Here’s how my 18-year-old son reminded me of the foundations of leadership in the mountains.
My son William is an intense young man.
When he discovers a new passion, he dives in headfirst.
Last year, he discovered mountain hiking.
And since he never does anything halfway, he bluntly announced that he wanted to hike the GR20 in the summer of 2025.
A 16-day trek according to the websites.
He’s aiming for 12 days… or even less.
And if no one wants to go with him, he’ll go alone. (He was 17 when we had that conversation.)
I’m not an overprotective father, but the idea of letting him go alone didn’t sit well with me.
His age, his maturity, and especially his sometimes-distracted nature worried me.
So I saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone:
Go with him to make sure he wasn’t alone, and take the chance to spend some quality time together.
Especially since the past few years haven’t been easy in our relationship — a reality that saddens both of us.
After several discussions, I managed to convince him to start smaller (and less expensive), with a few hikes south of the border.
First step: an overnight hike in the Mount Washington area, planned for summer 2025.
The Beginning of the Adventure
Since the start of the year, we’ve done three hikes.
The first, in April, allowed us to climb three mountains.
Not ideal with snow, even with crampons.
A few slips quickly confirmed what I already knew: better to wait until the snow melts.
More than 20 km in total.
The second, on May 17, included my other son, Édouard, who was turning 16 on May 24. Around 19 km this time.
In both cases, I quickly realized one thing: I couldn’t keep up with their pace.
The ascent was still manageable, but the descent… a real nightmare.
Slippery, dangerous.
I was afraid of falling and getting injured. And in these mountains, it’s hard to get help — not to mention I’m a bit too heavy for my sons to carry me.
The further we descended, the more my hips, knees, and legs hurt. My boys walked ahead, stopping occasionally…
(Small lie: they actually waited for me every time.)
Alone for several minutes, I had time to reflect.
And the idea for this article came to me.
About this experience.
About what I felt.
And most of all, about this question:
What’s the link between mountain hiking, leadership, and compassionate management?
Much stronger than you’d think.
My Son, the Leader
At home, I’m the leader.
But in the mountains, the roles are reversed.
He’s the one who picks the summits.
He’s the one following the GPS during the hike.
He’s the one checking the hiking app to guide us.
And me?
I follow him. No questions asked.
But more importantly — he takes care of us.
And that changes everything.
I’m used to watching over him.
But on this adventure, I quickly switched into survival mode.
No more energy for anything but putting one foot in front of the other.
He, on the other hand, kept going back and forth between me and his brother.
He asked if we were okay.
He helped me over obstacles.
He gave me one of his hiking poles.
He showed patience — which has never been his strong suit.
He told us how many kilometers were left.
He planned the breaks.
He told me he was proud of me.
He encouraged me to go at my own pace.
And when I apologized for slowing down the group, he just smiled. Even though he must have been frustrated.
He stepped up.
And that is leadership:
“Leadership is taking care of those in your charge.” — Simon Sinek
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Setting the plan
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Supporting the team
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Providing tools to ease their progress
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Respecting their pace
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Giving feedback
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Adapting to their limits
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Staying calm
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Creating trust
We’re Not Leaders in Every Situation
And me, as the leader at home — what did I do on this journey?
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I put my ego aside
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I surrounded myself with someone more skilled than me in this field
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I let him take the lead
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I trusted him
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I thanked him for his patience and care
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I committed fully to the activity
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I praised his attitude and support
The Impact on Our Relationship
This experience brought us closer.
To be honest, I haven’t become a huge hiking fan.
But that wasn’t the goal.
I haven’t always been present for my children in recent years.
So I see this activity as a way to make up for lost time, to build a new kind of relationship.
On the way back, we talked politics for 90 minutes — another one of his new passions.
And as always, I was impressed by the depth of our conversation.
A complete success.
(Except for my body… which still remembers.)
Sometimes, leadership isn’t something you learn from a book…
But by following the ones you once raised.
Thank you, William, for the lesson.
The photo also shows a new shared passion I had stopped hoping for: the Montreal Canadiens. A surprise gift that makes me so happy.
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Coach in high-performance team development and tailored leadership support
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