Leadership in the Wild S1E11a

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Have you ever wondered what leadership looks like when there's nowhere to hide? Rob Powell takes us on a gripping journey through the rugged terrain of adventure hospitality, revealing profound leadership lessons that emerge when the trail literally disappears beneath your feet.

Drawing from his experiences guiding expeditions through remote Patagonian trails and teaching at the University of Arkansas Hospitality Management Program, Powell articulates a refreshing leadership philosophy born from necessity rather than theory. When you're responsible for eight guests from four countries with a disgruntled guide and impending weather nicknamed "the wall of sadness," leadership transforms from abstract concept to survival skill.

The podcast brilliantly contrasts traditional hospitality environments with adventure settings where leaders have "no backstage" and remain constantly visible to both guests and team. Powell unpacks how decisiveness trumps certainty when faced with ambiguity, and why emotional intelligence precedes operational excellence when managing frightened, fatigued, or humbled clients in challenging conditions. His candid stories – from multimillionaires breaking down over wet boots to executives humbled by altitude – illustrate how wilderness strips away pretense and reveals authentic leadership capabilities.

Most compelling is Powell's translation of these wilderness principles to everyday business settings. He reframes leadership as guiding rather than bossing, emphasizing how great leaders instinctively know when to lead from the front, walk beside struggling team members, or support from behind. His insights on preparation as respect, details as culture-setting, and purpose as motivation offer practical wisdom for leaders across industries. As the lines between recreation, luxury, and purpose continue to blur in hospitality, Powell's adventure-tested leadership framework provides exactly what the next generation of experience creators needs. Listen to transform your understanding of what truly matters in leadership when the comfortable path disappears.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back to Housekeeping.
Didn't Come the podcast wherewe run hotels like expeditions,
lead teams like treks andbelieve that altitude sickness
has more in common withcorporate strategy than you
might think?
Hello, I'm Rob Powell.
I'm an instructor at theUniversity of Arkansas
Hospitality Management Programand today we're talking about
leadership and adventure.
Hospitality a topic that soundsrugged and romantic until

(00:24):
you're the one in charge of agroup of tourists, two llamas
and a broken satellite phone.
Now let me paint the picture.
We're halfway up a remote trailin Patagonia, I've got eight
guests from four countries, aguide who's not exactly thrilled
with our timeline and a 40%chance of sudden weather
nicknamed the wall of sadness.
Our gear is solid, our guestsare, let's say, enthusiastic and

(00:49):
I'm supposed to be the one.
Leading Problem is, on day three, the trail just disappeared,
literally.
My trusty Garmin GPS and thetopo map says take a 270 degree
heading.
The cliff says otherwise.
And suddenly I'm not just agroup organizer, I'm a leader
with absolutely no script.
Does this sound familiar?

(01:09):
Because whether you're managinga lodge in Alaska, a
high-altitude trek in Nepal,tourists through the French
Quarter of New Orleans or aboutique experience in the
Ozarks of Arkansas, adventurehospitality demands a different
kind of leadership.
What adventure teaches us aboutleadership is amazing.
There's no.
Let's start with the first one.

(01:29):
There's no real back office onthe mountains.
In traditional hospitality, aleader can disappear behind the
front desk into a meeting orbehind a glowing MacBook.
In adventure, you're alwaysvisible.
Guests watch how you react tostress.
So does your team.
There's no backstage here, justpresence, posture and how fast
you can think with cold fingers.
Second, decisiveness mattersmore than certainty.

(01:54):
Adventure Hospitality is filledwith ambiguity Weather,
injuries, guest expectations,gear failures.
You can't wait until you haveall the information.
You have to act with limitedvisibility.
That's not recklessness, it'scalculated decisiveness.
Third, leadership is emotionalbefore it's operational.

(02:16):
I've seen multimillionairesbreak down over wet boots.
I've seen type A executives gethumbled by altitude.
Your job is not just logistics,it's emotional stewardship.
You're managing fear, fatigue,ego, vulnerability and doing it
with grace, patience and maybeduct tape.

(02:36):
The trail reveals the leader.
In boardrooms, leadership canbe masked by polish On the trail
.
You either show up with clarity, empathy and endurance, or your
team knows you're full of it bylunch.
Now what can business leaderslearn from the trail?
Let's bring it down from thesummit into the boardroom or,

(02:56):
better yet, the break room,because what works on the trail
also works in business.
Every team needs a guide, notjust a boss.
Nobody wants to be draggedtowards a destination they
didn't buy into.
People want leadership thatmoves with them, not ahead of
them, barely visible, waving anold flag and yelling keep up On

(03:16):
the trail.
A guide checks the group's pace, adjusts the plan, reads the
faces, not just the terrain, andkeeps everyone moving towards
the destination.
In business it's the same.
Your team isn't a task list.
They're a moving organism thatneeds human beings up front, not
just a spreadsheet with shoes.

(03:38):
The best leaders know when towalk in front, beside or behind.
Sometimes you lead with visionand clarity, pointing out the
goal.
Sometimes you walk besidesomeone who's struggling,
encouraging them slightly, andsometimes leadership means
shutting up, listening, gettingout of the way and carrying the

(03:59):
heavier pack without announcingit to the group.
Support isn't always visible,but it's always felt.
Another one story matters morethan structure.
You can give the perfect safetybriefing and still be forgotten
, but the moment you makesomeone laugh in the rain or
check on them when they'repretending they're fine, that

(04:21):
stuff sticks.
Guests remember how you madethem feel, not what you told
them, and your team is nodifferent.
They remember how you led whenit got cold, metaphorically or
literally, or help them weathernew competition, strategic
shifts or missed revenue goals.
Speaking of goals, keep thegoal front and center.

(04:42):
Every good trail leader remindspeople why they're climbing in
the first place, because whenthe going gets steep, people
don't need new shoes, they needclarity of purpose.
Same in hospitality leadership.
Remind your team why it matters, why this event or guest or
Tuesday morning shift is worthshowing up for.

(05:02):
Purpose lifts, knees whenenergy fades Lead to the
strengths of your team.
On a climb, you notice who'sgreat at pacing, who's better at
spotting trail markers and whokeeps the mood light when morale
dips.
A great leader builds aroundthose strengths, not around
hierarchy or titles.

(05:23):
In hospitality, your housekeepermight be your best informal
guest ambassador.
Your dishwasher might be yourculture linchpin.
You know your team.
Use their gifts.
Now preparation matters.
You don't wing a multi-day trek.
You check the weather, yourinventory gear, you train, but

(05:44):
somehow in business we treatwinging it like a badge of honor
.
Nope, preparation is respectfor your team, for your guest,
for your role.
Now every detail counts, evenwhen no one is watching On the
trail.
The leader who picks up trashwhen no one's looking.
That's the one people follow,not the loud one with the

(06:07):
clipboard.
In hospitality it's the same.
Do you tuck in your shirtbefore a team meeting?
Do you clean up after yourselfin the break room?
Are your shoes always polished?
These things aren't trivial,they're tonal.
You're setting culture evenwhen you think you're off duty.
Let's talk about the nextgeneration Adventure.

(06:29):
Hospitality isn't niche anymore.
It's the new frontier of guestexperience.
The lines are blurring betweenrecreation, luxury, purpose and
adrenaline, and if we're goingto prepare future leaders for
this space, we can't just teachoperations and booking systems.
We need to teach leadershipunder uncertainty, team dynamics
under pressure, emotionalintelligence, experience, design

(06:52):
in wild places.
That's why, at the Universityof Arkansas Hospitality
Management Program, we're notjust preparing students to run
restaurants or hotels, we'repreparing them to lead
experiences.
Because whether you'relaunching a mountain retreat or
managing a downtown New Orleansproperty during Mardi Gras, the
core skills are the samePresence, preparation,

(07:13):
adaptability and a damn goodsense of humor.
I'm Rob Powell, and this hasbeen Housekeeping.
Didn't Come reminding you thatthe best leaders don't just
climb the mountain, they makesure the whole team gets up and
down with the stories to proveit.