Authentic Leadership Development in Nature
Authentic leadership coaching in nature combines the principles of authentic leadership development with the benefits of nature-based coaching, often involving outdoor activities and reflection. This approach aims to foster a leader’s self-awareness. Nature-based coaching can deepen self-reflection and personal insight, while outdoor activities can provide opportunities to learn and practice leadership skills in different contexts.
Here’s a more detailed look at how authentic leadership development coaching in nature works:
Authentic Leadership:
• Definition:
Authentic leadership is achieved by being true to self, but also true to one’s leadership purpose, with a strong moral underpinning, for the greater good of all that we are expected to serve. Sometimes referred to as our True North. It is a leadership that transcends context, meaning an authentic leader is a leader at work, home, and even when alone.
• Key Components:
Authentic leadership usually requires the development of self-awareness, which builds self-knowledge (truly understanding ourselves). This allows us to employ strength-based vulnerability, which further allows us to be more transparent in our relationships with others, be more balanced in the way we process life, whilst ensuring that we walk our talk in a values-driven way.
• Benefits:
Authentic leadership is for everyone, no matter who we are and what we do. It is a leadership that transcends our position in life, and is informed by our presence and essence. Authentic leaders foster increased trust, and are 360-degree influential leaders, wherever they show up, in and outside their work.
• The journey of developing Authentic Leadership
Authentic leadership cannot be developed through training. It requires coaching conversations that lead to increased self-awareness and self-management (emotional intelligence), and awareness of others and how we wish to relate to them (social awareness). Coaching is about creating safe spaces by listening deeply to another, allowing a coachee to explore inner thoughts about self and others, whether these thoughts hinder, and how they could become more empowering in how we show up in our world.
Nature-Based Coaching:
• Benefits:
Coaching conversations during outdoor activities can deepen self-reflection and personal insight.
•Examples:
Outdoor activities like hiking, for instance, or exploring nature, can provide opportunities to learn and practice leadership skills in a different context.
• Purpose:
To help leaders develop self-mastery, emotional and social intelligence, stress management skills, and resilience.
How They Combine:
• Enhanced Reflection:
Nature-based coaching can provide a unique environment for leaders to reflect on their internal sense of self, their purpose and values that they wish to stay true to, their beliefs about self and others, their emotional and mind states, and their usual behaviours, together with a sense of who they would like to become, in a less structured nature setting.
• Practical Application:
Outdoor activities can offer opportunities to apply leadership principles in real-time, fostering a deeper understanding of how to lead authentically in their contexts at work and outside work, also at home and with families.
• Increased Resilience:
Leaders can learn to navigate challenges and setbacks in a natural environment, developing the resilience needed to stay true to their values and principles.
For more information, click here to download our 2025 AL Nature Retreat at Cape St Francis PDF
