What PropSki and the mountains reveal about trust, connection and how we show up.
There’s something about mountains that recalibrates perspective. Scale, exposure and unpredictability demand presence and in doing so, they reveal what leadership really looks like when the noise falls away.
PropSki isn’t about transactions or immediate outcomes. It’s about proximity, time spent together outside the usual structures of meetings, inboxes and expectations. When people move through unfamiliar environments together, something shifts.
One of the most memorable days of the week was travelling from Val Thorens through Méribel and into Courchevel. I began the day not knowing a single person in my group. By the end, shared challenge, laughter and quiet moments had created connections that felt genuine, not transactional, but human.
The banquet dinner brought together more than 650 people, an impressive scale, but not one that promises intimacy. And yet, when Squash Falconer began to speak, the room stilled. Her words cut through the noise not because they were loud, but because they were grounded in experience.
Squash Falconer is a British mountaineer, adventurer and former soldier. She has summited Mount Everest and became the first British woman to climb and paraglide from Mont Blanc. She spoke about operating in extreme environments where conditions shift quickly and consequences are real. “People will forget what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” WTF: Welcome the challenge. Trust yourself and your team. Find a way.
Our industry may not operate at altitude, but it does operate under pressure, tight programmes, shifting conditions and complex stakeholder dynamics. Leadership is revealed not when things go to plan, but when they don’t.
The Leading Ladies ski day was a reminder of what happens when space is created for people to move confidently and collectively. Representation isn’t about performance; it’s about belonging.
Mountains have a way of stripping things back. Leadership doesn’t live in visibility or volume. It lives in judgement, care and presence. People may forget the details of PropSki, but they won’t forget how it felt.
Some environments strip leadership back to what really matters.
– Penny Sloane | Global CEO