7 Leadership Lessons From The Dramatic Cable Car Rescue Of 6 Pakistanian Students and 2 Adults

On Tuesday, August 22nd six students, between the ages of 10 and 16, were traveling to school along two adults.  This particular school is located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mountains in Pakistan.  The best way to get there is by cable car which links the two villages of Jangri and Batangi.  This mode of transportation cuts a two-hour walk in the mountains down to only four minutes.  Those in the car had taken this trip multiple times.

However, on this particular day and halfway through the ascent, two of the car’s cables broke stranding the frightened travelers 900 feet above ground.

After twelve long, grueling, and frightening hours, a military chopper rescued one child while the remaining travelers were safely zip lined down to their rescue.  You can read the full story of their ordeal by clicking HERE and watching the news video above.

After hearing about this story and learning of its details, the following seven leadership principles stood out to me:

Systems Greatly Affect Your Organization’s Success

The human body is made up of eleven different systems.  Some of these include the Skeletal, Muscular, Nervous, Endocrine, Cardiovascular, and Respiratory Systems.  If any of these fail, it can be life-threatening.

Similarly, the success of your organization will rise or fall to the level of its systems.  Systems are anything you do twice.  They are the way things are done each and every day.

This particular Pakistanian transportation system failed putting the lives of its travelers in a life-threatening situation.  In another part of the world, it is being reported that an alleged failure in the electrical system of Maui power lines caused the historic fires and tragic loss of hundreds of lives.

Failure of the systems in your organization could put it in a perilous situation as well.

Trouble Can Visit Any Of Us In An Instant

After being rescued, 15-year-old Osama Sharif said in this article, “We suddenly felt a jolt, and it all happened so suddenly that we thought all of us are going to die.”

He suddenly felt a jolt.

A dear friend of mine was recently t-boned just pulling his car into an intersection.  His world was suddenly changed.  The countless lives of others have been suddenly changed by a phone call, doctor’s report, or knock on the door in the middle of night.

Trouble, or dare I say a sudden jolt, can visit any of us all in an instant.

Use People With A Unique Set Of Skills During Times Of Trouble

The Telegraph reported one of the rescuers was Muhammad Ali Swati.  Ali Swati is a professional zipliner and an adventure tour operator.  He said, “I was summoned to aid in the rescue mission.  After packing my bags, I was airlifted to the site.”

Another rescuer was Sahib Khan whose expertise is in cable cars.  He helped rig the improvised zipline used to rescue the passengers.

When trouble strikes, you want to engage people who can bring a unique set of skills to address the specific issues you are facing.

Great Leaders Bring A Sense Of Peace And Calm

When a leader walks into a room, there are generally two responses.  One, a sigh of relief.  Things just got better.  Solutions and expertise have arrived.  Or two, things just got worse.  Creativity shuts down.  Incompetence has arrived.  Apathy sets in.

When Ali Swait made his way to the dangling cable car, solutions arrived.

Ali Swati said, “When I first reached the cable car, the children shouted at me out of fear.  They were scared that if the rope moved, the lift would fall.”  After taking several minutes to relieve their fears, he said, “We instructed each person, one by one, about the safety gear.  Behind us, there was a protective rope tied, which the army personnel and civilians were pulling to help.”

He added, “They were in extreme distress and clung to me like a child clings to their mother.  Tears welled up in my eyes — I can’t express the feeling.”

You Need A Team During Times Of Crisis

It is ill-advisable to handle crises alone.

This was not a one-person rescue operation.  It took professional zipliners, cable car experts, military, police, and other first responders.  Just as you need great leadership and effective systems to achieve success, you also need a great team.

Teamwork truly makes the dream work.

Success Always Requires Adjustments

The most-pressing issue the rescuers had to deal with the last cable breaking.  But they also had to deal with children with medical conditions, high winds, helicopter blades, and nighttime issues.

Also, Ali Swait got ensnared in the rope during the rescue.  He said, “As I was bringing three children to safety, my left hand got trapped in a taut rope.”  Miraculously, Ali Swait freed himself avoiding certain injury.  He commented, “Miraculously, they momentarily slackened the rope, allowing me to free my hand.”

Ordinary People Still Do Extraordinary Things

I’m sure Tuesday the 22nd started out like a normal day for all the people mentioned above.  Yet, two adults, six children, and countless military and first responders were thrust into extraordinary circumstances.

But this story should remind you and I that greatness lies in all of us.  We may never know when we might be thrust into extraordinary circumstances.  But when we do, we must rest in the fact that with God’s help and a wonderful team around us, we are up to the task.

Just like Muhammad Ali Swati, Sahib Khan, and those eight passengers in the cable car, we were made for such a time as this.