Build a Better Workplace

By Tom Terez

When you’re counting on someone to look out for you, trust has a big impact. I learned this the hard way — while dangling 25 feet above an unforgiving floor.

It happened in a sporting goods store, on an indoor climbing wall.

It looked fun and easy. Strap on the harness, grab a handhold, find a foothold, and up you go. What could go wrong?

Nothing — for the first 15 feet. I defied gravity, clambering up the wall like an ancient cliff-dweller. Could Pike’s Peak be looming in my future?

Then it happened, just five feet later. The handholds and footholds became sparse. My overworked arms and legs began to weaken. My grip started to slip as my hands grew sweaty.

I looked down, way down, wanting to make eye contact with the employee who had secured my harness. She was loosely holding the ropes that connected me to an overhead pulley system. Perhaps a word of her encouragement would bolster my confidence for the next 10 feet.

But…what?! She was looking away, chatting with a co-worker, oblivious to my high altitude. I called out, but she didn’t hear. I called again. Nothing.

In a flash, I convinced myself that one little slip on my part would mean a big splat on the ground. My body reacted accordingly, sounding the alarm to my muscles, sweat glands, and vocal cords. “What the…?”

With gravity reasserting itself, I headed back down, short of the bell that successful climbers get to ring when they reach the top. My mindless minder was still chatting when my grateful feet touched solid ground.

Weren’t you supposed to be watching? I asked.

She didn’t seem concerned. The rope system has its own built-in resistance, she explained, so a free fall won’t happen as long as you’re in the harness.

As I walked away on wobbly legs, the lessons emerged.

For starters, I should have asked her how the ropes do their job before I began my climb. If I had known about the built-in safeguards, I wouldn’t have freaked out. I had been so eager and overconfident that I didn’t sufficiently prepare. My bad.

Then came the second lesson: Even though I didn’t ask about the mechanism, she should have told me while she was securing the harness. Maybe she figured I already knew. Her bad.

But the biggest lesson had to do with mindfulness. When Person A is counting on Person B, Person B needs to pay attention. Even if Person B knows the work inside out, a newbie like Person A will likely need some assistance and assurance as they try out the work themselves.

So the next time you’re helping someone climb a figurative wall, stay alert and be ready to help. Their confidence — and their results — might be hanging in the balance.

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