Ascent Co.

If you’ve spent any time in corporate life, you’ll know we love a leadership model, you know the ones; a framework, a capability matrix, a diagram with arrows pointing at other arrows.

Useful? Sometimes. Memorable? Rarely.

Most of what I know about leadership didn’t come from a workshop or a glossy PDF, it came from walking. Sometimes uphill, sometimes in the rain, sometimes wondering why on earth I thought hiking was a relaxing hobby! Now my idea of relaxing, is so many different things, but outdoor adventures would have to be up there as one of the most relaxing things for me to do. I have never been one to sit beside a pool for too long, as my feet are often itchy to keep moving.

I’ve been on trails for more than 30 years, long before I had any title. And the truth is, the trail has taught me more about leading, and about myself, than any boardroom ever has.

Here are a few of the lessons that stuck.

1. Progress doesn’t need to be dramatic.

Corporate life rewards speed. Hiking rewards showing up.

One foot forward. Then another. That’s it.

Some days you feel strong. Some days you feel like your legs are made of wet cardboard. Both days count.

Leadership is the same. It’s not the big, heroic moments that define you; it’s the steady ones.

2. Conditions change — and so do we.

On the trail, the weather can turn in five minutes. Clear skies become sideways rain. A gentle incline becomes a climb that makes you question your life choices.

You adapt. You adjust. You keep moving.

In leadership, we often pretend we’re immune to change. We push through even when everything in us is saying, “Maybe pause. Maybe rethink. Maybe take the other track.”

Hiking taught me to read the environment, literally and metaphorically, and respond with intelligence, not stubbornness.

3. You can’t lead well if you’re carrying too much.

There’s nothing like a long climb to make you reconsider every item in your pack.

Do I really need this? Is this worth the weight? Why did I bring three snacks when one would do?

It’s the same in life. And in leadership.

We carry so much, responsibilities, expectations, emotional labour, the mental load of remembering everyone’s birthdays. At some point, you realise that the lighter you travel, the clearer you think.

This is why so many women in midlife feel a shift. Not because we’re slowing down, but because we’re waking up. We want less clutter, less noise, less performing. We want space.

Hiking gives you that space.

4. Rest is not optional — it’s strategy.

On the trail, you stop before you’re exhausted. You drink before you’re thirsty (well you are supposed to). You eat before you’re starving (again, sometimes you just keep going until you realise you have not fueled yourself enough).

Corporate culture often treats rest like a reward. The trail treats it like oxygen.

Leadership needs more of that honesty.

5. The right women make everything easier.

I’ve hiked solo. I’ve hiked with groups. I’ve hiked with people who made me laugh, people who pushed me, and people who taught me patience.

And here’s what I know: Walking with the right women changes everything.

It’s not about dependence. It’s about shared strength. Shared pace. Shared understanding.

This is why I built Ascent Co. Not just for the hikes, but for the women who walk them.

6. The trail tells the truth.

On a hike, you can’t hide behind titles or polished LinkedIn summaries. You show up as you are.

Tired? It shows. Determined? It shows. Avoiding something? That shows too.

The trail has a way of stripping away the noise and revealing what’s real. Leadership needs more of that.

7. Clarity arrives when the noise falls away.

This is the lesson that keeps me walking.

When life is full, when your mind is juggling a thousand things, when you’re trying to be everything to everyone, the trail offers a kind of clarity that feels almost medicinal. I am sure you have felt the heavy weight of everything on your mind, you feel like it’s going to explode? I find that surrounding yourself in nature is like a big warm hug for your brain, holding it, allowing it to rest, to unwind, removing the busyness that is life.

Movement settles the mind. Nature resets the nervous system. Silence sharpens perspective.

I’ve made some of my best decisions on a climb, not in a meeting.

Why I built Ascent Co.

Because women, especially corporate women, deserve a place where leadership and adventure meet.

A place where we can walk ourselves back to clarity. A place where we can challenge ourselves safely. A place where we can carry less, breathe more, and reconnect with the parts of ourselves we’ve sidelined for years.

And yes, for many of us, this shift arrives around midlife. Sometimes with menopause. Sometimes with a birthday. Sometimes with a quiet realisation that we want more out of less.

Not more stuff. Not more pressure. More meaning. More space. More connection. More of ourselves.

If you feel that pull, that gentle nudge toward something quieter, steadier, and more intentional, you’re in the right place.

Let’s walk this chapter together.