I was so thrilled to hear the news that my leadership cohort from BRG successfully completed their mission to ascend Mount Kosciuszko as part of Team Oscar in the Krazy Kosci Klimb. In doing so, they assisted in raising much needed funds for Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA), a charity I’ve proudly been involved with for over a decade.
And as David Anderson, my fellow Co-founder of BRG aptly expressed “so much more was achieved than just climbing a mountain. Surrounded by amazing people supporting others to achieve their goals, I was reminded of the fundamental importance of team and collaboration, and how it’s not always a sprint to reach the top, sometimes pace is needed to ensure the whole team is on board.”
It’s remarkably true, how as leaders, we need to be cognisant of the pace we set. It’s easy to pull ahead, but you have to make sure you’re bringing everyone along with you. It was fascinating to hear so many inspirational stories from the event, of so many different people, with different skill sets and attributes, brought together to achieve a single goal. And how as everyone rose to their individual strengths, they contributed as a whole.
Madeleine Robins, BRG’s Director of People and Culture, shared a heart-warming story from the event. Hannah Diviney, a teenager who founded the Krazy Kosci Klimb so young people like her could benefit from the life changing rewards that challenge events bring, spoke at the pre-event dinner.
Hannah asked a room full of participants and supporters, to put their hand up if any of them were ever told they can’t do something. Or if they ever felt on the outside. A sea of hands went up. She said “you see, we’re all the same. Disability, no disability, we’re all fighting the same battles to be heard and seen.”
And Hannah is exactly right, wise beyond her years. Because in life and business, we all have battles to overcome. But if you can pool the collective strengths from the people that surround you, you have a far greater chance of achieving great outcomes.
As for 12-year-old Oscar, who set his big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) of summiting the mountain, an impressive 18-kilometre round trip, well he did it! He was the first to dart across the start line, and first to finish for the team. As he neared the finish, he reached back for his younger sister Sadie’s hand who had joined him on his journey, and they crossed the line.
How many people will you take on your journey, and will they be with you at the finish line?
Naomi
PS If you would like to support Team Oscar and CPA, there’s still time. Enter the raffle to Win Experiences for 2 for an Entire Year, entries close on February 26th 2021. T&Cs apply
Also published on Medium.
