James Kerr is the author of Legacy, the global bestseller, which unpicks the secrets of the world’s most successful sporting team, the All Blacks. The book has been described as ‘seminal’ by the Independent newspaper and ‘unputdownable’ by Bloomberg.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper called it the ‘modern version of Vince Lombardi’s guides to coaching’ and says ‘for those searching for genuine keys to team culture, it is manna from heaven.’
James Kerr recently gave a webinar, hosted by London Speaker Bureau, giving lessons in leadership learnt from his experience on Everest, as well as his performance tips learnt from the ethos of the All Blacks…
At 11.56 on April 25, 2015, a 7.8 megawatt earthquake hit Nepal. It killed 9,000 people, displaced over 1.5 million families, and killed 20 climbers in Everest Base Camp – the worst day in the mountain’s history.
The Gurkhas – the Nepali attachment to the British Army – were in the thick of it. Buried in Basecamp, avalanched on the Icefall, trapped on the mountain, theirs is an incredible story of adventure and adversity, leadership and teamwork, and ‘doing the right thing on a difficult day.’
Two years later they were on the mountain again … attempting to reach the top. James Kerr – the bestselling author of Legacy – was with them. In his recent webinar he asks ‘what does it take to reach the top?’ ‘What happens when everything changes?’ ‘How do you overcome adversity to reach your goal’. What are the principles of a high performing team’ And what can we learn from the Gurkhas and Everest about business, leadership and life?
In the webinar, Kerr explains the 3 primary lessons that he learnt during his time at Everest’s base camp: Aptitude, Altitude and Attitude.
APTITUDE – putting the right team together with the appropriate characteristics and chemistry is integral to succeeding. Kerr tells us that wars are not necessarily lost or won on the battle field, but often as a result as what goes on within the platoon. Meaning that having the optimal team in place is imperative.
ALTITUDE – at altitude, Kerr explains, everything is difficult meaning that teams require significant mindfulness in every aspect of the task at hand. It is necessary to be conscious and mindful of the situation at hand when considering the terrain and all other aspects of the expedition.
ATTITUDE – Without this final element, Kerr tells us that the other two would be redundant. It is critical to have the right attitude as this is what really makes the difference. Teams must be invested in the task at all levels. Kerr references the distributed leadership model which tells us that all members of the team must share in the same attitude towards their role within the team.
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