Life lessons from a mountain
By Dolores Sorzana, Account Manager Lead.
The task wasn’t easy.
A poorly prepared team, low foresight of what we were going to find and panic of vipers, pumas, precipices… you name it, in any order. Nevertheless, what wasn’t lacking was the curiosity to see what would come after the first step, the longest of all.
My expectation was to go as far as I could. However, along the way, I began to feel the adrenaline of the summit. “You set your own top” I heard several times on the way up.
As we walked I realized that, many times, the best chance is given by creativity applied to the moment. No matter how much foresight, marked paths or intermediate stops there may be, there’s nothing better than being able to solve the problem in the face of a reality that shows us that the final result isn’t always in accordance with the plan we had made. Where do I go on the curve that isn’t on the map?
My travel companions were the perfect encouragement. Each one in the place where they were needed: guidance, support, inspiration, discipline, support, curiosity, direction, perseverance, companionship, listening, reliance, enjoyment… Creating step by step made me think about how important it is to be able to progress in life, stepping firmly in what exists, without ceasing to visualize what we aspire it to be. It sounds easy, but you have to take it one step at a time.
At some point along the way I discovered that the journey is what I want it to be; and that there is a point of no return, where we internally decide whether we go all-in or we decide to plant the flag wherever we are…
But, why am I writing about the Cerro Uritorco?
Because in my years of coordinating work teams --which are many and highly valued by me, I’ve learned to look at the elements that I believe make a high performance team.
The magic of alchemy, with quotas of everything I went through in this journey: passion, learning, flexibility, curiosity, perseverance, solidarity… The confidence and certainty that emerges from the interaction of the elements that each person brings to the team; the possibility of the perfect formula arises.
A little postcard of myself and the mountain that put me to the test and allowed me to reaffirm how essential multidisciplinary elements are and to corroborate that there’s value in diversity.
I really enjoy working with people. It’s my passion and -no doubt- I’m still looking for that summit that pushes us to learn more and more about the importance of looking at our teams, learning to accompany ourselves on the way, and learning to enhance what emerges from our interactions. And that peak is much higher than the Uritorco.
As Jorge Luis Borges once said: “Among things, there’s one thing that no one on earth regrets, to have been brave.”
