When I’m off-roading, there’s a moment every adventurer knows well. You’re deep on the trail, the terrain is uneven, and suddenly, you realize you haven’t seen a trail marker in a while. That’s when doubt creeps in. Am I still on the right path, or am I about to waste daylight backtracking?

One time, I missed the markers completely because I was chatting with a friend who had joined me. By the time I realized it, I was 20 miles further than I had planned and ended up staring at the Salton Sea. It wasn’t catastrophic. I still had gas, daylight, and options, but I lost time, energy, and focus. The trail had taken me somewhere, just not where I meant to go.

Leadership feels like that more times than not. The obstacles are different, sure. Things like competing priorities, stretched budgets, multiple staff asking if you just “have a moment”… but the risk is the same: drifting further and further off course, only realizing later how far you’ve gone.

That’s why Charlotte Burgess-Auburn’s book You Need a Manifesto should be required reading for all leaders. She describes a manifesto as a compass, not a map. It doesn’t spell out every twist and turn. Instead, it’s the equivalent of those markers on the side of the trail that reassure you you’re still on track, even when the terrain is unknown.

As Chief Academic Officer with 25 years in education, I see how often schools operate without these markers. We hand teachers a vision statement or a beautiful Portrait of a Graduate poster, but it doesn’t show up in the day-to-day decisions. When leaders are unmoored, every trail looks the same, and that’s when we burn precious energy circling or overshooting instead of moving forward with intention.

A manifesto changes that. It anchors decision-making in values you’ve actually named. It gives you language that cuts through noise and offers reassurance in complexity. On the trail, that’s the difference between pressing forward with confidence and burning miles in the wrong direction. In schools, it’s the difference between progress and burnout.

A Challenge for Leaders

Don’t wait until you’re lost at your own “Salton Sea moment” to wish you had trail markers. Write a manifesto that’s small enough to remember, clear enough to use, and visible enough to check when the fog rolls in.

Because whether you’re off-roading in the desert or steering a district through turbulent times, one truth holds: the terrain will test you. The question is whether you’ll have trail markers when you need them.