simplerich

I have a thing for hills. I knew it early on and haven’t really tried to stop myself from indulging myself when it comes to hills. I like to know what’s on the other side of them.

When I lived in Germany one of our houses (we moved, didn’t have multiple houses at the same time) was at the bottom of a hill that seemed to go forever, covered in wheat and vineyards. I remember climbing forever to get to the top of that hill. The other side was just like the side I’d climbed up. But it didn’t haunt me any more. I didn’t need to keep climbing it. Once was enough.

I went to a park this weekend and went hiking and was surrounded by hills to climb. I couldn’t have been happier. I ran up one… not all the way up, and while it started as run, slowed to a jog, and ended with me panting and gasping for breath like a trout on a pier. I got there faster. And the other side was pretty much like the side I was on already. I don’t climb the hills because I believe the grass is greener or because I intellectually believe I may stumble through a wardrobe into Narnia. I don’t hate not knowing what’s on the other side of the hills. I always am just excited to discover it. The discovering something is the thing. I like going to see. I like exploring. I like finding something I hadn’t found before. this weekend I found this wind-tortured tree on the hill as I came around it out of the shade of the woods and into the small clearing at the top. There was a hawk sitting on the tree branch when I hove into view. But my breathing scared him off. This was the hill I ran up.

I was going to go on to talk about how people and what they can accomplish is something similar to me. I like finding out what people are capable of, and how far they can go if we let them. It’s a different kind of discovery to see how far your employees can go. But it’s part of what I most love about management. I’ve said many times I’d love whole stores full of people trained and poised to take my job and capable of it. That would be an excellent position for me to be in. I’m not afraid of where they might go. I’m thrilled at the prospect that with an army of people I’ve trained up around me ready and willing to move forward I’m freed up to move anywhere I want. Having a replacement isn’t a threat. It’s liberating! It’s what allows me to go explore the next hill top.

So what hills have you left unclimbed because you didn’t have a great crew to watch the shop while you’re away? Away on business meetings, developing customers, taking a vacation, climbing hills, or whatever. Have you made yourself indispensable to your employees? Why would you do that? Get out of their way. Help them to find out what is on the other side of your hill. Be a way for them to get up, and not a thing that blocks their view.

The What is on the other side? by Rich Griffith, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.