FACILITATORS
Abby’s Story
One Step Back, Two Steps Forward
How Abby Found Her True North
Abby Oxborough knows that sometimes you need to step back to find your way forward. At six years old, her family built what would become her future office when they constructed Sugar Lake Lodge. But it would take years of travel and a job that didn’t make sense for her to figure that out.
The Road to Leadership Lodge
It is often said that the path to success is not linear. Abby can attest to that. After graduating with a Journalism and Marketing degree, she went off into the corporate world full of aspirations to become what she thought was the only option – a cog in the 9-5 routine machine. Because that is what we are all supposed to do, right? However, Abby quickly found herself wanting to live more fully than her corporate life allowed, so she did just that. After years of touting the accomplishments of others, she packed a bag and moved to Southeast Asia. We know, classic millennial move, but this was more than a vacation. This was a trip that would redefine her path forward.
Experience as a Core Value
Abby spent several years traveling internationally, teaching English, volunteering in communities, leading outdoor experiences, and teaching yoga. She learned how to view life through the lens of culture. Connecting with people who spoke different languages and placed more value on experience and honest conversation than status and title helped her realize her own superpower. She returned to Minnesota and earned her master’s degree in Experiential Education and Leadership Development. Then, Abby and her husband, Tim, began raising their own kids at the resort, making for a very experiential childhood.
The Relationship Approach
Her belief that relationships are the foundation of any successful business venture influences every program she designs at Leadership Lodge. Abby combines real-world business experience and graduate-level training to build outcomes-based, experiential learning challenges that brings teams together and moves them forward. She understands both business and people and connecting the two is what she does best.
Experiential learning begins with establishing trust and honesty. Then Abby makes you work. She loves a good challenge, loves getting outside, and that is exactly what makes her activities feel more fun than work should. But don’t think for a second that you are not working. You just won’t realize how much you’ve learned until she leads the group reflection at the end. Work that doesn’t feel like work is a win for Abby every time.
Abby knows that sometimes the best way forward is to step back. And at Leadership Lodge she shows teams that this approach can work for them too.
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