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Leadership Unlocked
What Does it Mean to be an Authentic Leader?
Being an authentic leader is about more than just being true to yourself
I stopped and stared at the footprint. It was about the size of a dinner plate and as far as I was concerned it was not supposed to be there. Unfortunately, no matter how long I stared at it, the print would not disappear from the otherwise pristine snow. It was undoubtedly a polar bear footprint, but I had assumed no bear would come this far up into the mountains. The evidence in front of me told me I was wrong. The problem was I had planned against this false assumption and decided, that to save weight, I would not carry my rifle and ammunition with me when we scaled the mountain. A rifle is not a usual bit of mountaineering equipment but when you are in a remote location in Greenland it is better to carry a rifle than to become a hungry bear’s mid-morning snack.
Gazing at the footprint reminded me of a joke. Two guys are camping, and a bear appears and starts growling. The first guy immediately opens his rucksack and starts to put on his training shoes. The second guy says “Your crazy! You can’t outrun a bear!” The first guy replies, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.”
My climbing partner asked me why I was smiling.
Exit pursued by a bear
It would have been somewhat insensitive to share what I had been thinking. I probably could outrun my climbing partner but, considering she was also my wife, I was not going to point this out. If I did, I would have not remained alive, or married, long enough to do anything.
I pushed the distracting thoughts away and considered our options. We could head back to the tent for the rifle — which would take at least an hour — or continue up the mountain. I figured that if the polar bear was still around then the traverse back to the campsite would be the most likely way to meet it. Therefore, we choose to continue up the mountain. Hopefully, by the time we were done, the bear would have moved on, heading back to the glacier for some tasty seal, rather than following us any higher.
I hoped.
