Of Leadership and Weather….

So, I’m walking down the hall the other day into the nerve center of NOLS Professional Training. You must realize that at NOLS Headquarters each deptartment has its own identity and sense of flair. In NOLS Pro it’s along the lines of “do excellent work, but have a blast doing it.” Well, on this particular day, I noticed on the whiteboard the quote “failure is not an option” attributed to Gene Kranz of the Apollo 13 mission. When I asked about it, I was informed that the department has adopted it as a motto in response to the current economic situation facing our country and marketplace. I smiled, thinking to myself what a classic NOLS response that was.

One of the specific leadership skills we teach at NOLS is tolerance for adversity and uncertainty. By nature as an organization we excel at this skill. We have had ample opportunity to master it while spending years in the field suffering through storms and making navigational decisions without full clarity of the environment. So when the economy suddenly pulls a u-turn, we hunker down, tolerate the uncomfortable, take stock, and acquire a Zen-like patience for the unknown. NOLS is an organization that flourishes during crisis and challenge. It almost seems odd, but we are known for our ability to successfully put ourselves on teams and expeditions in the harshest environments, in the remotest locations on Earth, and accomplish great things. This is because we have a high capacity for the skill of tolerance for adversity and uncertainty.

Crazy circumstances are always going to show up in our professional and personal lives–much like weather does on NOLS courses. The skill of practicing tolerance for adversity and uncertainty is crucial to navigating the challenges. Leaders and organizations that practice this skill will actually flourish. “Weather” becomes indistinguishable as good or bad, it just represents a changing environment while en route to accomplishing our goals.