The Ultimate Marathon: 52 Hours of Tribal Leadership

Only five days ago students sat in front of the large whiteboard in the Patagonia Learning Center as I sketched out the five stages of Tribal Leadership as described by author and speaker David Logan (view his TED Talk). David Logan’s five stages of Tribal Leadership is a leadership model that demonstrates how small communities, or tribes, become more successful and innovative depending on their mental states, community relationship, and leader effectiveness.

Stage two of Logan’s Tribal Leadership Model demonstrates people who live with the mentality of “My Life Sucks.” While describing the differences between stages to the Capstone Leadership Classes, I took a moment to relate stage two of Tribal Leadership to an experience that we would soon partake in; traveling through the airport.

Thus the irony. 52 hours after leaving the Alzar School campus, a student, Hampton, and I sit patiently awaiting our third, and hopefully final attempt to board a flight from Boise to Los Angeles on our way to Chile. One incorrect name on a ticket, two nights in a hotel, three times through TSA security, four bags waiting in Houston, five flight delays, and many conversations with airline employees is more than enough to send someone tumbling into stage two of Tribal Leadership. The optimism and excitement that once existed with the promise of going abroad can be immediately inundated with the thoughts of “My Life Sucks.” Examples of these thoughts are:

• If an earlier flight hadn’t been canceled, I would have had time to change the initial ticketing mistake and my life wouldn’t suck, but it was canceled, so my life does suck.

• If it hadn’t snowed three feet in the Northwest, my life wouldn’t suck, but it did, and it’s still snowing, so my life does suck.

• If our airline didn’t have so many maintenance issues, my life wouldn’t suck, but they do, so my life does suck.

• If there wasn’t so much airline bureaucracy, my life wouldn’t suck, but airlines are unbelievably complicated, so my life does suck.

All too often we are sent tumbling into these toxic thoughts that make us angry, impatient, and ultimately bring out the worst sides of ourselves. It is in moments like these that I am reminded of the bigger challenge, to be kinder than you feel, and to rise to the occasion. These are the challenges that really show emerging leaders, the leaders who instead of being frustrated, accept and look forward. Refusing to get stuck in the negative cycle of “My Life Sucks,” we have continued to see the positive:

• If an earlier flight hadn’t been canceled, Hampton and I wouldn’t have gotten to spend many hours getting to know each other and learn new dice and card games.

• If it hadn’t snowed three feet in the Northwest, our rivers this spring would be low, and we am thankful for all the water that the Northwest can get.

• If our airline didn’t have so many maintenance issues, we wouldn’t have gotten 18 hours of sleep in comfy hotel beds, seen a beautiful Boise sunset, or the highly recommended movie, Green Book.

• If there wasn’t so much airline bureaucracy, we wouldn’t have met the kind airline and hotel employees, or taxi drivers that have reminded us of the kindness in the world.

Demonstrating strong qualities of leadership is a challenge that we choose to accept every moment of our lives. In the ways that we wake up in the morning, ask for help from strangers when we need it, and most importantly the way that we move through the most frustrating of experiences. As we get ready to board our first of many flights towards Chile, I find myself grateful for a good company, incredibly relative real life examples for class, and at least 10 years worth of travel karma.

UPDATE, 1:50 MST 2.13.19: Hattie and Hampton have reunited with the rest of the students and staff in Coyhaique, Chile!