From Andean Villages to Antarctica — What Living a Life Built on Adventure Can Teach You About Leadership

This week on How Success Happens, I spoke with Jaclyn Leibl-Cote, President and CEO of Collette, a 100+ year-old, family-owned travel company that specializes in once-in-a-lifetime adventures—think Antarctica expeditions, African safaris, and tours of the Egyptian pyramids. As the third generation of her family to lead the company, Jaclyn has carried forward not just a legacy of travel, but also a deep commitment to impact through the Collette Foundation, which supports communities around the world in the very destinations their travelers visit. Known for her people-first leadership style, she’s focused on building long-term trust rather than chasing short-term wins. Her insights on self-awareness, cultural preservation, and resilience are game-changers for any entrepreneur.

You can listen to our full conversation below and read on for Jaclyn’s insights to help your personal success journey take off in three, two, one!

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Three Key Insights

1. Work Your Way Up — Literally Everywhere

Jaclyn didn’t just step into the CEO office because her last name was on the building. She worked in the call center, managed tours during college, and rotated through departments ranging from product design to operations. “I worked in many different areas across the organization,” she explained. “I’ve felt pretty prepared for the role in which I play today.” This hands-on experience gave her an understanding of workflows, processes, and—most importantly—the perspectives of employees at every level.

Takeaway: If you want to lead effectively, understand the business from the ground up by rotating through different roles and departments.

2. Travel With Purpose, Not Just an Itinerary

When Jaclyn talked about her proudest moment at Collette, it wasn’t a revenue milestone—it was a day in an Andean village in Peru that changed the course of the company’s purpose. Spending time with schoolchildren, delivering supplies, and experiencing how joyfully people lived with so much less prompted a powerful shift. “It was transformative. It was life-changing,” she said, recalling how that trip led her father, then CEO, to formally establish the Collette Foundation as the company’s global give-back arm. That moment cemented the idea that travel isn’t just about seeing the world; it’s about responsibly supporting the people and places you visit.

Takeaway: Design your business so that every win for your company creates a win for the communities you serve, not as an afterthought, but as part of your core mission.

3. Self-Awareness Is Hard — But It Changes Everything

In 2014, Jaclyn received some brutal feedback during executive coaching that forced her to confront uncomfortable truths about her leadership style. “I was overly opinionated. I would interrupt in meetings,” she admitted. “Self-awareness is something that you have to work really, really hard at. It’s exhausting to be honest.” That feedback, combined with getting her MBA, transformed how she leads. Now, she’s typically the last person to speak in meetings. “I really like to listen to what the room has to say and all the different points of view. A lot of times, you can take logic from multiple people and actually pull it into one solution.”

Takeaway: Seek honest feedback, even when it stings, and commit to the hard work of self-awareness—it will fundamentally change how you lead.

Two Great Ways to Learn More

1. Connect with Collette at gocollette.com to explore their 170+ guided tours across the globe.
2. Wish you worked in travel? Learn how this pre-med major became the president of a leading travel tech company.

One Question to Ponder

Jaclyn shared how a trip to an Andean village in Peru transformed her understanding of Collette’s mission and led to the establishment of the Collette Foundation. It was a moment where the business became about more than dollars and cents.

Here’s my question for you: What moment made you realize your work was about something bigger than just the bottom line—and how did that realization change the way you operate?

Send your answer to howsuccesshappens@entrepreneur.com. Your response could be read on a future episode!

About How Success Happens

Each episode of How Success Happens shares the inspiring, entertaining, and unexpected journeys that influential leaders in business, the arts, and sports traveled on their way to becoming household names. It’s a reminder that behind every big-time career, there is a person who persisted in the face of self-doubt, failure, and anything else that got thrown in their way.