I grew up and live around mountains. As a result, I’ve spent a lot of time climbing them.

I’ve discovered that once I climb up a mountain, it turns out I usually have to climb back down. Usually, I feel pretty tired at that point. My body might hurt. Climbing down often hurts (it’s hard on my knees).

However, I’ve found that climbing down mountains often reminds me of a common paradox in leadership: There are greater risks when you move fast, however, it is often safer.

Sometimes Leadership Must Be Nimble

The technique that is often used for a rapid descent is called glissading. It is essentially a controlled slide down a slope of loose rock (called scree) or down a snow field. Kind of like skiing without skis.

It requires being able to read the mountain, making snap decisions, agile footwork and good balance. I find it to be much faster and much easier on my knees than a slow plod back down the mountain.

Leaders who’ve developed a degree of success, who’ve been good at climbing up, often struggle with the speed and nimble decisions required to complete their climb.

They frequently use one of my most hated metaphors: “We’re like a big ship. It takes a long time to turn.”

Nonsense. That’s an excuse for organizational ossification. Big ships might take more time than tiny boats to turn. But they can still turn pretty darn quickly. (For a fun diversion search YouTube for fast aircraft carrier turns. That’ll ruin any future use of the nonsense comparisons to slow-moving, big ships.)

Leaders need to be nimble. There are times in leadership where leaders need to switch gears, move faster, make quicker decisions and embrace higher risks—understanding that this is the safest path.

The alternative is following in the path of businesses like Kodak or RadioShack.

Nimbleness Can Be Scary:

1. There is increased risk. Yes, there is. But we always need to compare that risk to the risk of doing nothing or moving too slowly. Sometimes the tortoise gets run over. Or starves to death.

2. We’ve experienced leaders who did make frequent, fast but foolish decisions. Perhaps it was the grass is always greener syndrome. Maybe the bright shiny object syndrome. Maybe an impatience to wait for results. But some leaders don’t stick with things long enough. So, we’ve developed an aversion to what feels like “knee-jerk” decision making.

So, what to do? Glad you asked:

Six Principles to Be Nimble Without Falling on Your Face

• Commit Yourself to Results: When I step into a scree field of loose rock, I’m committing myself to movement and to making it to the bottom happy and healthy.

I recall one scree field that started near the summit of the assuringly named “Suicide Peak.” It was so very steep. The kind of steep that looked more like a cliff than a mountainside. The drop into it was just a few degrees off from a free fall.

The other option was a long hike down a very steep slope covered with ankle-breaking, loose rocks. It would have pummeled me.

I was scared. And I knew that I needed to be absolutely committed. Any attention wasted on doubt or worry could kill me. I stepped down and into a 1000’, barely-controlled fall.

A few minutes later, I was happy and healthy on the bottom. And a little breathless.

There is a difference between recklessness and entertaining useless self-doubt. Some decisions are right but also risky. If, to the best of our knowledge, those decisions are the right course of action – we need to commit to them and to creating a positive outcome.

• Knowing where you want to end up: You can’t blindly slide. You need to know where you want to end up and have reasonable confidence that the course of action that you are taking will get you there.

You need to always stay focused on where you want to end up. The fast moving scree fields of life don’t always allow for predictable steps or direction. However, if you know where you want to finish you can make the course directions that are needed.

I recall getting clouded in while climbing another mountain called “Bold Peak.” We knew where we wanted to end up but we were socked in by clouds. Visibility dropped to about 10 yards.

So, when we descended below the clouds we discovered we had come down the wrong side of the mountain. We were able to recognize that we were in the wrong valley. Not because we recognized this valley but we knew what the right valley should look like.

Mistake? Yes. Correctable? Yes. Because we knew where we were supposed to be going.

Occasional misdirection is inevitable. Being able to recognize it isn’t. You have to be able to know and recognize the right direction.

• Manage Multiple Time Horizons: Back to Bold Peak. Before we dropped into the wrong valley we almost dropped off the mountain.

Visibility was poor near the peak.  As we started glissading down a snow chute, our lead climber suddenly arrested his descent. He yelled at all of us to stop. He had been watching both where he needed to put his feet for each step – as well as just far enough ahead to gauge what was coming next.

In this situation—nothing was coming next. The snow chute ran off a cliff. We stopped in time and climbed to a safer down route.

Leaders need to be able to watch at least two time horizons at any given moment. They need to deal with the “here & now” as well as adjusting their sites to whatever time frame is most appropriate for their current leadership responsibility. It is dangerous for leaders to only see or to focus on one time frame.

• Practicing Agility: If I haven’t climbed in a while, I notice that my feet don’t move quite as quickly or with the same confidence. It comes back, but it requires a little practice. Leaders need practice agility or nimble thinking and acting.

If you don’t stay sharp by coming up with ideas, exploring and evaluating options or making decisions quickly – you might be undermining your ability to survive or thrive when conditions suddenly change.

One way I practice “nimble thinking” is to write out 10 new ideas every day. 10 ideas about anything. 10 article topics, 10 things to do with my kids this weekend, 10 things I’d like to do when I grow up, whatever. I don’t have to act on all or any of these ideas. I just try to cultivate my idea to come up with 10 brand new ideas quickly.

I’ve gotten pretty good at it. Throw me a topic. I can come up with 10 ideas in about 3 minutes. They don’t all have to be good. I just need one good idea.

You need to practice agile thinking. Or it might not be there when you need it.

• Quick, frequent small adjustments: On the way down a scree slope, you have to constantly make micro adjustments to your balance, speed and direction. I need to be committed to the results. But I can’t commit to just one pace or direction. That is dangerous.

I need to make constant small adjustments. That’s how to maintain balance. It is how to maintain the overall correct course.

Regular check-ins and regular fine tunings are required when leading in a situation that requires agility. It’s the wrong time for “fire and forget” plans or for long vacations. You need keep your hands on the wheel. Eyes on the ball. (I’ve never been shy about mixing metaphors. This is a metaphor cocktail.)

• Occasional Stps to Rest, Reassess and Recalibrate: When glissading, I find opportunities to stop. It’s tiring and I need to rest. I pick up stones in my boots. Maybe my pack is balanced wrong. I need to reassess the direction and the route. I need to make adjustments.

Because of the need to be mostly near sighted in attention when making quick changes, leaders need to plan regular mid-range stops. These should be far enough apart that you can fully benefit from the speed and dynamism of the situation. But close enough that you give yourself room to course correct and stop small problems from becoming big ones.

Plan periodic “stops” along the way. These usually should be planned, not left to chance. But don’t be afraid to stop and rest, reassess or recalibrate as needed.

Action Step: Of the six principles above – which is the most challenging for you? What is one thing you can do this week to put the principle into action?