Sir Edmund Hillary was born on 20th July 1919 and he was an explorer and a mountaineer of New Zealand. In 1953, he and Tensing Norgay who was the mountaineer of Sherpa were the first mountaineers to have reached Mount Everest’s summit. While in high school he was interested in mountaineering and his first major climb was accomplished in 1939 by reaching Mount Olivier’s summit.
He founded the Himalayan Trust so that he could give a hand to the people of Sherpa and this was due to his ascent of Mount Everest. Out of his great efforts, lots of hospitals and schools were constructed in the remote areas of the Himalayas. In 1985 he became the High Commissioner of New Zealand to India and in four and a half years he served in New Delhi. He was quoted saying that, “It is not the mountains we concur, but ourselves.” This quote was used by Hillary to show that when he succeeded in being a mountaineer it was because he was dedicated to was he was doing and he wanted to achieve it.
According to his history, Hillary was a risk-taker especially when he was a mountaineer and this is one of the good qualities of a good leader. He was a hard worker in every field he involved himself in and in 1953 he headed, Order of British Empire as Knight Commander. Due to his determination, he was awarded the medal of polar because he was part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Hillary was good at creating a working friendship as he did with Tenzing so that he could learn and succeed in the goals that he wanted to achieve. His leadership styles were seen when he became keen on the organizations he was involved in so that he could ensure that great work was going on and also a few organizations were named after him like Hillary College (Otara) and Hillary Commission (now known as SPARC).
He was a great policymaker and he implemented his policies in the field he was involved in like when he led the expedition of the jet boat in 1977. He was also described as a good leader because of his congenial personality and his humbleness. Hillary’s leadership styles were seen in several ways whereby he tried to encourage other people to succeed by building schools and hospitals. As the expedition progressed Sir Edmund Hillary proved his worth and he had realized how his relationship with Tenzing had developed a very powerful partnership. Hillary dedicated himself to making others succeed and he had huge responsibilities.
He was also committed to supporting, developing, and organizing the people he led and worked with especially those they climbed the mountains with.
Although Hillary was good at achieving his accomplishments he was delightfully informal in style. For one of the summit slots, Hillary was considered an effective contender, and his respect was earned when he led the team that made the Khumbu icefall route. When he was a high commissioner he focused on the work to be done and he gave an outline of the required roles and the plans and he made sure that people he worked with were involved in the decision-making policy despite the fact that he was to make the final decision. Hillary was not so much into power but all he was dedicated to in his whole life was achieving his goals accomplishments and the plans he needed to achieve before he had passed on.
In conclusion, Hillary Edmund achieved his youthful dream of becoming a great mountaineer, he inspired many people at his time and he continues to inspire them even in the current world. Even after his death he is considered and seen as a hard-working Hero who never gave up easily no matter the hardships and this is one among the many reasons he was considered as a good leader and a person who inspired others on going on no matter the problems they encounter.
References
Simon Robinson, Sir Edmund Hillary: Top of the World, Time Magazine, 2008.
Hillary was considered at the top of the world because he and Tensing Norgay were the first mountaineers to have reached Mount Everest’s summit.
Robert Sullivan, Time Magazine, Sir Edmund Hillary—A visit with the world’s greatest living adventurer, 2003.
Hillary Edmund, High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest, (1955), Oxford University Press (Paperback).