If you have not heard about the heroics of Gelje Sherpa yet, here is a summary: He was ascending “the death zone” on Everest along with a client on 18 May 2023 when he noticed a fellow climber who was alone and in serious trouble – weak, without oxygen and without a Sherpa. Without thinking twice, Gelje Sherpa put an action plan in place and got the climber back to basecamp along with assistance from other fellow Sherpas.
Three things about the way he managed the situation stand out for me from a leadership point of view:
- As a highly experienced guide who has been involved in 55 rescues over the years, Gelje Sherpa recognised the signs that Ravichandran Tharumalingam of Malaysia desperately needed help. On his way to summit for the sixth time that month, Gelje Sherpa knew that he had to get involved or this man would be added to the list of the 12 Everest victims for this year so far. Experience taught him to know the signs, how to recognise the danger and to make a quick yet astute decision.
- In order to assist this gentleman, Gelje Sherpa had to get his client’s buy-in to change his goals: to abandon what would have in all likelihood been a successful summit attempt, to save a life. This takes communicating a compelling vision and strategy in a persuasive manner that gets commitment and buy-in from others to achieving the end goal.
- Along the arduous trip down, he met fellow Sherpas who he also encouraged to assist with the rescue. Altogether, six of them teamed up with a common goal in mind: getting Mr Tharumalingam to a helicopter so that he could be airlifted to basecamp, and get the medical attention that he desperately needed. As before, he needed to articulate the goal correctly. Furthermore, having experienced team members who he could lean on to assist with the rescue, and trusting them to perform under pressure, saw the rescue operation prove successful.
In one way or the other, each of us as business leaders have our own “Everest” that we are leading our teams up every day, and just as Gelje Sherpa was able to get Mr Tharumalingam – who is now recovering well in his home country – back to safety, we also need to support those around us.
Leadership is not about being a hero; it’s about courage – courage to make the tough calls, courage to choose a different path when needed, courage to ask for and accept help, and courage to do the right thing when called upon to do so.
Gelje Sherpa went on to tell CNN that this particular rescue was the “hardest in my life”. What a great example of a true leader.
