Sir Chris Bonington

Sir Chris Bonington is Britain’s foremost mountaineer. Born in 1934 and educated at University College London and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Bonington went on to command a troop of tanks in Germany for three years before developing an interest in mountaineering that has defined his life and achievements.

In 1961 he completed the first British ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, and in 1972 he led the first British Everest Expedition, reaching 8,300m. As leader in 1975 of the British South West Face Everest Expedition he made Dougal Haston and Doug Scott’s ascents possible, and that same year he led the British K2 Expedition. Having led another British Everest Expedition in 1982, three years later he ascended Everest as the oldest member of the Norwegian Everest Expedition. Bonington has also led expeditions to Greenland and has climbed Europe’s highest peak, Mount El’brus (5,342m) in 1993.

Awarded the CBE in 1986 and knighted in 1996, Sir Chris has also been awarded the Lawrence of Arabia Medal by the Royal Asian Association and the Livingstone Medal by the Royal Scottish Geograpical Society.

Mountaineering is perceived by some as requiring strictly hierarchical, almost autocratic leadership and decision-making. But in dialogue with this editor, Sir Chris explains that he managed to get the best out of the people on the expeditions he led ‘by involving them in the planning and decision making process.’ He believes that 'openness and honesty' are the keys to establishing trust on an expedition, and that the leader must make time to demonstrate a personal interest in everyone involved.

There are many good mountaineers, but Sir Chris Bonington’s record clearly marks him out as one of the truly great ones. He believes that great expedition leaders ‘not only have a high success rate but also run happy expeditions.’

His experiences with expeditions have led him to become something of a leadership guru, lecturing on leadership and team-building to the corporate world, including to Kodak, IBM, Compaq, Cadbury, Shell, SmithKline Beecham, Hewlett Packard and Volvo. He is a Lecturer at the London Business School and is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield Business School, UK.

Bonington has the following advice to the readers of this website who aim to build successful teams in the workplace: ‘Really care for the members of your team – always be on the lookout for someone who feels left out and do something about it to bring them into the team.’

Such personal qualities are apparent when meeting Bonington in person, as he manages the rare combination of being a driven and focused individual with geniality, helpfulness and an interest in the people he meets. With the rise of concepts like servant leadership in today’s business world, it is likely that such characteristics will become increasingly what distinguish great leaders from good ones. Great leaders are focused on the task but recognise that its achievement hinges on bringing people with you and getting the best contribution out of everyone around you. This is perhaps the greatest lesson that mountaineers have for us in the way they demonstrate leadership.

Still an enthusiastic expeditioner, Sir Chris has also been President of the British Mountaineering Council from 1988-91 and Chairman of the Mount Everest Foundation from 1999-2001. He is the writer of several books on mountaineering, leadership and his own experiences, including The Next Horizon, The Everest Years and his autobiographical omnibus Boundless Horizons.

Sir Chris cites as his role model John Hunt, leader of the 1953 Everest Expedition that resulted in the first ever ascent of the world’s highest mountain, by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing. ‘Hunt’s leadership provided a blueprint for expedition planning, organisation and leadership,’ Sir Chris explains.

For more details about Sir Chris Bonington click on www.bonington.com