Even before I reached the summit of Mount Everest, I had discovered many components of great leadership. Like you, I have read a book or two about leadership. I started creating lists of leadership qualities I had gathered from mentors, books and colleagues. But my profound understanding of leadership came from my experience on mountains leading teams. And as our team descended from the highest peak on earth, I became even more convinced that some qualities of leadership are far more important than others.

What makes an effective leader? When I present my Alpine Leadership Keynote talk at conferences and events, I share how climbing mountains has helped to shape the three components of great leadership that I call on the most.

The leadership skills and qualities needed to be successful in the Alpine world are the same as in the business world; the difference is the level of consequence. In the Alpine, bad leadership has the ultimate price.