In 2010, we hosted Professor Don Sull at a conference in South Africa. I had the privilege of spending time with him in the lead-up to the event and during his visit.

Most leadership programmes stop at the Executive Team. That's understandable. If the Executive Team becomes more aligned, surely the rest of the organisation will follow.

Thirty five years ago a quietly spoken Shangaan tracker invited me to follow a white rhino. I had no idea how far that lesson would travel. After finishing university I went to work at the Sabi Sabi Game Reserve.

Last week I fulfilled a long-held dream. I visited the home of Charles Darwin. I went for one main reason... to walk his 'thinking path.' Like many people, I had heard a great deal about Darwin, yet knew remarkably little about the man himself.

We’ve worked with executive and operational teams around the world for more than 15 years now. Across industries. Across cultures. Across leadership teams. Recently, we paused to look back at the data.

There's no blog post as usual this month. It’s because as you read this, I’m somewhere between Everest Base Camp and Cho La Pass in the Himalayan Mountain Range. My family and I are on an adventure in one of the most awe inspiring landscapes on earth.

When I was 15, I had the unexpected good fortune of meeting someone who altered the trajectory of my life. You could call it serendipity. But I prefer Who Luck. It’s a term coined by Jim Collins, to describe the kind of luck that arrives in the form of a person. A person who believes in you and ultimately opens doors you could not have opened yourself.

Recently, during a culture review, one executive said something that silenced the room: “In our organisation, we hold on to people because they get results - regardless of their behaviour.” It wasn’t a compliment. It was an indictment. Their values spoke about accountability, integrity and care. But their lived experience told a different story.

A rider attacks off the front. It looks bold, decisive, impressive. For a while, the gap opens. Then something subtle happens. The peloton doesn’t speed up - it fractures. Riders slip off the back. Coordination breaks down. What looked like momentum becomes fatigue and failure.

One of the highlights of my year, without fail, is attending the Tracker Academy graduation in the Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet. It is always unforgettable. The setting, the people, the sense of possibility. The students have worked incredibly hard, and the culmination of their journey is this moment: standing tall in front of their families ...