Descending Everest: Why the Inner Journey is Essential for Authentic Leadership

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This summer I had the privilege of being a guest faculty at Gravitas Impact’s Business Advisor Growth Intensive in Vancouver, Washington. Gravitas Impact is a global community of premium coaches where experienced professionals sharpen their craft, expand their practice, and build lasting client impact. Keith Cupp, the founder, is committed to help coaches rise past the level of a trusted advisor to what he calls a true “Maestro.” Getting there requires a rigorous inner journey to see internal flaws and biases and address them head on. To unlock the potential of a coach – or any leader – you must be willing to look deep within yourself and see beyond your best qualities to where you fall short.

The “Other Everest” is a summit that is far more demanding than any external achievement and calls for courage, honesty, and endurance. This inner journey is the descent into where your greatest limitations and your untapped potential coexist. To lead with authenticity and influence in today’s complex world, this is not optional work. It is essential.

We often imagine leadership as something built outwardly—skills to acquire, strategies to implement, goals to achieve. But the truth is, the depth of your leadership is determined by the depth of your self-awareness. You cannot take others further than you have gone within yourself.

The inner journey is uncomfortable as it asks us to look not at our strengths, but at where we fall short. It requires a willingness to confront the biases, insecurities, and patterns that sabotage our effectiveness. These are not surface-level observations. This is the raw, unfiltered truth about who we are when the noise of the world fades.

And the mind will resist.

The mind, by its very nature, will offer easy answers, flattering narratives, and distractions. It will urge you toward busyness, avoidance, and anything to prematurely end the inquiry. But those defenses, while protective, also keep you stuck. They are like carrying unnecessary weight up a steep mountain—habits, assumptions, and blind spots that exhaust you and limit how far you can go.

The work is to pause, open the pack, and take an honest inventory.

This is not about self-criticism; it is about self-relationship. It is about developing a connection with your fears, your longings, and your contradictions so that you can lead from wholeness rather than fragmentation. In doing so, you begin to find your voice, one that is not shaped by what the world expects of you but grounded in truth.

The inner journey is a demanding and rewarding adventure. As you turn inward, you begin to discover who you really are beneath the roles, the achievements, and the noise. And from that place, your leadership gains a quiet authority that does not need to prove itself, only express itself.

If you are willing to begin, consider these three practices:

  1. Create space for stillness. Slow down intentionally. Whether through journaling, reflection, or silent walks, give yourself uninterrupted time to listen inwardly. Insight does not emerge in noise.
  2. Name what you avoid. Pay attention to the patterns you justify or ignore – defensiveness, blame, control, or withdrawal. Gently but honestly bring these into awareness without rushing to fix them.
  3. Seek honest feedback. Amid reflection, also invite feedback from people who will tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear. Others often see what we cannot, and their perspective can illuminate blind spots.

Descending Everest is not a one-time effort; it is a lifelong practice. But with each step inward, you lighten your load, strengthen your presence, and expand your capacity to lead. And in that journey, you do not just become a better leader—you become more fully yourself.

Resilient Leadership: Fostering Mental Toughness on Your Team

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A resilient team is not one that never feels pressure; it is one that learns how to be honest and stay steady when pressure arrives. Strong leaders build that steadiness by creating a culture of trust, reflection, and practical support, rather than expecting people to simply “tough it out”.

Not long ago, I worked with a leadership team that was entering one of the hardest periods of its history. The organization was growing rapidly – along with the workload. Staff were exhausted, and every meeting seemed to begin with bad news. One morning, after difficult and demanding previous weeks, a manager stood up in silence, looked around the room, and said, “I’m not sure we can carry on the way we are.” What happened next changed the tone of the entire team. Instead of minimizing the pressure, the leader acknowledged it, invited honest conversation, examined carefully the ways that the team could support each other more, and shifted the focus from blame to problem-solving. That moment did not remove the stress, but it opened a door to restoring confidence. The team began to believe that they could face hard things together.

Mental toughness is often misunderstood. It is not pretending everything is fine, nor is it pushing people to suppress emotion, and implicitly or explicitly told to “suck it up.” In leadership, it means helping people remain calm, focused, and effective under pressure while staying connected to purpose and one another. It is a blend of resilience, emotional regulation, and commitment, and it can be strengthened through deliberate habits and a supportive culture.

Here are three strategies to get started:

Start with psychological safety. Build an environment where people can speak honestly. Teams become stronger when people can admit mistakes, name concerns, and ask for help early. Psychological safety does not make a team soft; it makes them adaptable. When people are not busy protecting themselves, they can spend more energy solving problems.

Model this by being transparent about your own setbacks and by responding to bad news with curiosity instead of blame. A simple question like, “What are we learning here?” can shift the energy in a room. Over time, that kind of response teaches the team that pressure is something to navigate, not something to hide from.

Encourage recovery habits. Treat recovery as part of performance. Mental toughness is not built by constant strain; it is built by balancing effort with rest, reflection, and renewal. Teams that are always “on” eventually lose clarity, creativity, and patience.

Encourage short pauses before difficult meetings, regularly debrief after intense events, and initiate basic routines that support energy management. This might include walking breaks, breathing exercises, or a clear boundary around after-hours communication. When recovery is enouraged, people are less likely to burn out and more likely to stay engaged when the next challenge arrives.

Reframe challenge as growth. Help the team see difficulty as a training ground. Resilient leaders do not deny setbacks; they use them to build skill, confidence, and perspective. When people view challenge as evidence of failure, they become defensive. When they view it as part of growth, they become more courageous.

One useful practice is the “lessons learned” debrief. After a tough week, project, or incident, ask four questions: What went well? What was hard? How did we support each other? What will we do differently next time? This keeps the team from getting stuck in frustration and helps turn experience into wisdom. It also reinforces the idea that progress matters more than perfection.

Leadership That Lasts

Resilient leadership is not about pretending to be the strongest person in the room. It is about creating conditions where others can stay strong together. That means building trust, protecting recovery, and helping people reframe pressure as part of the work of growth.

Teams do not become mentally tough by accident. They become tougher when leaders consistently create safety, model steadiness, and encourage learning. In the end, the most resilient teams are not those that avoid difficulty, but those that learn how to move through it with courage, clarity, and connection.

Men’s Saturday Circle

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As part of Men’s Shed Cochrane, every Saturday morning, a group of us meet. The group is turning into a true community that gives men a safe space to talk openly about our well-being and mental health.

It’s not about fixing everything. It’s about listening, sharing experiences, and realizing you’re not alone. These conversations help break down stigma and remind us that reaching out is a sign of strength. Everything shared stays confidential, so you can feel comfortable being yourself. Sometimes, just sitting together and talking can make a big difference.

Check us out: https://www.cochranemensshed.ca/events

Life in Transition: Facing Adversity Through the Hero’s Journey

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Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself

In dark woods, the right road lost…

– From THE INFERNO OF DANTE, Robert Pinsky, trans.

When Barry’s life shifted overnight—a downsized job, the sudden, unexpected end of a twenty-five year marriage, a son being admitted to a treatment centre for addiction (all within a period of thirty days) – he found himself completely lost in the dark woods. Each morning, he woke with questions that had no easy answers: “Who am I now?” “How can I handle this?” “How do I possibly get through this?” Far from feeling heroic, Barry felt stuck and overwhelmed by worry, inadequacy, grief, and self-doubt.

Then, in our coaching together, while recalling some movies and novels Barry had been drawn to over the years, we began wondering if some of these stories held clues for navigating his own adversity. It was at this point I turned Barry to the wisdom of the Hero’s Journey—not only to endure his trials, but to embrace and transform them.

Understanding the Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey was popularized by Joseph Campbell and is a pattern often found in myths, memoirs, and films. The journey begins in the ordinary world, but a “call to adventure” thrusts the hero out of comfort and into the unknown. Adversity arrives through tests, setbacks, and internal doubts. With the help of mentors and allies, the hero faces an “ordeal,” discovers their strength, and eventually returns home—changed, resilient, and armed with new wisdom.

Like Barry, many of us experience life-changing transitions not by choice, but by necessity. In these moments, we are called—often reluctantly—to be the heroes of our own story. Facing adversity through the lens of the Hero’s Journey can provide the structure and inspiration needed when everything seems to be falling apart.

Understanding What a Hero Is, and Your Place in Your Story

When I bring up the topic of a “hero” or “heroine” to an audience, there is inevitably some pushback. “I don’t see myself as any kind of hero” is a response I often hear. A hero (or heroine) isn’t someone who is necessarily outstanding in the world, but someone who has found and followed a path of their unfulfilled self.

When I introduced my graduate students, who were studying to become psychotherapists, to the notion of a “hero’s journey,” one student related not so much to Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, but rather to the droid, R2-D2. Known for his reliability, bravery, friendship, and versatility, R2-D2 was a loyal companion to many of the key characters in the series. “My heroine’s journey is not to be the hero, but a supporter of heroes and heroines.”

Step 1: Name the Transition and Answer the Call

Adversity begins with a disruption—a diagnosis, a loss, a betrayal. Our instinct may be to resist, clinging tightly to what we know. The first strategy is to name your transition and accept the call. Acknowledge what you are going through. Instead of minimizing pain or pretending life is unchanged, take an honest assessment of the new reality. “I’m not in Kansas anymore.” “This is hard. I am grieving the end of a chapter.” Naming your experience interrupts confusion and denial, preparing you for what’s ahead.

Once the challenge is named, look beneath the surface to see what values, dreams, or relationships are being tested. What “adventure” does this transition ask of you? Facing the uncertainty with open eyes is a crucial first step.

Step 2: Seek Mentors, Allies, and Support

No hero succeeds alone. In every transformative journey, mentors offer wisdom, allies provide encouragement, and even adversaries teach hard lessons. Make it a priority to seek support. Reach out to friends, peers, and professionals. Vulnerability is not weakness; it is the beginning of connection.

Some guides arrive unexpectedly—a thoughtful supervisor, a book that speaks to your heart, a support group that understands your struggle. Accepting help is an act of courage, reminding you that adversity is a shared human experience. As obstacles arise, allow trusted allies to walk with you, reminding you of your inner strength and reflecting possibilities you cannot yet see.

Step 3: Transform Obstacles into Growth

The most critical moment in the Hero’s Journey is the ordeal—a point where both giving up and past certainties are tempting. Here, focus on transforming obstacles into opportunities for growth. Adopt a mindset that welcomes hardship as a teacher. Embrace the hard stuff. What can you learn from this difficulty? What strengths are emerging? Practice self-compassion and celebrate even small victories.

Reflect regularly on how you are persevering. Use the adversity to deepen empathy, clarify values, and foster adaptability. Let trials forge new understandings about yourself. When you reframe setbacks as a path to transformation, you build resilience and prepare for life’s next adventure.

Like Barry, everyone eventually faces a situation where life is shattered by an unexpected transition. By framing adversity as a Hero’s Journey, a “call to an adventure,” rather than the “survival of a disaster,” you gain tools to navigate the unknown: naming your struggles, seeking connection, and transforming hardship into growth. These strategies empower you to be more than a survivor – instead, you become a hero on a voyage, embracing a time of great difficulty, allowing the pain to break you open so a stronger, wiser and kinder self can emerge.

Intentional Culture, Exceptional Results – Integrating Authenticity with Accountability

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One habit of good leadership is to be out in your culture, shining a light on success, celebrating wins, and catching people doing things right. There are likely some amazing things going on around you that you may be missing if you aren’t intentional. It’s natural for human beings to fixate on what’s not in our lives instead of focusing on what’s in our lives. Lately I’ve been putting this habit into practice in my own community. What I’ve discovered is that our little town is full of small giants (a term coined by Bo Burlingham), companies that deliberately choose to focus on excellence, purpose, and community impact rather than pursuing relentless growth or becoming as large as possible.

One of the small giants in Cochrane, Alberta is the Spray Lake Centre. Erin Wagner and her incredible team of leaders have created a vibrant, thriving, customer-focused environment that is at the heart and hub of our community for fitness, sports and recreation, as well as family and community connection. The SLS Centre also regularly hosts the Cochrane farmers’ market, both indoors and outdoors, and many other community events every year. When you visit Cochrane, stop by and get a shot of energy from this amazing place.

There are also many other small giants in Cochrane such as Found Books, Route 22 – Artist Collective Gallery, Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary, Pink Wand Cleaning Services, Flores and Pine Restaurant, Alberta Metal Works, Align Developments, and the Cochrane Public Library. All of these organizations are part of Innovate Cochrane, a community-driven non-profit dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and business leaders to build authentic, accountable organizations.

Everyone talks about the importance of culture, but when the pressure to deliver results mounts, culture takes a back seat. Like taking care of your health in times of high demands, it’s easy to declare, “we don’t have time for culture.”

But culture is always present, regardless of whether you are intentional about it. It is not a flavor of the month management fad. It’s the fabric of your entire organization.

Organizational culture is complex and multi-layered. To create and sustain a great culture requires leaders at every level to look beyond visible behaviors and statements from culture surveys to understand and influence the deeper beliefs that truly shape how organizations function.

My framework for organizational culture focuses on integrating the two fundamental elements of a great culture: authenticity and accountability in three areas: organizational, interpersonal, and personal.

The Importance of Authenticity

Authenticity means living in alignment with your true values, living and working in a place where you don’t have to leave who you are at the door, where you can express yourself genuinely, fostering meaningful connections and trust. Authentic cultures encourage open communication, vulnerability, and psychological safety to support people to tell the truth in a respectful way.

Leaders who lead authentically strengthen the overall sense of belonging and engagement in an organization.

The Importance of Accountability

Accountability means that we remember that culture isn’t what we say. Culture is how we hold ourselves accountable for how we act. You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. Accountability starts with ownership. Accountability means that individuals and leaders take ownership for their decisions and their actions. We institutionally deny the fact that each of us – through our perceptions and our choices – is creating the culture that we so enjoy complaining about. Deciding that you have created the culture you are living and working in – and therefore you are the one to step into healing it – is the ultimate act of accountability.

Accountability means taking responsibility to work with clear expectations and agreements and being a person who can be counted on. It means having the tough conversations, providing regular mutual feedback, helping each other grow, and delivering on the promises you make. It means holding each other to the same high standards and asking for the support needed to deliver on agreements made.

How Authenticity and Accountability Work Together

Authenticity and accountability are mutually reinforcing. Authenticity creates the psychological safety necessary for people to be honest, while accountability ensures that this honesty translates into clearly defined and necessary results.

Authenticity supports people to operate from a place of truth, caring, and integrity, while accountability ensures that this integrity is backed by responsible action. Together they foster trust, engagement, and sustainable success in any culture.

Five Ways Leaders Accidentally Create Dishonesty In Employees

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Honesty is a key value for any organization. It sets the tone for the kind of culture you are committed to create. It provides consistency in behavior. And it builds loyalty and trust. Honesty is one of the most effective ways to establish the environment that will propel your organization to long-term success. As a leader, the importance you place on honesty can create a culture where your team members feel inspired, empowered, and validated.

Moral dishonesty, such as stealing, padding expense accounts, or lying about results can unfortunately be a part of an organization. More subtle and every bit as important, however, is psychological honesty.

  • What is the experience of your team members working in this organization?
  • Do people feel free to bring you their concerns, questions, or feedback without fear of reprisal?
  • How tense do people feel working around you?
  • Can people be honest with you about your leadership?
  • And how do you know if people are giving honest answers to these questions? How much are people on your team choosing to be merely polite rather being genuine?

Here are five ways leaders accidently create dishonesty in their team. I say accidently because no one sets out to create a dishonest work environment. Often, however, amid stress, demands, and particularly in a hybrid work environment where we may not be as connected to our team, we may inadvertently overlook some unintended consequences of our behavior.

  1. A lack of transparency with your team about why you made a decision. If you aren’t modeling honesty, it’s difficult to expect it.
  2. Unacknowledged stress, tension, and anxiety. It’s tough enough to be honest with your boss. But when you add emotional volatility to the mix, you are inserting a variable of instability which encourages being polite rather than genuine. It is for this reason that leaders must pay close attention to how they act and communicate. To create an honest workplace, you must attend to your inner state. Whether you see it or not, if you have unrecognised strain, tension, and anxiety, your team is likely going to hold back telling you the truth. Volatility breeds unpredictability. And unpredictability breeds dishonesty.
  3. Talking over people. When we interrupt others rather than sincerely listen, we give the message that we think we are smarter than they are, that they aren’t as valued, and aren’t needed. I, for one, am guilty of this when I’m feeling stressed, pushing for results, and forgetting about the importance of the people on my team.
  4. Ignoring people’s emotions. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to ignore your team members’ feelings. This error often occurs when a leader is either unable to deal with their own emotions or are overly focused on tasks and results. The key here is empathy: you will succeed only when you care enough to attend to those around you. You are less likely to increase anxiety in others if you consider how your actions impact them. It’s your responsibility to be attentive to how people around you are doing.
  5. Defensiveness. This is the big one. If you ask for feedback in these areas, you need to let go of needing to be right to protect your ego. As Steve Covey used to say, “seek first to understand…” That is our work. When people have the courage to bring anything to our attention that creates discomfort in us, our responsibility is to resist the tendency to get defensive and to listen to understand.

In summary, positional leaders impact their employees’ stress and anxiety levels. What they say, feel, and do hugely influences their team’s physical and emotional well-being and how they respond. But sadly, far too few leaders are aware that they have this power. And many are overconfident in their leadership skills, creating a gap between their perceived and actual levels of competence. This explains why even well-meaning bosses may inadvertently contribute to high anxiety levels in their team members and how they inadvertently shut people down.