Venture forth

Tales of adventure often belie the leadership capabilities demonstrated by explorers, but they offer rich lessons for business professionals, opine Amy Posey and Kevin Vallely, co-authors of Wild Success: 7 Key Lessons Business Leaders Can Learn from Extreme Adventures.

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When we talk about the connections between leadership and adventure, there are many. An adventure is defined as a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome—a description that could easily be applied to business as well. Both adventure and business involve high levels of risk and uncertainty, and require leadership capabilities that are honed through experience. Exploring the leadership connections shared between these seemingly disparate worlds is not only relevant for the business professional but promises unique insights and revelations for them as well. Adopting an adventurer’s mindset will not only increase your leadership agility when things are tough but will also enhance your capacity to perform when you absolutely need to.

Often, when we share stories of adventure, common myths come to the surface about the mindset of an adventurer that tend to diminish the true value that this mindset holds. Below, we share common misunderstandings that surround the adventurer’s mindset and explain how this mindset will help us in the business world. We share real-life stories of adventurers, as profiled in our book Wild Success, and demonstrate how these modernday trailblazers defy stereotypes and succeed where few others can.

MYTH 1: Adventurers take huge risks