What Lewis & Clark Can Teach Us About Building Stronger Teams

Welcome back! Here is part three in my series about successful teams I’ve helped create—and what made them thrive. 

Let’s travel back in time to one of the most epic examples of teamwork in history: the Corps of Discovery—aka, the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The Original Dream Team

In 1803, President Jefferson doubled the size of the United States with the stroke of a pen through the Louisiana Purchase. The only problem? Nobody really knew what was out there. So he turned to his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to assemble a team to explore this uncharted land.

What followed was one of the greatest adventure projects in history: 45 people, heading upstream against the current of the Missouri River. (If you’ve ever tried to get your team aligned on a new initiative, imagine doing it while hauling boats through wilderness.)

At the helm were Captains Lewis and Clark—two equals with completely different strengths:

• Lewis: the scientist and poet. He documented plants, animals, and landscapes that no white man had ever seen. His journal entry describing the Great Falls of the Missouri is breathtaking:

“I wished for the pencil of Salvator Rosa or the pen of Thompson, that I might be enabled to give to the enlightened world some just idea of this truly magnificent and sublimely grand object…” Read the full journal entry here.

• Clark: the navigator and mapmaker. His writing was all coordinates, distances, and landmarks—and when you overlay his map with a modern one, it’s astonishing how accurate he was.

Their success depended on how well their skills complemented each other. And it didn’t stop there:

• John Shields, the blacksmith, kept the team’s weapons working.

• George Drouillard, the scout, hunted for food and navigated terrain.

• Others cooked, rowed, repaired, and led in their own ways.

• Sacajawea, the guide, translator, forager, calming influence (oh...and she was a teenager with a NEWBORN!!!)

• Seaman, a Newfie! Such a good boy!!! (Lewis's dog who more than one Indian tribe tried to steal!)

It was the ultimate example of a team thriving through diverse strengths.

Fast Forward 200 Years: My Own Corps of Discovery

Flash forward to 1998. The internet was new, GPS was a novelty, and my friends and I had a wild idea: retrace the Lewis and Clark Trail—and have school kids follow along live online.

Like the original expedition, our team’s success depended on each person’s unique strengths:

• Kelly was our Clark. He had the gear, built the website, and figured out how to check email from a cell phone (a superpower in 1998).

• I was our Lewis. I loved writing, journaling, and sharing the natural world with our audience.

• Thad was our scout and mechanic. A triathlete, he kept us moving and our equipment functioning.

Schools from across the country followed our progress. Kids in Florida could chat in real time with kids in South Dakota. It was cutting-edge—and it worked because everyone on our team leaned into their strengths.

The Mishap That Tested Our Team

Then came our own Great Falls moment: when we reached Great Falls, Montana, our car died. We could have quit.

But in the spirit of Lewis and Clark, we adopted their rallying cry: “We proceeded on.”

We pivoted, adjusted our plan, and biked the final 900 miles in 18 days—from Great Falls, MT to Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon. Along the way, we still stopped in schools to lead teamwork assemblies with juggling, magic, and comedy.

The kids loved it. The teachers loved it. And the reason was simple: we weren’t just teaching teamwork—we were living it.

The Leadership Lesson

Whether you’re mapping an uncharted continent or navigating your company’s next big project, the principle is the same:

👉 A successful team thrives when each person’s strengths are recognized, supported, and fully utilized.

The leader’s job isn’t to make everyone the same—it’s to create the conditions where everyone can shine.

If your team could use a little Lewis and Clark energy—bold vision, complementary skills, and some laughter along the way—let’s talk. I help teams strengthen connection and collaboration through interactive leadership workshops that mix improv, play, and purpose.

👉 Contact me at scottparkerleadership.com