You already found who you are once. On a mountainside, on open water, on a solo watch with nothing but the dark and your own thoughts.
Then you came home. And somewhere between the dock and your inbox, that clarity got quiet.
Leadership coaching built for people whose most formative leadership experience happened outdoors, under real pressure, in a small crew — designed by a former expedition instructor, program director, and licensed ship’s captain, now a certified leadership coach.
Schedule a Free Chemistry Session
Atlantic Leadership Group is an independent coaching practice and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Outward Bound USA or any Outward Bound school. References to Outward Bound reflect the founder’s personal background as a former instructor and program director.
The idea behind this
Most leadership coaching starts from scratch — a stranger trying to figure out who you are. This doesn’t. If you’ve been through a serious wilderness or sailing program, you already did the hardest self-discovery work of your life:
- You know what you’re like under real pressure.
- You know how you show up when a crew is tired, scared, or in conflict.
- You’ve felt what it’s like to lead when it actually mattered.
The gap isn’t self-knowledge — it’s translation. That version of you rarely gets invited into the boardroom or the team meeting. This coaching closes that gap, led by someone who has stood on both sides of it: as an instructor, a program director, a licensed captain, and now a certified leadership coach.
The packages
Three ways to work together, depending on how deep you’re ready to go.
Soundings
A compact package for alumni of wilderness or sailing leadership programs who want to revisit that experience with intention and apply it to something real happening right now.
Return to Course
Revisit the crux moment, the night watch, the crew conflict — and what it taught you about how you lead.
The Gap
Map that self-knowledge onto a current challenge.
Recommit
Leave with one clear commitment and a plan to keep it.
Best for: a meaningful, low-commitment starting point.
The Long Passage
Deep, sustained leadership coaching, structured in phases that mirror the pedagogy you already trust.
Provisioning
Assessments and a return to your formative experience.
Open Water
The working middle — team dynamics, conflict, communication.
Night Watch
Self-directed reflection between sessions.
Landfall
A leadership philosophy, and a plan to sustain it.
Best for: real, structured change in how you lead.
All Hands
You learned to lead a crew of near-strangers through real hardship and come out functioning as one unit. This brings that grounding to your team, board, or organization.
For leaders
Executives, nonprofit leaders, and team leads building a stronger, more self-aware team culture.
Often alumni themselves
Many clients are fellow expedition or sailing alumni now running teams or organizations.
Best for: leaders ready to bring the lesson to their whole crew.
A note on fit
This isn’t therapy, and it isn’t a nostalgia trip. It’s coaching — a real partnership aimed at where you’re headed, that happens to start from a place you already trust: the version of yourself that a real wilderness or sailing challenge helped you find.
If that resonates, the first step is a free chemistry session — a conversation, no pressure, to see if this is the right fit.
FAQ
Do I need to remember every detail of my course for this to work?
No. Some alumni remember everything; others remember one moment that never left them. Either is enough to start with.
What if my experience wasn’t entirely positive?
That’s still valuable material. Difficult moments in the field or on the water often carry as much insight as the triumphant ones — sometimes more.
How is this different from general leadership coaching?
General coaching starts by getting to know you from zero. This starts from a shared foundation — a specific, formative experience we can both speak the same language about, led by a coach who has worked inside wilderness leadership programs at every level, including Outward Bound, and who has captained expeditions at sea.
I was an instructor or program director too — is this still for me?
Especially for you. Staff alumni often have the hardest time translating what they gave to hundreds of students into what they now need for themselves.
Is this program affiliated with or endorsed by Outward Bound?
No. Atlantic Leadership Group is an independent coaching practice founded by a former Outward Bound instructor and program director. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Outward Bound USA or any Outward Bound school.
Atlantic Leadership Group 