The habits that quietly determine how we show up when it matters most.The quality of our leadership isn't determined by how much we carry. It's determined by the capacity we build to carry it well. Ten years ago, I first thought about climbing Mt Kablaki, Timor-Leste's fourth-highest mountain. A few weekends ago, I finally did it.  Photo caption: The summit came the next day. The lesson began here. At the time, I thought I had come for the climb. I didn't yet realise the mountain had something else to teach me. My partner and I drove to the small village at the foot of the mountain the afternoon before our climb. We hadn't booked a guide or arranged accommodation. Instead, we simply asked around until someone pointed us towards a local guide, and then asked whether there was somewhere we could pitch our little orange tent for the night. What happened next was completely unexpected. We were invited to camp beside the Uma Lulik, the village's sacred traditional house. Beautifully crafted and rich in cultural significance, it was one of the most special places we could have imagined spending the night. As temperatures dropped after sunset, our hosts even offered for us to sleep inside the Uma Lulik itself. We politely declined because we had been looking forward to a simple night under canvas, surrounded by the mountains we had come to explore. Here we were, welcomed by people we had only just met, trusted with space beside one of the most meaningful places in their community, sharing stories as darkness settled over the mountains. The next morning we climbed Mt Kablaki. The views were spectacular. But what I remember most wasn't standing on the summit. It was everything that happened before it. Driving home, I realised the weekend hadn't really been about climbing the mountain at all. We often admire leaders for everything they carry: the responsibilities, the projects, the people who depend on them and the causes they champion. But perhaps we've been measuring the wrong thing. The quality of our leadership isn't determined by how much we carry. It's determined by the capacity we build to carry it well. That thought stayed with me long after the mountain disappeared in the rear-view mirror.  Over the past few weeks, life has been wonderfully full. From the outside, it may have looked like one exciting announcement after another. BOLDER found its way into three shops across Dili, including the international airport. I joined the Advisory Board of AVM Timor-Leste. Exciting conversations began about bringing a Climate Leadership Certificate to Timor-Leste. I helped CARE in Timor-Leste develop its advocacy strategy, and I've been speaking with policymakers about Timor-Leste's whale-swimming guidelines. I also had the privilege of contributing an article to the Swiss leadership magazine Persönlichkeit!. Behind the scenes, however, life looked rather different. I spent countless hours refining my website, one page at a time, with plenty more still to come. I followed up proposals, responded to emails, prepared new programmes and quietly laid the foundations for what's next. At the same time, I made a deliberate effort to return to the habits that help me lead well: eating nourishing food, prioritising strength training, spending time outdoors and making space for weekends in nature. None of those things are particularly newsworthy. Yet I've become increasingly convinced that they are the work that makes everything else possible. The R in B.O.L.D.E.R. stands for Regenerate.  While revisiting the Regenerate chapter of BOLDER recently, one sentence caught my attention again: Purpose without energy is not sustainable. When I wrote those words, I was thinking about burnout. Today, they remind me of something slightly different. Capacity. Purpose gives us direction. Capacity determines how well, and how consistently, we can show up. Every meaningful opportunity that has emerged over the past few months has arrived alongside everything else life was already asking of me. None of those opportunities replaced the ordinary work. They were added to it. That is why I have become increasingly protective of the habits that quietly expand my capacity rather than drain it. Earlier this month, I also shared the story behind my article "Stärke entsteht unterwegs" (Mental Strength Develops Along the Way) in the Swiss professional magazine Persönlichkeit!, published by WEKA Business Media AG, for a special edition on Frauenpower (Women’s Power). The piece explores why we don't need to wait for more courage before taking the first step. Courage grows because we take it. The editors challenged my first draft with refreshingly honest feedback. It felt polished, but it no longer sounded like me. They were right. Rewriting it reminded me that maintaining quality, whether in our writing, our leadership or our wellbeing, is rarely about dramatic change. More often, it's about paying attention before something quietly drifts off course. (If you missed the story, you can read it here.)  Photo caption: Featured in the Swiss professional magazine Persönlichkeit! with my article “Stärke entsteht unterwegs”, a reflection on how courage grows through action. One of the reasons I return to nature so often is because it constantly reminds me that capacity is created through cycles. Forests regenerate. Coral reefs recover. Muscles become stronger only after they repair. Nothing in nature grows continuously. Leadership shouldn't expect to either. There is often more recognition for recovering from burnout than for quietly preventing it in the first place. Yet maintaining our health, relationships and energy before they begin to suffer is one of the most important leadership practices we have. Capacity isn't built during the keynote, the board meeting or the strategy workshop. It's built beforehand … in the workout you almost skipped, the meal you took time to prepare, the weekend spent outdoors instead of in front of another screen, the conversation that grounds you and the boundaries that protect what matters most. These moments rarely appear on a résumé, yet they shape every decision we make.  Photo caption: One conversation can open a door you didn’t know existed. What comes nextCapacity isn't something we build once and then forget. It's created every day through the choices we make about how we work, recover, connect and grow. Whether I'm facilitating leadership workshops, supporting organisations through strategy and change, speaking at conferences, coaching leaders, or designing future BOLDER expeditions, this idea continues to shape the way I live and lead. The work may look different from one project to the next. The principle doesn't. Build capacity first. Everything else grows from there. If you're looking to strengthen leadership within your organisation, navigate change with greater confidence, or explore new ways of developing leaders through nature, adventure and lived experience, I'd love to start a conversation. I work with organisations and leadership teams through:
Questions for ReflectionAs you look towards the months ahead, I wonder:
Continue the conversationIf this reflection resonated with you, you might enjoy exploring some of the other ways we can work together:
Because in the end... The quality of our leadership isn't determined by how much we carry. It's determined by the capacity we build to carry it well.
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AuthorBirgit Hermann is a global coach, speaker, executive leader, ocean advocate, and extreme endurance athlete. For 20+ years she has guided leaders and teams in over 20 countries through transformation, crisis and culture change. 
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