Sometimes the best leadership lessons don’t come from books, conferences or boardrooms.
Sometimes they come from a camping trip with your children.
Over the past few days, while exploring the mountains around Lac de Serre-Ponçon in the French Alps, I found myself seeing leadership through a different lens. A simple mountain stream became the backdrop for three reflections I hadn’t planned to write, yet each revealed something important about what it means to lead well.
Rather than writing one long article, the experience naturally unfolded into three connected stories. Each builds on the last, but each also stands on its own.
If you’re new to Seeds of Leadership, I hope you’ll enjoy the journey.
🌊 The Little Dams We Build
It all started with a bike ride.
When my son discovered a small mountain stream, he immediately began building tiny dams with stones, watching the water pool before knocking them down and starting again.
Standing beside him, I realised that leadership isn’t always about removing obstacles. Sometimes it’s about introducing the right challenge at just the right moment. Both have the power to change the direction of someone’s life.
Read the full article here:
The Little Dams We Build
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisdleonard/p/the-little-dams-we-build?r=6xri9y&utm_medium=ios
🤝 Who Are You Bringing Into the Stream?
I thought the lesson had ended.
Then my son disappeared.
A few minutes later, he returned with his little sister. He didn’t need her help. He simply wanted her to experience the moment too.
That simple act became a reflection on collaboration, shared leadership and one of the most important questions every leader can ask:
Who am I inviting into the journey?
Read the full article here:
Who Are You Bringing Into the Stream?
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisdleonard/p/who-are-you-bringing-into-the-stream?r=6xri9y&utm_medium=ios
💧 Never Stop Following the Stream
The following day, we hiked higher into the mountains.
Every time we crossed a stream, my son stopped. He wanted to know where the water came from, how cold it was, why it flowed the way it did, and which stream offered the freshest water.
Watching him reminded me that somewhere between childhood and adulthood, many of us stop asking questions. We become more concerned with appearing knowledgeable than with becoming knowledgeable.
Perhaps the greatest leaders never lose that childlike curiosity.
Read the full article here:
Never Stop Following the Stream
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisdleonard/p/never-stop-following-the-stream?r=6xri9y&utm_medium=ios
One Stream. Three Lessons.
Looking back, I realised these weren’t really articles about streams at all.
They’re about shaping lives with intentionality.
They’re about inviting others into the journey instead of walking it alone.
They’re about remaining curious enough to keep learning, no matter how much experience we have.
One ordinary holiday in the French Alps unexpectedly became a reminder that leadership isn’t something we switch on when we arrive at work each morning. It’s something we notice, practise and live every day.
Sometimes the most profound lessons are hidden in the most ordinary moments.
We just have to be willing to stop long enough to see them.
I’d love to hear from you.
Which of these three reflections resonated with you the most?
Was it the challenge of The Little Dams We Build, the invitation found in Who Are You Bringing Into the Stream?, or the curiosity explored in Never Stop Following the Stream?
Please leave a comment below. I’d genuinely love to know which lesson stayed with you—and why.