Dan Berlin and his team had one goal, to make the 26 mile trek to Machu Picchu in a single day. The team faced an up hill battle, both literally and figuratively, because Berlin is blind. He lost his sight in his 30s, but he has not allowed his blindness to hold him back. Last year he became the first blind athlete to complete the Grand Canyon’s rim-to-rim-to-rim run. It took them 13 hours, but Berlin and his team reached their goal of climbing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
As a blind hiker and backpacker myself, I could not imagine making a trek like this one. The difficulty of the trail, combined with the frantic pace, made their task extremely dangerous. As I read of Berlin’s journey to Machu Picchu, I was inspired and challenged. Below I have listed 11 leadership lessons I took from his story.
1. Leaders constantly face deadlines.
The article says, “The clock was ticking on Dan Berlin and his team of runners.”
2. Leaders are goal oriented.
If they did not meet their deadline, they would not reach their goal of running to Machu Picchu in a single day.
3. Leaders take risks.
Berlin’s blindness made the steep assents treacherous, a broken ankle just a step away.
4. Leaders adapt to changing circumstances.
The terrain they faced made their normal method of hiking impossible. They had to adapt and develop a new method.
5. Leaders think outside the box.
Their old method wasn’t working, so they had to think outside the box to solve the problem.
6. Leaders depend on teamwork to accomplish their goals.
Berlin would hold on to his guides backpacks. They led him along the trail, and he could hold them up if they slipped.
7. Leaders Learn from History.
Their new method was inspired by the trapezoidal structures built by the Incas.
8. Leaders celebrate the accomplishments of others.
They reached their check point to the cheers of park rangers.
9. Leaders blaze new trails.
Berlin is the first blind athlete to travel the Inca trail in a single day to Machu Picchu.
10. Leaders give back to others.
Berlin said that his favorite part of the trip was visiting visually impaired students at a school.
11. Leaders inspire others.
Berlin wants visually impaired children to believe they can accomplish great things.