Leadership, Resilience, and Turning Setbacks into Strength – 5 Minutes with Alex Staniforth

Doug Mackay caught up with adventurer, speaker, and mental health advocate Alex Staniforth. From Everest attempts to 446 self-propelled peaks, Alex’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary.

Doug: You have survived two of the deadliest disasters in Everest’s history. How did those moments reshape your understanding of leadership under pressure?

Alex: I remember vividly being trapped at Camp 1 and how everyone reacted so differently in the moment. Even our expedition leader looked scared, not knowing all the answers or what was going to happen. I always envisioned leadership as the strong, masculine character – but also I saw it as vulnerability, being able to show up as yourself and focus on the basics when everyone is looking to you. I was also inspired by the decisions made which focused on doing the right thing, and that always stayed with me in my own leadership. Being kind is never difficult.

Doug: You often speak about the ‘Resilience Rucksack’. What are the top tools leaders should carry to navigate uncertainty and change?

Alex: I can’t share them all in 5 minutes but it includes tools like reframing – how we view setbacks and challenges to discover opportunities; recharging – being able to take care of ourselves and manage energy without burnout; and control circles – focusing on what we can control helps to create some certainty. Leaders need to pack light so that means being ruthless about the most important things too.

Doug: In your experience, how can leaders reframe failure as a catalyst for growth rather than a setback?

Alex: Failure only becomes failure if we don’t learn from it. In school and society generally we’re conditioned that failure is a bad thing; a fatal result. Then I didn’t reach the top of Everest twice and quickly realised that failure is only relative to our response. Not reaching the objective actually led to new opportunities and experiences for growth (like speaking, writing books, starting a charity, new adventures) which I’m grateful for. Only when we’re willing to risk ‘failure’ do we give ourselves permission to discover what’s really possible.

Doug: You have led yourself through extreme solo challenges like 446. What lessons in self-leadership can be applied to leading teams?

Alex: Self-leadership is the foundation. You can’t lead others effectively if you’re not managing yourself. During the 446 I was lucky to have a team around me, which allowed me to (mostly) focus on being the athlete and adventurer whilst on the hill and recovering. One major lesson was not to assume your teams will be as driven or committed as you are, so applying the same mindset and language that I used to force myself through the tough moments won’t always work on others – and might even have the opposite effect. We’re all motivated by different things and our job as leaders is to find out what those things are.

Doug: What advice would you give to leaders who feel stuck at ‘Base Camp’, overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge ahead?

Alex: Don’t try to solve the whole thing at once. Focus on the first small step you can take to create momentum. On multi-day challenges and ultra marathons I take the same approach, because focusing on the end goal can feel insurmountable. The hardest bit is always the first step but when we hit the next milestone (whether that’s a mile, one day, one mountain or week) we start making progress and the rest tends to fall into place. Generally, it never feels as bad as we imagine it to be…

If you have enjoyed this 5 minutes with and would like to connect with Alex then please get in touch and we will put you in touch.

Alex also spoke to us about well-being and purpose-driven leadership. If resilience in your own leadership team is the live question, our leadership development service and our piece on the psychological roles in a high-performing executive team go further.