A Pathways Approach to Leadership

When we think of leadership, it's easy to picture the loudest voice in the room, the one with all the answers, the one who directs.
We see leadership differently at Kith, and it’s not about knowing everything.
For us, it’s about listening deeply, moving with curiosity, and stepping forward in a way that feels authentic.

Leadership is something more personal, something we uncover, rather than adopt. It doesn’t come from authority or instruction, it comes from within, from the quiet moments spent on the land, the challenges faced in a team, the small choices made each day. There’s a maturity to empathy, awareness of others and the ability to be authentically you. In our Pathways program, this is exactly what young people experience: a leadership journey of connection.

The Land as a Teacher

Leadership in Pathways doesn’t start with lectures or step-by-step instructions. It starts with a walk. A slow, attentive walk across a place that will become familiar over time. We invite the group to notice the shape of the land, the way water gathers, the places where the wind moves freely and where shelter is found. We start to ask questions, about the patterns in leaves, the movement of birds, the softest place to lie down and listen.

We ask;

"If this land were a story, what role would you play in it?"

And the shift begins, from spectator to participant, from observer to steward.

Leadership here is not about standing apart from the land but about recognising our place within it. It is about paying attention, following the quiet invitations of the natural world, and learning from what is already here.

Listening to the Wild Within

Each young person who comes to Pathways carries with them a set of strengths that may not yet have a name. Some have quick minds, always ready with a solution. Some move like a lynx, sure-footed and silent. Others hold the group together in unseen ways, sensing who needs encouragement, who needs space.

Rather than placing them in roles or assigning them tasks, we guide them toward recognition. Each participant discovers something about themselves reflected in the land. Through storytelling, they learn how their presence shapes the group. Through silence and sit spots, they hear their own thoughts more clearly. Which in this busy busy world, is quite often a rarity.

None of this is about performing leadership, it’s about embodying it. It’s about knowing that leadership can be fierce or gentle, visible or unseen, spoken or felt.

The Power of Small Moments

There is no single moment when a young person “becomes” a leader. Instead, leadership is woven through their time on the land in quiet, small moments of self-direction.

• The moment someone finds their own way over a fallen tree, testing balance, adjusting, trying again.

• The moment a participant who normally holds back decides to speak up in a reflection circle.

• The moment someone notices a teammate struggling and shifts their own pace to walk beside them.

• The moment a child who felt unsure of their place in the beginning gathers the courage to lead a game, a task, a conversation.

These moments aren’t orchestrated, they emerge naturally, because the space allows for them. The structure of Pathways holds the container, but the young people fill it with their own unfolding experiences. Which is why no two Pathways journeys will ever be the same.

Stepping Into the Story

By the final session, something has shifted.

The same land they first walked upon as newcomers now feels known. They recognise its patterns, its resting places, its quiet corners. More importantly, they recognise something in themselves that wasn’t as clear before, an awareness of their own capabilities, instincts, and the value they bring.

Pathways doesn’t create leaders. It reveals them.

Not by forcing them into positions of authority, but by allowing them to step into themselves, in their own way, at their own pace. We talk about Natural Pace Learning a lot here at Kith and this is one of the greatest accolades to the simplicity of the theory.

And perhaps that is the greatest lesson the land offers—that leadership is not about control, but about relationship.

If you have a young person aged 10+ who’s ready to step into a new way of learning,
head to the button below to find the next Pathways journey for them to join.