The account of the disaster on Mount Everest in 1996, as presented by Jon Krakauer in his novel Into Thin Air, is a perfect example of the different types of leadership and how even when least expected things can go wrong. This novel discusses the essentials of leadership, the process that was involved in getting clients to the summit, the goals of the leaders (in this case the guides), as well as the role that the external environment plays in trying to summit Everest. What did go wrong on the quest to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1996, and why did it happen? What happened was that none of the climbers believed that anything bad could happen since nothing of huge significance had gone wrong on the mountain in the recent past. The guides also believed that they had climbing Everest down to a formula and that if they stuck to it, nothing could possibly go wrong. If the guides had kept to their standards of turning around at 2 p.m. no matter how close one was to the summit, much of the disaster could have been avoided. However, many factors play into the desire to continue the quest for the summit after 2 that afternoon. The business goals of the guides, the personal triumph of the clients, and the outside factors of the environment above 25,000 feet all led them to continue with the climb, and inevitably led to disaster and deaths.
             The elements of leadership play a significant part in what happened on Everest that year. The leaders on the mountain, including Rob Hall, Andy Harris, and Scott Fischer, were the guides of the various expeditions. They were all well prepared to climb Mount Everest and their clients had faith that the guides would get them to the summit also. The guides all shared the common goals of safety on the mountain and making a personal profit while gaining publicity for their guiding companies. The guides all exhibited qualities that Locke and Kirkpatrick found as important leadership traits i...