I listened with fascination as a person I know recounted her journey to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa. It was an arduous journey but she made it all the way to the summit – thanks in large measure to those who accompanied her. The Tanzanian government recognized that the journey is difficult and dangerous so required each climber to be assigned five porters to help them.
What a beautiful model to follow when you are working on a difficult project on the ground. No one would consider climbing without a team –why do we assume that people will be able to achieve their goal alone instead of providing them with ample support? If you are the supervisor, you can instill it as a norm that challenging projects receive extra person-power to aid in completion. The mountain climbers would have never made it to the top without the assistance of the porters. Don’t leave your staff to navigate the heavy-lift without the resources to get there.
