What Mountain Biking Can Teach You About Great Leadership
Discover four powerful leadership lessons inspired by mountain biking - insights on intention, adaptability, rest, and courage that can sharpen your leadership approach (yes, dreamed up while riding)
Have you ever noticed how much trail riding has in common with leadership? As a coach and a mountain biker, I’ve found that the best rides (and the best leadership moments) require presence, flexibility, and trust.
Here are four lessons from the trail that can help you lead with more clarity, strength, and ease.
Ever feel like leadership is just one long, rocky climb?
You’re not alone. The good news? Every climb has a top. Sometimes you find it. Sometimes you build it. Either way - - you won’t be climbing forever. (really)
1. Look Where You Want to Go
On the bike, your body follows your eyes. Focus on the rock you’re trying to avoid, and guess what? You’ll probably hit it. But shift your gaze to the line you want - and your wheels follow.
Leadership is no different. When you set a clear intention, whether it’s the kind of leader you want to be or the culture you want to build, you start steering toward it.
🧭 Try this:
Revisit your leadership intention. What kind of leader do you want to be known as?
Ask yourself: Where am I aiming my energy right now? Is it aligned with the path I want to be on?
2. Get in the Ready Position
Great riders stay loose and balanced - low center of gravity, elbows out, eyes ahead. This stance lets them respond quickly when the trail throws a curveball.
In leadership, the equivalent is a mindset of agility: grounded in your values, but adaptable when the unexpected hits - whether it’s market turbulence or your best employee giving notice.
🧘 Try this:
Think of a recent change you didn’t see coming. How quickly did you adjust?
What practices help you stay flexible under pressure?
3. Rest is Part of the Ride
Recovery days aren’t a break from progress - they’re part of it. On the trail, overtraining leads to burnout and injury. In leadership, constant hustle leads to foggy thinking, impatience, and reactive decisions.
Rest isn’t a luxury. It’s a performance strategy.
🌲 Try this:
Block a 2-hour window this week with no agenda. What do you notice?
Reflect on what kind of rest actually replenishes you - solitude, creativity, connection?
4. Trust Your Skills—and Ride It Out
When a steep descent or rocky feature looms ahead, hesitation is the enemy. You’ve practiced. You know what to do. Braking mid-move often causes more harm than committing.
Leadership is like that, too. You prepare, reflect, and gather feedback. Then, at some point - you trust yourself and move forward.
🚵 Try this:
What’s a decision you’ve been holding back on?
What would change if you trusted your skills and took the next step?
Resting and enjoying the view (and recognizing the work you do as a leader) is an important part of the journey.
Whether you ride bikes or not, the trail offers a great reminder: leadership doesn’t have to feel rigid or heavy. The best lines come when you’re present, prepared, and willing to flow with the terrain.
Want to explore how your leadership can feel more human and effective? Let’s talk.
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