The Mountain is Out
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Coffee in hand, I open the curtains in my dining room each morning to take in the skyline. I'm an early riser so it’s often pitch black with nothing to see for an hour or two this time of year.
But eventually dawn arrives and with it a first glimpse of the morning sky. Habitually, I look to see “if the Mountain is out”, to see if the weather is clear enough to see Mt. Rainier, known by local indigenous tribes as Tahoma.
I don't have an expansive, unobstructed view of its 14,410 feet (4,392 m), the tallest singular peak in the Lower 48 states.
In fact, most of the year a neighbor’s deciduous tree hides it from us. And it is always framed by a church steeple, a power pole, and a flagpole with American and Ukrainian flags.
Still, past the foreground stands the Mountain. And that’s what I’m looking for each morning. Some days it is covered in clouds. But other days, like today, I can see the distinct lines of its iconic silhouette. The sight is bolstering.
I was born here and have lived most of my life in the orienting presence of the Mountain. Its force is so strong that when traveling around the region, I almost always know where it is, even when I cannot see it. And by knowing where the Mountain is, I know where I am.
In your work, you want to be oriented to a purpose and to values so dependable that when the economic, business, or political weather falls you still know where you are. Your team members want that too.
Loving Leadership provides a strong purpose and a stable line of sight for each one to the ultimate goal. Help your team members to see it as often as possible so that they know where it is, no matter where they are. Especially when the clouds descend, the wind kicks up, and the rain is blowing sideways.
We have a saying in the South Puget Sound, “Live like the Mountain is out.” This means that even if the Mountain is covered in clouds, and we can't see it, we know it’s there. We can live with the same vigor as we would on a clear day. We need that in our work too!
Now go live like the Mountain is out!
