Climbing the World’s Tallest Waterfall | Lessons in Trust

Sitting in another airport and thinking back on my weekend with new clients, Laurel Morrison and Mark at Wildwire. They run one of the top adventure attractions in Wānaka, the world’s highest waterfall via ferrata climb, scaling Twin Falls, and stars of  Travel Guides, when Laurel successfully demonstrated to the Fren family that where there is a will, there is a way, and you really can do anything if you put your mind to it.

Excited by their ambition, I booked my trip for our first strategy day. Laurel said, “Mark and I think you should experience our product.” They were keen for me to gain insight into the customer perspective, to see the team and operations in action, and to understand what they love about their business and why they do what they do. It is, in many ways, the essence of a strong business growth strategy – understanding value not just intellectually, but experientially.

Now, I am the adventurous type, but it was 25 years ago since, as an active climber, I scoured the cliffs in Krabi, Thailand. Climbing the world’s tallest waterfall caused mild panic, to say the least. My biggest concern, aside from falling off and plummeting to my death, was the fear of telling my client, “I can’t.” I imagined myself frozen to the rock face, paralysed and needing rescuing. Oh, the mortification.

“Trust me. Trust the equipment,” said Laurel.

So, smiling while quietly freaking out on the inside, I started the climb. They are the experts, and they have an impeccable health and safety record. Starting out, I felt uncoordinated, that awkward discomfort of getting it wrong.

As the expert, Laurel guided me beautifully, chatting away (a great distraction technique) while checking my every move. Gradually, I got into the swing of things and made it to the top. Achievement. And exhilaration. I did it. I loved it. Laurel turned “I can’t do it” into “I did it.”

There is something in that moment that mirrors what I see every day in my work as a business consultant and executive coach. Leaders often know where they want to go, but the gap between “I can’t” and “I did” is where trust, capability, and execution live.

The next day, in a meeting room with Laurel and Mark, the roles were reversed. It was my turn to ask for their trust. To help them become comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Because as their coach, it is my role to guide them safely, yes, with some risk, because that is part of any great adventure, toward their version of success. Not just through ideas, but through a structured, repeatable approach to strategy execution, leadership alignment, and measurable outcomes.

Research consistently reinforces this. High-trust environments are directly linked to stronger performance and engagement, which ultimately drives better execution of strategy (Harvard Business Review: The Neuroscience of Trust). Equally, McKinsey highlights that the success of transformation efforts is far less about the strategy itself and far more about leadership behaviour and capability to execute it (Why Most Transformations Fail).

That is the work. Helping leaders trust the process. Helping teams build the capability to climb, and helping businesses design growth that is not only ambitious but sustainable.

Whether you are scaling a business or climbing a waterfall, the principle is the same: You don’t get to the top by staying where it feels safe.