Leading from the Back: Lessons I Learned While Cycling
Lake Agnes Tea House
This weekend my wife and I stayed at Deer Lodge in Lake Louise. My younger son, Daniel, is the head chef at the restaurant, Mount Fairview Dining Room).
Daniel Nelson, Head Chef at Deer Lodge in Lake Louise
On Sunday, we hiked up to Lake Agnes Tea House. At an altitude of 2,135 m and an elevation gain of 400 m, it took us 2 hours. But the rewards of the hike are outstanding. On the journey up we walked past Mirror Lake, Bridal Veil Falls, and eventually, we got to Agnes Lake. We enjoyed hot chocolate and a mountain bar.
Bridal Veil Falls just below Lake Agnes Tea House, near Lake Louise
The first tea house was built in 1905 and re-built in 1981. The lake is named after the very first First Lady of Canada - Lady Agnes MacDonald. She was the wife of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald. Lady MacDonald visited Lake Agnes in 1886 and was charmed by the hanging valley and the picturesque lake.
Hiking up the snowy trail just under Big Beehive on our way to Lake Agnes Tea House
The original tea house was built in 1901 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, as a resting point for hikers. Tea was first served in 1905. The log building that is the present tea house was built in 1981 but still features the original windows, tables, and chairs.
Lake Agnes Tea House near Lake Louise
If you are anywhere near Lake Louise be sure to take the time to make a visit to Lake Agnes Tea House. Most years they are open from early June until Canadian Thanksgiving Day from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
As Josie and I were hiking up, a group (or maybe a family) of about 10 people passed us. Then they stopped and at one of the switchbacks, we passed them. As is typical, the middle-aged men (pot bellies and balding) were in the front “leading” the group. As we passed them, I heard one guy shoulder his pack and say, “Grab your water bottles and pack, we need to get going.” My guess is that they didn’t want to be outpaced by a black woman and her aging husband.
Eventually, they passed us again. Both times I noticed a young boy of about 11 bring up the rear as the last person in the group. This got to thinking about leadership. I’ll ask you a question, “Is the first position in a group the best place to be when leading a group of people?” Before continuing to read the rest of this post, think about this question and formulate your answer.
Leading from the Back
My answer is that I love to lead from the back. By this, I mean leading a group of people when I’m in the last position - the rear or the tail end. Let me explain with some background details.
My first degree, from the University of Alberta, is in Recreation Administration. The area that I focused on was outdoor recreation. Back in the 80s when I was going to school, I loved learning about the outdoors, outdoor activities (notably surviving), and leadership. When I started, I led by being an example and being out front. That’s what I did. I would pick up my backpack and say, “I’m ready, let’s go.” It worked for me - people followed especially young campers who were 5-10 years younger than me. It is possible that at that stage in my development of leadership skills that it was okay. Peers and older adults, however, often made fun of me when I kept saying, “I’m ready, let’s go.” Along the way, I learned that there was another way to lead and that being at the front of the line was in fact the worst position to be as a leader.
I learned most of my early leadership skills while leading trips into the outdoors at Pioneer Ranch Camps here in Alberta. I started by teaching swimming. Then I graduated to lead campers on hiking trips, cycling trips, climbing trips, caving trips, canoeing trips, and even a few horse riding trips.
Before one of these trips, cycling to be specific, the director of Outtrips, Bernie Woods, said to me, “Jeff, you should lead from the back.” I remember looking up at him incredulously with my eyebrows askew and thinking, What is this guy smoking? I didn’t even bother to respond knowing full well that he must be joking. He saw my look and patiently explained, “Jeff, the best place to be whenever you are leading is last.” If you are canoeing, be sure you are in the last canoe. If you are hiking, be the last person in the group. On this cycling trip, select a camper to be the first person, and then be sure you are the last person. He didn’t explain why and I didn’t ask. I just did what he said and now looking back, I can see that in that moment he was leading from behind because he wasn’t going on the trip. Instead, he stayed back at camp waiting for the trip leader to call him, or if there was no bad news to not call him. I wanted to be in the latter category - no bad news.
As a result, I followed Bernie’s advice. It was awkward at first. I didn’t really like assigning a mere camper to be out front and “lead” the group. But within an hour or so I was surprised with the power that came from being at the tail end of 10 cyclists. We were all carrying our own gear including tents, sleeping bags, stoves, food, repair kits, water, and rain gear. The problem was that everyone was inexperienced. Within minutes, gear was falling off bikes, jackets were being removed and stored - sort of - and bikes were falling apart. I think we had 2 flat tires within the first 5 kilometers.
First Lesson - Helping Others
My first lesson was that by leading from the back, I could help each person who was experiencing difficulties. I was pumping up tires, duct-taping sleeping bags onto carriers, bandaging scraped knees, and encouraging those who were ready to quit.
Second Lesson - Less Workload (and Unity)
In that first hour, I was so overwhelmed that I had to ask campers to help each other. This was my second lesson - asking others to help decreased my workload AND increased the bonds of unity within the group.
Third Lesson - Others Learn Leadership
My third lesson which I had not anticipated was that when I let others “lead” out front, they started to learn the skills of leadership. As a result, they took on more responsibility with things like setting a reasonable pace (slow) and being sure we were on the right route (not too hard on a paved road). This left me to be in the rear to help those who really needed help and to make sure everyone was moving along and keeping up.
Fourth Lesson - Slow and Steady is Best
I quickly learned my fourth lesson, that on a trip like this you can only go as fast as the slowest person. The faster ones can charge ahead but eventually, these “zoomers” will stop and let the others catch up because they want a snack or directions or just because they get lonely.
After a day of riding, I started to enjoy being at the back of the group. I could see everything that was happening in front of me and, most importantly, I could be 100 percent certain that everyone was on pace and no one was left behind.
Challenge
As we shift gears from lockdown and ramp-up to a full power economy, think about how you are leading. Do you insist on being at the front of the line? Consider, letting others guide from the front and letting yourself move to the tail end and leading from the back.