Why Every Leader Should Climb a Mountain: Lessons from a Scottish Highland Retreat
Originally published in 2016, this article has been updated and refreshed for 2025 to reflect current insights on leadership, personal development, and the evolving role of nature-based practices in our rapidly changing world.
To seasoned climbers, Ben Ledi (879 metres) might seem relatively modest. Yet this impressive giant of a rock, perched on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, commands respect. Its position makes it an exceptional viewpoint for taking in some of Scotland's most spectacular and diverse scenery.
More importantly for our purposes, it was also the Day One destination during one of our transformational Walking Coach® retreat weekends—a journey that would prove to be about far more than simply reaching a summit.
When Doubt Meets Mountain
Earlier that morning, as our small group contemplated what lay ahead, the mood was decidedly mixed. A certain trepidation hung in the air alongside the Highland mist. Most participants were unaccustomed to 'taking on a hill,' let alone leading others to do the same.
The familiar concerns emerged:
Weather uncertainties (those ominous rain-filled clouds weren't exactly encouraging)
Fitness doubts and stamina questions
Inexperience anxieties and safety worries
That peculiarly British concern about midges and insect bites
The easier circular route around the hill's lower reaches seemed not just wise, but positively sensible for most. Summit? Perhaps another day.
Yet something remarkable was about to unfold—something that happens when leaders step outside their comfort zones and into nature's transformative embrace.
Nature's Quiet Revolution
Setting off alongside the mirror-calm waters of Loch Lubnaig, we chatted lightly, gradually finding our group's natural walking rhythm. The gentle climb through ancient woodland began working its subtle magic almost immediately.
With its pharmacy of colours, scents, sounds, and sensations, the forest opened our sense receptors and infused us with its pleasing, sultry presence. This is what happens when we step away from screens, notifications, and the relentless pace of modern professional life—we remember what it feels like to be fully present. And alive.
Emerging above the treeline, we were suddenly embraced by a massive amphitheatre of green mountainside stretching away towards the distant flatlands of urban existence. Like a kindly grandfather, the landscape seemed to welcome us into its heart whilst we small humans stood diminutive, dwarfed by the sheer beauty and magnitude surrounding us.
Miraculously, the skies began to clear. What had threatened to be a washout was transforming into the most glorious day imaginable.
The Moment Everything Changed
By the time we stopped for lunch, something profound had shifted within the group. As spectators to both the wilderness and to ourselves, an incredible sense of wellbeing, joy, peace, and aliveness had arrived uninvited but utterly welcome.
We'd reached a crucial choice point: press on to the summit, or take the sensible circular route back?
To my amazement—and absolute delight—there was no hesitation.
"We're going for it!" The decision was unanimous.
This is the moment I live for in retreat work—when the person who arrived full of doubt transforms into someone who believes they can achieve anything. When walkers become adventurers, and adventurers discover their inner leaders.
The Ascent: Where Leadership is Forged
With euphoric enthusiasm and happy hormones coursing through their systems, our group continued the ascent. Clouds swirled around the peak above, teasing and playing games with our perceptions of height, distance, challenge, possibility—and most importantly, Self.
There was still a significant climb ahead. Not for the faint-hearted, certainly.
Yet on any typical weekend, this popular mountain hosts an extraordinary parade of humanity: young children, pensioners, babies on piggybacks, three-legged dogs, sedentary office workers—all challenging themselves to scale its slopes. If they could do it, so could we.
This is perhaps the most crucial leadership lesson mountains teach us: the limits we imagine are often far more restrictive than reality. The stories we tell ourselves about what's possible rarely match what's actually achievable when we commit and take consistent action.
Summit: The View from Leadership
Eventually, we made the summit. For once, the Highland wind was in no hurry to chase us off the top, so we lingered, recovering our energy whilst basking in collective exhilaration.
There's no denying the sense of accomplishment and sheer elation that comes from accepting such a challenge—and succeeding. The close camaraderie forged through shared effort and mutual support creates bonds that extend far beyond the mountain.
But to see this simply as personal endurance or some 'conquer the mountain' challenge would be missing the profound point.
Higher Understanding: The Leadership Perspective
Mountains have always captured human imagination, and as we stood in awed silence, taking in the panorama spread before us, it was easy to understand why.
The experience was nothing short of humbling—and therein lies its power.
If we ever thought we humans were in charge of this planet, the perspective offered from a mountain peak delivers a much-needed reset for our egos. We see beyond our immediate vicinity, beyond our daily concerns, beyond the artificial urgency that dominates so much of modern professional life.
Rather than diminish us, this reminder that we are mere specks on the landscape of life becomes liberating, inspiring, and profoundly empowering.
For leaders navigating increasingly complex organisational challenges, this shift in perspective is invaluable:
Strategic thinking requires the ability to see the bigger picture
Resilience grows from understanding our place in larger systems
Humility combined with confidence creates authentic leadership presence
Most critically, shared challenges reveal who will actually support others when pressure mounts
The mountain had become a laboratory for understanding authentic collaboration. The people who instinctively helped struggling colleagues, who shared resources without being asked, who adjusted their pace for collective success—these were the natural leaders, regardless of their job titles back home.
These insights didn't end at the summit. The trust and connection established during those challenging final metres continued deepening throughout our weekend retreat. Professional partnerships emerged from casual conversations around the evening fire. Business collaborations developed months later, rooted in the knowledge that these people could be counted on when things got difficult.
Some of those mountain connections have evolved into lasting friendships and ongoing professional relationships—the kind built on genuine mutual respect rather than networking objectives.
Throughout history, people have climbed mountains to connect with higher sources of understanding. Many descend feeling stronger, wiser, and more capable of handling whatever challenges await in the valley below.
The Invitation: Your Own Mountain Awaits
Here's what I've learned from countless retreat experiences: whenever someone feels trapped, stuck, or limited in their vision, a carefully designed mountain experience often provides exactly the breakthrough they need.
It's not really about the mountain at all—it's about discovering that you can do far more than you ever imagined. It's about experiencing your own capacity for growth, resilience, and leadership in ways that no boardroom exercise or classroom theory can provide.
The mountain simply provides the arena where transformation becomes inevitable.
Whether you're a CEO feeling overwhelmed by organisational complexity, a middle manager stuck between competing demands, or someone sensing there's more leadership potential within you waiting to emerge, the principles remain the same:
You just need to take your first step. And then keep going.
The question isn't whether you're ready for the mountain. The question is: are you ready for who you might become when you reach the top?
Curious about experiencing this kind of transformational retreat for yourself or your team? As a qualified outdoor leader and first aid certified guide, I ensure these experiences are both safe and profound. The Scottish Highlands are calling, and the view from the summit is waiting. Sometimes the most powerful leadership development happens not in conference rooms, but on mountain paths where every step forward reveals new possibilities—and where the bonds formed between participants create lasting value long after you've descended.