We Need More Explorers

Samantha Yarwood is the Program Director of THNK and SPX BASECAMP Expedition Team Leader

We don’t need more experts. We need more explorers.

Image generated by Seedream

This might sound provocative, especially in a world where expertise has long been the gold standard of leadership. But if we want to shape a future that doesn’t look like the past, we need a different kind of leader—one who leads not from certainty, but from curiosity. From wonder.

From vision.

Day 1 of BASECAMP  is all about stepping into Future Vision—a mindset that looks beyond what is, to imagine what could be. We’re not just talking about forecasts or strategies. We’re talking about leaders who are willing to cross thresholds, challenge assumptions, and guide others through uncharted terrain.

According to Jennifer Garvey Berger, complexity and rapid change demand leaders who are not just experts but sense makers—people who can hold multiple truths, adapt to changing contexts, and resist the trap of right answers. She calls this “complexity fitness,” and it starts with letting go of being right and leaning into being curious.

Robert Kegan’s research on adult development adds to this: transformational leadership is less about accumulating knowledge and more about expanding our way of knowing—developing the internal capacity to see from broader perspectives, sit with ambiguity, and grow in complexity.

The truth is, many organizations are still optimizing for control. For predictability. For expertise.

But the world is no longer predictable—and the most impactful leaders aren’t the ones with the best answers. They’re the ones asking better questions.

Hal Gregersen calls this “catalytic inquiry.” In his book Questions Are the Answer, he shows that innovative leaders don’t just tolerate questions—they lead with them. The more complex the challenge, the more important it becomes to ask the questions no one else is asking.

They’re explorers. Sense makers. Visionaries who bring their full selves—head, heart, and gut—into the room. Leaders who don’t shy away from ambiguity, but dance with it. Who see wonder not as a weakness, but as a superpower. Because wonder sparks the very thing we need most: imagination. And imagination is what fuels innovation, inclusion, and possibility.

At BASECAMP, we ask participants to connect with their future selves before they even arrive. To meet the version of themselves who already knows what they long to build, and why it matters.

This isn’t about manifesting. It’s about remembering. Remembering that leadership is an act of creation, not compliance.

And if you need proof that exploration matters? Just look to Alex Hutchinson’s research in Endure. It’s not physical limits that hold us back—it’s our perception of what’s possible.

Explorers succeed not because they know the terrain, but because they’re willing to cross it anyway.

The best leaders I know aren’t just skilled—they’re daring. They don’t just deliver—they dream.

And they don’t just guide teams toward goals—they guide them toward new realities.

We need more of that. And less of the status quo.

So I’ll say it again:

We don’t need more experts.

We need more explorers.