Roots and Mountains: The Tension Between Career Growth and Personal Health

Inevitably, you have thought about what’s next: when and how to retire, what’s the next role, how to hit the next bonus, etc. We are always looking for what’s next.
 
There’s a leadership cliché that’s pretty true for most – “Leadership is lonely at the top”. It’s stated as a reality, but I wonder if that’s the reality because of how we lead. Does it have to be isolating?
 
It’s interesting, when you climb a mountain, vegetation and growth stops at 11,500 feet. Meaning there’s an elevation level that prevents growth because nothing can take root. We strive to climb, but sometimes the higher we climb, the weaker our roots become because we become less connected.
 
We use mountain climbing as a constant analogy for leadership development, and I’m starting to think we’ve been getting it wrong. I’m starting to think the analogy has helped create an isolated and unhealthy leadership culture.
 
Most people who have climbed a fourteener (a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 ft) have stories about someone in the group who didn’t make it. Someone had to stop and turn back. They couldn’t handle it, they got sick, they got nervous, or they weren’t prepared for the climb. Most people don’t make it to the top. There’s something exhilarating about planting the flag and seeing the view. It’s exhilarating, but you can’t survive long at the top of the mountain. The air is thin, there’s no protection, there’s no community, and a big storm will send you down.

Maybe, that’s why leadership at the top of the organization can often live in a place of anxiousness and fear, with no rest. There’s so much at stake underneath a leader’s stewardship and our shoulders can only bear so much weight. Vacations can’t alleviate all the pressure when we come right back to the mountain peak to lead.
 
We have this whole leadership metaphor wrong. Maybe we should stop climbing and start growing roots.
 
The root system of a healthy tree is connected to all the other trees in the forest. That connection gives the tree strength, nutrients, and the ability to weather adversity. That connection gives the tree the ability to provide to other trees what they need to stay strong and the ability for that tree to provide nutrients to the leaves and fruit so they can develop to become what they are supposed to be.
 
It's a fascinating picture. The more scientists study forests and trees, the more I see God's fingerprints. I believe God created the forest to show us a picture of how we should live: connected to one another ... helping one another ... in community with one another ... not in isolation ... not disconnected.
 
Ask yourself this ... What if we stopped isolating ourselves and started building more meaningful roots?
 
This is a challenge at the executive level because relationships change as your roles change. Peers you now lead will inevitably view you different because your role has changed. Family and friends who haven’t been in your shoes see the title, but don’t understand the weight on your shoulders and stress you feel.

They don’t understand that travel isn’t glorious. They don’t understand that travel isn’t optional. They don’t understand the weight of leading a 3-billion-dollar business and managing 600 employees. They don’t get it and you know it. They don’t understand the pressures on your marriage that are different from theirs because the pressures of the role you have. This reality can make life lonely at the top, but I wonder if we get lonely because we forget how to build connection.
 
Relationships change. If you feel like you are at the top of the mountain struggling to stand firm, it’s time to grow a root system to be healthy.