I have just returned from what was easily a trip of a lifetime. From August 18th to September 20th, I walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known as The Way of St. James. The Camino is a hike through the pilgrimage route to the shrine of the apostle St. James, in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. In Santiago, the pilgrim receives their “compostela” a certificate of sorts, which proves they’ve walked the Camino, receiving the requisite stamps in their pilgrim’s passport, along the way. While there are many routes to Santiago through this pilgrimage, the most common and the one we took, is called the “French Route” or “Camino Frances”. This 800km route goes from a small border town in France (Saint Jean Pied-de-Port) across the border into Spain, through Navarra and into Galicia, northwestern Spain, to Santiago. Earliest records of this pilgrimage to St. James’ shrine date back to the 9th century and while this ‘Camino’ has never ceased, from the time of the discovery of the remains of St. James, to this day, the reasons why people take on this challenge have changed dramatically. For some, the earliest reason for undertaking this pilgrimage still remains their reason for doing the Camino, what the Catholic Church defined as penance or atonement for sins. For the modern day pilgrim, the reasons to do the Camino are as varied as the numbers of people that decide to take this on every year (estimated at over 200,000 people).
My reasons were similar to many with whom I walked. I was seeking to scale down, strip away the many things that had begun to encumber my mind, to reveal those that would serve me better, as opposed to continue to distract and cause clutter. What better way, I thought, but to walk for 35 days, the 800km, with a 17-pound backpack on my back that contained everything that I would need for those days. Just the thought of that packing day, still brings a smile to my face. I remember weighing everything!! I mean everything, because what ever you decide to take, will be weight on your back – do you really need more then two t-shirts? What about that shampoo and conditioner, can you survive with something that will do triple duty; used to wash your cloths, wash your hair and wash your body??
What I discovered was that the Camino is representative of life, and those lessons I learned on this Camino are more then just life lessons. It struck me on one of the hottest and longest days that those life lessons I was learning, would also support any leader’s growth to successful leadership. While there are many things I learned during this experience, in an interest to simplify and cut the clutter, I’ve distilled them down to the 5 most important and hope that embracing just a few will help you on your own “Camino” to strong, enlightened leadership.
1. You can’t do it alone
You’ve heard it many times and in many ways, “no woman is an island”. Well on the Camino this is tested and proved out almost immediately. For me, I was not derailed by my physical inability to move forward due to injury, but I was, more then once, side-tracked by the mental and emotional weight of this endeavor. One day in particular, I felt the enormity of the feat and all that was going through my mind was, “oh my god, I’ve gone 300km and still have 500km to go!” It was an overwhelming day and I couldn’t see past the voices in my head saying, I couldn’t do it. The support I got on that day taught me many things. Firstly, I learned that if you agree that you’re not in it alone, you must also voice how you’re feeling, open up, warts and all, otherwise no one will know what’s going on in your mind. Secondly, as my friend Kelly put it, “no one will do the walking for you, you have to be the one to put one foot in front of the other on the Camino, but you don’t have to walk alone.” Ask for help, advice, and assistance whenever you need it. This will do two things for you. You’ll get perspective that is different then your own and you just might learn something.
2. It’s all about adaptability
Everyday you plan your day on the Camino, checking out the guidebook and looking at the amenities, topography and services, which lay ahead on the route. Every day, you walk on the path and try to look forward to see if you can see the route that lies before you. Every day, you’re bewildered by the twists and turns and how you had not been able to foresee where you were actually going and the exact route is only revealed once you come upon it. This is the Camino. You can plan all you want but not only is the real road unclear, but also all the figuring out and the reading in the guidebook, is not necessarily what you discover. Often the road takes you to a place you had not planned, it’s how you deal with this that matters. The lesson here is about your agility and those that fair the best are the ones that can actually take what comes. It’s important to prepare, but it’s also important to leave room for the twists and turn
3. No one escapes without bumps/bruises/bites or blisters
It’s fascinating how those you meet on the Camino become so close to you, so quickly. One of the reasons that this is the case could be due to the shared hardships that us pilgrims go through together. In your ‘real life’ you would never meet someone for the first time and start off by saying ‘how are you feet?’ ‘Do you have any blisters yet?’ ‘What are you doing about your blisters?’ ‘Are you bursting the blister, using compeed, moleskin…?’ I have to say that I have never talked more about my feet and the tips and tricks to keep them from sabotaging my progress, in my life. What you realize is that everyone is going through the same thing, just in different ways. Most importantly, the lesson for me was that if you’re fully committed, you will experience challenges; this is true of everyone, some more obvious then others and some more debilitating then others. The thing is that as a leader, you want to be ‘fully committed’ and you need to be looking for people to surround yourself with, who are equally committed. Just be prepared for bumps and bruises along the way, but together you will get through it.
4. Take the time to look around
There is something that you hear on the Camino, almost more then ‘how are you feet?” and it’s quite simply… “The Camino provides”. I often thought that that saying was a little too esoteric for me – and what does it really mean…’the Camino provides’? If you have the chance to experience the Camino, you learn what it means very quickly. Just when you think that the sun could not get any hotter and the road could not be more barren, you feel a cool breeze or turn a corner to discover the entrepreneurial spirit of the man who’s set up a pop-up coffee/coca cola/ice cream and sandwich truck, complete with tents for shade, right in the middle of literally no where.
The lesson is to stay present, aware and alert to what’s around you. You’ll discover what is good and what is bad, about your organization. Often the things you don’t want to see have been under your nose the whole time. The good news is that so have the things that will turn things around or will grow the business; just in the way you need it to grow.
5. You may not be the ‘you’ you thought you were
During my time on the Camino, my ideas about myself were challenged. Obviously, completing something like this, teaches you that you have the kind of capability that is beyond what you could imagine. But you also learn about your resiliency, your openness to change, your ability to stay agile, your ability to deal with the unknown and your ability to deal with adversity. What is also revealed is that many of the ‘stories’ that you have made up about yourself are not necessarily true. We all have things that we say to ourselves that in some way either define our limitations or give credence to our behavior. Some of those things for me included, I can just do ‘it’ on my own, for myself, and I don’t need anyone’s help. I learned that this, in fact is not true, it was just a story I was telling myself to keep from being disappointed in people. The truth is that I ‘need’ people and not in the way that implies reliance or dependence, because I was taught that that showed weakness, but in a way that was more about community and camaraderie. It is not necessarily who you think you are, but the you that is honestly revealed to you during this or any challenge, that will teach you the most about what will be truly fulfilling. Being open to this will support your leadership in ways that you cannot begin to imagine.
P.S. I want to thank the unbelievable support that I got during this journey. I know that I could not have done it without you all, my Camino family, the encouraging words from home and of course my husband. From you, I learned to never quit, that there’s more strength inside of me then I thought and since you believed in me, it made me believe in me too.