Why More Executives Need to Leave the Boardroom and Head Outdoors

Stuart Thornhill

Why More Executives Need to Leave the Boardroom and Head Outdoors

Over the last 25 years I've spent a lot of time in boardrooms, executive meetings, investor discussions and high-pressure leadership environments. I've also spent a considerable amount of time in some of the world's most remote and challenging places, directing and participating in extreme endurance events across the Arctic, deserts and jungles.


The older I get, the more convinced I become that the outdoors is one of the most underutilised tools available to leaders looking to improve their mental health, resilience and overall wellbeing.


The reality is that executive leadership can be a lonely place.


The weight of responsibility, the pressure to perform, difficult decisions, financial uncertainty, people issues and the constant demand for answers can create a level of stress that is difficult for many outside leadership positions to fully appreciate. Senior leaders often become conditioned to simply absorb that pressure and carry on.


The problem is that pressure accumulates.


I've seen highly capable executives become exhausted, disengaged and disconnected from the very things that made them successful in the first place. Many continue operating, but not necessarily performing at their best.


What I've learned through years of working with business leaders and through my own experiences in extreme environments is that recovery isn't found by simply doing less. It's often found by doing something completely different.


There is something incredibly powerful about stepping away from emails, board papers and performance dashboards and replacing them with fresh air, movement, challenge and simplicity.


When you're pulling a sled across the Arctic, climbing a mountain, navigating a trail or simply spending a day outdoors, the noise starts to disappear. The constant stream of demands that dominate executive life is replaced by a singular focus on the present moment.


Your world becomes smaller, but your thinking becomes clearer.


The science increasingly supports what many of us have experienced firsthand. Time spent in nature has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, lower anxiety and enhance cognitive performance. Yet beyond the research, there is something much more human taking place.


The outdoors reconnects us with perspective.


Problems that felt overwhelming in the office often become manageable when viewed from a different environment. Decisions become clearer. Creativity returns. Energy levels improve.


For many executives, physical challenge also provides something that modern leadership roles often lack: genuine personal achievement disconnected from commercial outcomes.


Nobody cares about your title on a mountain.


The Arctic doesn't care about your annual budget.


A long-distance trail doesn't care about your position on an organisation chart.


Those environments strip away hierarchy and leave you with something much more important: yourself.


I've coached leaders who have found more clarity during a day hiking than they did during months of meetings. I've watched exhausted executives rediscover confidence, motivation and purpose through challenging themselves outside of work.

The lesson isn't that every leader needs to run an ultra-marathon or cross the Arctic.


The lesson is that we all need somewhere to disconnect in order to reconnect.


Whether that's walking a local trail, climbing a hill, spending a weekend expedition paddling, cycling or pursuing a more ambitious adventure, the principle remains the same.


Leadership requires recovery.


Mental resilience isn't built by staying under pressure indefinitely. It's built through cycles of challenge and restoration.

As leaders, we spend much of our careers looking after the performance of our businesses, teams and organisations.

Perhaps it's time we gave the same attention to our own wellbeing.


Sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is leave the boardroom, step outside and head towards the horizon.


Where do you go to disconnect from work and reconnect with yourself?




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The right leader in the wrong season can be as damaging as the wrong leader in the right season

By Stuart Thornhill • June 8, 2026
What season is your company in, and do you have the right leader?! One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is assuming that a successful leader in one environment will automatically succeed in another. In my experience, that simply isn't true. Over the years I've worked with organisations facing rapid growth, significant transformation, commercial challenges and, on occasion, genuine crisis. I've also spent a great deal of time studying leadership in some of the harshest environments imaginable, from the Arctic to the boardroom. One observation keeps resurfacing: Different situations require different types of leaders. We often talk about leadership as though there is a single formula for success. History suggests otherwise. Take Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill is rightly remembered as one of history's greatest leaders. During the Second World War his courage, conviction and refusal to accept defeat helped inspire an entire nation. Britain needed a wartime leader. It needed somebody capable of making difficult decisions, taking risks and providing unwavering direction during a period of existential threat. Yet shortly after victory in Europe, Churchill lost the General Election. His leadership hadn't suddenly become ineffective. The environment had changed. The British people no longer needed a wartime leader. They needed someone who could focus on rebuilding communities, creating social infrastructure and delivering long-term stability. The qualities that made Churchill exceptional during crisis were not necessarily the same qualities required during peace. It raises an interesting question for modern organisations: Are we choosing leaders based on what the organisation needs today, or based on what worked yesterday? I increasingly see three broad leadership archetypes. The first is the Crisis Leader . These leaders thrive when uncertainty is high and the stakes are even higher. They are decisive, resilient and comfortable making difficult calls with incomplete information. They can rally people behind a cause and provide clarity when chaos surrounds them. Every organisation will need this type of leader at some point. The second is the Growth Leader . These individuals excel when stability exists and opportunities for growth are abundant. They focus on culture, systems, talent development and sustainable performance. They create environments where people can thrive and where organisations can scale effectively over the long term. These leaders are often less visible than crisis leaders, but their impact can be equally significant. The third type is the rarest. The Adaptive Leader . These are the individuals capable of moving between crisis and calm. They know when to take command and when to empower others. They understand that leadership is not about applying a fixed style but about responding appropriately to the circumstances in front of them. History offers examples such as Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela. Leaders who could navigate immense turmoil while simultaneously laying foundations for long-term prosperity and reconciliation. The reality is that most organisations don't fail because they lack good leaders. They fail because they have the wrong leader for the season they are in. I've seen founders who were brilliant at creating businesses struggle to scale them. I've seen exceptional operational leaders falter during periods of major disruption. Equally, I've seen transformational leaders continue to operate in crisis mode long after the emergency has passed, creating fatigue and instability where neither is needed. The challenge for boards and leadership teams is not identifying the "best" leader. The challenge is identifying the leader best suited to the current environment. As leaders, we should ask ourselves the same question. Am I leading the organisation I have today, or the organisation I had twelve months ago? The answer may determine whether we continue to create value or become the very obstacle holding it back. The greatest leaders are not necessarily those who dominate every situation. They are the ones who recognise when the season has changed and have the self-awareness, humility and adaptability to change with it. Leadership is not a fixed set of behaviours. Leadership is the ability to accurately diagnose the environment and adapt your approach accordingly. 

The Seasons of Leadership

By Stuart Thornhill • June 5, 2026
For years, leadership development has focused heavily on the qualities of great leaders. We celebrate visionaries, strategists, innovators and crisis managers. Yet one question is often overlooked: What if leadership success is determined as much by the environment as it is by the leader? This has led me to think about environmental factors and existing thinking, such as Situational Leadership (Hersey and Blanchard) or Fiedler's Contingency Theory and whether there is further progress to be made in this space. At the core I think this is a simple proposition: "The right leader in the wrong environment can be as damaging as the wrong leader in the right environment." The theory suggests that organisations typically operate within one of three distinct environments or Seasons: Crisis Environment Where survival is the priority. Decisions must be made quickly, uncertainty is high and strong direction is often required. Growth Environment Where stability exists and the focus shifts to innovation, empowerment, culture and sustainable expansion. Transition Environment Where organisations move from one state to another through transformation, restructuring, succession or strategic change. Each environment demands different leadership behaviours, communication styles, decision-making approaches and personal attributes. History provides countless examples. Some leaders thrive during crisis but struggle when stability returns. Others excel during periods of growth yet falter when faced with existential threat. A smaller number appear capable of adapting their style to meet the demands of all three environments. Perhaps the question is not, "Who is the best leader?" Perhaps it is, "Who is the right leader for the environment we are operating in today?" Over the coming weeks I will be exploring each environment in more detail and sharing my thoughts on how leaders can recognise the environment they are in and adapt accordingly. Because leadership is not just about capability. It's about context. So what Season is your organisation in and which leader are you?