Buzz McCoy is known for writing The Parable of the Sadhu, an anecdote about his life. Buzz and a group were climbing in the Himalayas and were confronted with an ethical dilemma. Near the end of their excursion their group was presented with a hypothermic, half naked sadhu. Buzz's group clothed him and then passed him on to some Japanese hikers behind them. Although he was awake when they left him, they'll never know if he survived. Buzz's friend, Stephen, was frustrated with the group's lack of concern for the sadhu.
Although there are many things to be taken from The Parable of the Sadhu, what stood out most to me was Stephen's dilemma. Stephen wanted to help the sadhu but couldn't garner support from the rest of the group. He was suffering from altitude sickness and was not in a condition that would allow him to carry the sadhu by himself. Stephen was a quaker and felt he should have helped the sadhu, but Buzz points out that Stephen was unable to do it alone, he needed the support of the group. He was the only one willing to step up and lead the group in a definitive plan of action but there was no set decision making process in place.
Buzz says that when reading this story young people tend to see it in black and white. I don't pretend to understand how hard of a decision that must have been. Sacrificing the rest of the trip for this sick sadhu, potentially putting yourself in danger to help a stranger. If I were forced to make a decision as to what I would have done, I quite honestly hope that I would have stood by Stephen. The second thing that I hope is that my leadership skills would have been enough to convince the others to help me.
This shows how important shared values are amongst a group. Buzz points out that the most successful companies are those whose leaders and employees share a core set of values and a set sense of direction for their company. I think the same can be applied to any group leadership situation. Without a consensus of shared values and goals, it is easy to blow off a leader who is trying to stand for what they believe in. This parable has really shown me the absolute necessity of establishing clearly defined values and goals for the group. Something as simple as honesty, that most would assume is implied, should be laid out and explained the importance of. If everyone is not on the same page, how easy it would be to have one or two lies bring down the morale and cohesion of the group.
4 comments:
I think you do a good job capitalizing on the importance of a dynamic like groupthink, and also how shared values can shape outcomes as drastic as someone's life.
I read Parable of the Sadhu and I completely agree that most young people tend to see the dilemma faced by the hikers as a black and white decision. From a pragmatic viewpoint, staying with the Sadhu or assuring his safety down the hill would have prevented the entire team from reaching the Apex
And would have possibly threatened their safety. Choosing to disregard the Sadhu would have allowed the team the opportunity to reach their goal, but at the sake of an individual's salvation. I think this parable illustrates the need to lead by both practical decision making and moral judgement. The greatest difficulty is finding the balance between the two and deciding which will prevail when the two drivers are in conflict.
This is a fascinating dilemma. It reminds me of a documentary I saw recently called Dying on Everest. It is about a climbing party that was on their way to summit Everest and came upon a dying climber. They had to choose whether to care for him and give him some of their oxygen which would prevent them from summiting, or to keep going. After much debate they decided to go for the summit. On their way back down, they found the climber had survived 8 more hours before he died. Their reasoning was that people who climb Everest know the risk and were willing to die for it. And they too had paid (over $10,000 per person) in order to summit. Sometimes doing the "right" thing can be easily rationalized or marginalized. I wonder if the outcome might have been different if it had been an individual decision as opposed to a group. A thought provoking entry-thanks for challenging us!
I agree that the most productive groups must share a commonality at their foundation. Corporations focus a great deal on diverse thinking and points of view today, as they should. However, the greatest value from diversity grows from a common foundation.
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