. You must assemble the right gear, organize transport, accommodation, meals and most importantly, hike atleast 2high altitude mountains prior so you can know how your body responds to high altitudes. Mt. Kilimanjaro sits at 5,895m above sea level. I’m sure that the altitude where you currently stay isn’t even half of that so that altitude shift can cause a lot of physical and emotional strain on you if not prepared. And just like your work project, planning ensures that you have the resources and support you need in the course of it. As they say, failing to plan is actually planning to fail.

3. Every member of the team is important – something I like to remind employees and managers during the leadership trainings that I facilitate often is that the office cleaner or security guard is as important as the CEO or CFO. Both their roles contribute to organizational success by design. On the hiking trails, the guide or medical team is an important as the porter or cook/waiter. If one of them slacks, your hiking experience can turn very nasty. You can imagine hiking a steep or even flat terrain with your porter’s bag on your back for 5days or not having a guide when you attempt to hike the mountains in the Aberdare. That’s when you will experience first hand what premium tears feel like. You must learn to respect each team member’s job and treat each one of them with the same respect regardless of the job title. If the tea girl doesn’t show up for work, I’m sure the CEO will not be volunteering their time and tea cooking expertise for that day.

4. Appreciate cultures and diversity – I’ve hiked in Kenya and Tanzania and I can tell you for sure, the cultures are worlds apart. Kenyans are very quick/fast compared to Tanzanians who are way too relaxed – as a Kenyan, your hiking gear must a ton of patience when you go to Tanzania. Both my experiences in Kenya and Tanzania have been great, however, I noted (and this is something that the Kenya Wildlife Service needs to look into expeditiously), Tanzania has professionalized the hiking experience. First, the hiking crew is trained and licensed unlike Kenya where we rely on the ‘experienced guides’ – it’s basically anybody’s show. You cannot enter Mt. Kilimanjaro hiking trails if the park officials haven’t confirmed that you are supported by atleast 4-6people – a professional guide, a porter and a cook. The hikig crew are around the clock team – they hype you to the top, carry your day bag if you need help and so on. They are more organised, have Associations and their wages bands approved by the government. One of the shockers for me was the tipping culture in Kilimanjaro. In Kenya, you may tip your guide with say Kshs. 1,000 and above. In Kilimanjaro, there is a minimum standard expectation of a tip of $100 per hiker. For most Kenyans, this is still a struggle – cultural differences. In your work place, understand the varied backgrounds of your team members and work with or around it.

5. Experience over Job Titles – most of us love fancy job titles, we are proud of them, we hang them around our necks and demand for the respect that comes with them. However, there are places where your job title becomes irrelevant and people are more interested in knowing what you can do. That was us during the Mt. Kilimanjaro hike. On those trails, you find high profile people – doctors, professors, millionaires etc. However, once you start walking the trails, the Guides become the law. What they say goes – literally! We received very specific instructions, ‘listen to the Guides!’, and we did. If the Guide said stop or sip water, everyone obeyed, if they said ‘you can’t continue with the climb, you must start going down now’, that’s exactly what you had to do. They understand the trails, they’ve seen altitude sickness hit people in the worst possible ways and they are able to tell the symptoms and manage them the best possible way. In that moment, their experience mattered more than your fancy title – you simply obeyed.

6. You may fail – this is one of the most brutal and real lesson I’ve picked on the hiking trail. As a hiker, you may do everything right but still fail to summit. This is because just like any project you have at work, there are external factors that come into play once the project has began that are outside of your control, could not have been foreseen at the beginning and unfortunately leave you with nothing that you can do about them which eventually cost you the success of the project. In hiking, one such factor is altitude sickness. When I first attempted to hike the Mackinders Camp – Teleki trail in Mt. Kenya, I was well prepared but when we got to the trail, the winds were so strong, it was extremely cold and the trail was steep from the starting point onwards. I had to make the hard decision to turn back halfway through especially when my fingers started swelling from the cold, ears blocked, I started feeling sleepy, headache set in and I could barely breathe properly. I’ve seen the disappointment in seasoned hikers when they fail to summit far too many times. However, just like we are told at the beginning of every hike, you must remember that the mountain is not going anywhere – you are! You must live to try another day. Be okay with that.

Now, as we close on this piece, as a professional in your field, you must remember that there is someone out there who is better than you – professionally and/or in every other aspect of life. The advantage you have over all of them is that you are the only YOU that exists. Know thyself – your strengths and weakness and learn how to utilize both. Move at your own pace, because this life is not going anywhere – you are!  Part of the hiking creed we recite before each hike says – ‘I’m a hiker, not a marathoner…… I shall maintain a moderate pace to save my life……’ Ladies and gentlemen, as you continue to pursue the ‘high altitudes’ of your career and life, know your ‘moderate pace’ and move with it.

On the next mountain….!!!