Iditarod Leadership: Trusting Your Team

I had the privilege of being one of the “bookend” keynote speakers at the Legacy Project conference in Illinois recently. I opened the event, and Blair Braverman closed it.

We actually bumped into each other in the hallway beforehand, not knowing who the other was, and had a great conversation. Then I got to hear her keynote—it was excellent(!).

If you don’t know Blair, she’s a writer, adventurer, and dogsled musher who has competed in the Iditarod (!!!). She even brought one of her lead dogs with her.

Her stories were fascinating. This one in particular landed deeply.

At one point on the trail, she and her team were surrounded by a pack of wolves.

Imagine that 😳

Cold. Darkness. Wolves nearby.

And uncertainty.

She noticed her lead dog lay down.

As if there was nothing to panic about.

She followed his lead. Trusted him completely.

And that’s how they made it through the night.

Pretty incredible.

Leadership asks us to do something similar more often than we admit.

Project calm even when we feel uncertainty.

Stay grounded when everyone else is looking for cues.

Offer steadiness before certainty.

Not because we aren’t scared. But because calm is contagious.

Blair shared another story that I found incredibly inspiring—about a dog who wasn’t the lead, but played an instrumental role in shaping the culture of the team.

Bringing energy.
Joy.
Connection.

Loved that! 🐾🫶🏼

Because leadership isn’t always about the lead position.

Sometimes the person creating the biggest impact is the one bringing steadiness.

Or warmth.

Or perspective.

Sometimes culture is shaped from the middle.

And sometimes trust means recognizing exactly who to follow in the moment.

I wrote down this one line she said that I haven’t stopped thinking about:

“I am a luminous person with them.”

What a beautiful description of alignment.

Leadership has a way of inviting that question:

Who are you with your team?
Calm? Grounded? Steady? Joyful?

And when uncertainty circles…

Can others feel enough from you to rest for the night?