Every Visit North Teaches me Something New
By Samuel Roy
Over the past few years, one thing has become increasingly clear to me: working and leading effectively in the North requires far more than applying southern approaches in northern environments.
That realization may sound obvious in theory. In practice, however, it changes how you think about leadership, communication, operations, and organizational support altogether. The more time I spend in northern communities listening to employees, leaders, and local perspectives, the more I realize how important context truly is. Many assumptions that may feel reasonable in larger urban environments simply do not translate in the same way once you begin operating in remote northern communities.
Every visit North continues to teach me something new.
The North Shapes the Employee Experience Differently
The realities of operating in the North shape the employee experience in ways that are difficult to fully understand until you experience them directly.
Smaller communities, remoteness, housing pressures, connectivity challenges, seasonality, and the importance of relationships all influence how organizations function on a daily basis. Things that may appear relatively straightforward in larger southern organizations can quickly become far more complex in remote northern environments. Timelines can look different. Access to services can look different. Even the pace and rhythm of work can shift depending on the season, operational realities, or what is happening within the community itself.
Over time, I’ve come to appreciate how important it is not to assume that approaches developed elsewhere will naturally work the same way in northern environments. Policies and organizational structures still matter, but meaningful support requires understanding the realities people are actually experiencing on the ground. The North has reinforced for me that leadership decisions often become much better once leaders spend more time listening before moving too quickly toward solutions.
Relationships Matter More Than Process
One thing that has stood out to me consistently is the importance of relationships and trust.
In many northern environments, people often decide whether they trust you long before titles, structures, or formal authority matter. Leadership credibility is built through presence, consistency, listening, and genuine engagement over time. People notice quickly whether leaders are making an effort to understand local realities or simply trying to apply solutions from a distance.
That has reinforced something leadership continues to teach me throughout my career: listening matters far more than many leaders realize.
Not performative listening.
Real listening.
Taking the time to understand context before trying to solve problems too quickly. Remaining open to perspectives that challenge your assumptions. Recognizing that local knowledge often carries insights that may never fully appear in policies, reports, or operational discussions.
Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in the North have come from conversations that helped me better understand realities I would not have fully appreciated otherwise.
Resilience and Community Leave a Lasting Impression
What has probably left the biggest impression on me over the past few years is the resilience, adaptability, and strong sense of community that exists across northern teams and communities.
Despite operational challenges and environmental realities that can sometimes be difficult, there is often a remarkable level of collaboration and mutual support. People adapt constantly. Teams help one another. Communities remain deeply connected. There is a practical resilience in many northern environments that becomes very visible once you spend time there.
I think there is a great deal leaders can learn from that mindset. In many ways, northern teams demonstrate the importance of collaboration, adaptability, and community more visibly because those qualities are essential to operating successfully in remote environments. Over time, I’ve also come to appreciate how much strength, knowledge, and leadership capability already exists within the communities themselves.
Leadership in the North Requires Humility
One of the biggest lessons the North continues to reinforce for me is the importance of humility.
Not assuming you fully understand an environment simply because you understand the policy, organizational structure, or operating model around it. Real understanding takes time. It requires curiosity, relationships, consistency, and a willingness to keep learning long after the initial orientation period is over.
There is still a great deal for me to learn, and I remain grateful for the people and communities who continue to share their perspectives and experiences along the way. Because some of the most meaningful leadership lessons are not learned through presentations or frameworks alone.
They are learned by listening carefully, staying grounded, and taking the time to understand the realities people experience every day.
Samuel Roy is the founder of Noreki and the author of The Coherence Gap™: Closing the Distance Between Aspiration and Experience. His work focuses on helping leaders build organizations where purpose, strategy, leadership, operations, culture, and human energy reinforce one another.
