River rafting is a popular option that corporates choose to encourage team building and engage people. As hoards head to a river head for a day of fun on rafts through the rapids, they often come out enjoying themselves and create a bond of sorts. Two aspects come to mind as to why the bonding spirit is ignited. First – is avoiding flips on the rapids together as a team and experience respective roles as team contributors and leaders. Second – and perhaps more important – fear. The danger of the rapids sucking you in is real and instigates both self-preservation and dependence. These are key to keep people flocked together. Never happens back in the offices – there is no real danger, is there?
But trekking is a different story. Sure, there are dangers there to – that of succumbing to altitude sickness or falling off a rocky ledge – but not proportionate to what can happen on a river. There is something different at play, as I first found out to my amazement in the summer of 2003, my early trekking days.
I met with nine unknown people on a train at Sealdah (Kolkata) railway station to head to North Bengal. Our initial destination was a base camp on the last road head in West Sikkim, the quaint town of Yuksom at 1780 meters – the former capital of the Namgyal kingdom. The overnight train journey was only about simple introductions and pleasantries – sizing up each other. Eventually, when we reached Yuksom, our target became real and unanimous – to reach our goal at 4500 meters!
The moment we assembled on the first morning in our gear and ruck sacks there was a different sense of camaraderie far removed from the meaningless pleasantries of the night before. We were all unknown to each other but seeing us all attired the way we were, the sense of excitement of what lay ahead for all of us created a common understanding and a mental meeting point – a sense of inexplicable unity. We were a stone’s throw from the high mountain peaks – Kanchenjunga, Goecha, Pandim and the other seven-thousanders and it generated a singular and focussed purpose – a goal that was selfless. My achievement was our achievement! We rallied around each other, to pick up loads, lend a shoulder when one of us was temporarily incapacitated but all with that one objective to achieve our target.
Once done, and back to base, we hugged and patted our tired shoulders to get back home. I headed straight for a senior team strategy meeting of the firm I was with at that time. What hit me was stark. Around the table were people who had their own personal agenda, daggers in their cloaks, to outrace each other at all costs. It made it amply clear to me that the reasons for corporate disunity is the absence of congruence in people’s purpose. There is no such thing as “Corporate Purpose”. A corporate body is inanimate. It is really about the purpose of the people that Leaders assimilate and converge to make it the corporate purpose. “Purpose” is the summation and aggregation of each one’s personal goals, aspirations, and values. The sooner corporate leaders understand that the better for the community!
