Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 4 Sunday, April 19, 2015 by Lauren Lipuma EyeWorld Staff Writer "We needed someone on our team to stand up and seize the leadership reins and to make an informed decision, based on the fact that I was ill, the weather was bad, and we were all lost," he said. "But none of us did this. Our team literal- ly fell apart." The 3 men did make it to the summit and back, but Mr. Deegan realized soon after that he had a lot to learn about leadership and decided to do something about it. He attended lectures, read books, and watched videos in a wide range of specialties. During this time, Mr. Deegan came across a quote about leadership from the ancient philosopher Lao-Tse. "When the best leader's job is done, the people say, 'we did it ourselves,'" he read. These words struck a chord with Mr. Deegan and he adopted them as his personal mantra. found out that mountaineers climb- ing Mount Everest had been leaving trash on the pristine mountain since their first ascent in 1953. "I thought this was wrong, I thought something should be done about it, but nobody else seemed to be stepping up to the plate," he said. "So I figured that person may as well be me." Mr. Deegan shared his idea with an experienced expedition leader, and the 2 men decided to lead a trip to Everest base camp with the sole purpose of removing the mountain's trash. Several weeks before they were to depart, however, Mr. Deegan's co-leader told him he would have to meet the team on the mountain a few weeks into the trip, meaning Mr. Deegan would have to lead the team solo. "Back then I thought leading a team was all about standing in the front and telling people what to do," he said. "That attitude lasted for less than 3 minutes." Mr. Deegan chronicled the mistakes he made as a novice ex- pedition leader on that first Everest trip and then recalled a trip he took soon after—an expedition to the top of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. This trip consisted only of Mr. Deegan and 2 other climbers, and none of them thought that they needed a formal 'leader' with such a small team, he said. The 3 men realized soon into their trip, however, that they had made a mistake. Weather conditions on the mountain deteriorated and Mr. Deegan became ill with alti- tude sickness but didn't share this information with his teammates, saying "my ego demanded I keep my problems to myself." W hether it's a team of 3 people or a team of 300 people, every team needs a com- petent leader. That was the message that mountaineer and global adventurer Paul Deegan, Philadelphia, delivered to attendees at Saturday's ASOA Opening General Session. In a riveting and inspiring presentation, Mr. Deegan explained how he cultivated a philosophy of invisible leadership over several decades of participating in moun- taineering expeditions to some of the world's tallest peaks. Mr. Deegan demonstrated how he applies that philosophy to his life every day and to every expedition he leads or is a part of. One of Mr. Deegan's first ex- periences with being a leader came when he was a teenager, when he ASCRS News Today ASOA opening speaker presents a guide to invisible leadership

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