Two of my favorite topics are leadership and fitness.

In fact, I became a Strength & Conditioning instructor, initially, because I saw how learning to coach athletics could help my ability to coach leaders.

I’m fascinated by the dynamics that surround leadership:

• Are leaders born or made?
• How does one person influence the choices and thoughts of others? How do they learn to do that?
• Why do some people willingly allow themselves to be influenced or directed by someone else?
• What habits and patterns best support success?
• How do leaders deal with the experience of being a leader? What are healthy (and unhealthy ways) that they manage stress, tension, demands, accountability and so on?

I’m similarly fascinated by athletics and fitness. Specifically, I’m intrigued by the “inner game” of athletics.

• What determines or sets the limits on potential?
• How do athletes relate differently to pain and discomfort?
• How do high performers deal with defeat, discouragement, and injury?
• How does the discipline of physical health and skill impact the rest of life?
• Why do so many high performers just quit if they can’t be the best?
• How do low performers keep motivated and encouraged and keep showing up?

I have a specific high school memory. I was training on an old school stationary bike (just a bike with a canvas tension strap around the wheel.) I wanted to quit because of the physical discomfort.

But then I had a thought, “If I can learn to push through this, I will learn to push through anything.”

I began to see my physical training ground as part of my mental and even spiritual training ground.

The philosopher Socrates challenged a young student names Epigenes to pay more attention to his fitness.

Socrates arguments were primarily based around how physical fitness, in general, would benefit the rest of Epigenes ability to think and act.

He ended with this statement: “It is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength and beauty to their highest limit.”

He wasn’t arguing for old-school bodybuilding.

He was asking, why wouldn’t you want to be at your best? Why wouldn’t you want to see what you are capable of?

If you aren’t willing to do that in one area, will you really pursue it in any other?

I find that compelling.

The link between leadership and fitness

Effective leaders and athletes share these five core qualities:

They master the mental game: Athletes know they must master the mental game. This covers everything from confidence to self-discipline, to recovering from defeat or disappointment, to visualizing a movement.

I would argue, most of fitness, is really about the mental game.

Leaders also have to master the mental game. In exactly the same ways as an athlete: Confidence, self-discipline, recovery from defeat or disappointments, visualizing and anticipating scenarios.

The best leaders have learned to not just accept their mindset but to actively shape and challenge it. They are rigorous about it.

I have often found that the best leaders are often very careful about what media they expose themselves to, what kinds of conversations they get into, what they read and who they spend their time with.

Many will tell you, in their own words, that they are actively nurturing and protecting their desired mindset.

It’s a lifestyle, not an activity: If you want to be fit, if you want to be athletic (even just on a functional level), it is always a lifestyle choice. Not an “I guess I should start working out” choice.

Being athletic requires eating differently and sleeping differently. It requires prioritizing your calendar differently. It has a broad impact across your life. It is a lifestyle choice.

If you genuinely want to excel as a leader, you also will need to make certain lifestyle choices. High-performance leaders pay close attention to what choices energize them and which drain them. This includes diet and sleep.

It also includes prioritizing how they spend their time and who with. It is a lifestyle choice. Not just a position. As a person, they become a leader.

They pursue their personal best: The best athletes are constantly in competition against themselves. Even in competitive sports, the question is, “How do I train better, perform better than I did yesterday?” This is different than, “How can I be better than someone else?” No athlete can perpetually be the best. That comparative approach is eventually defeating. However, any athlete finds some area to consistently pursue their personal best.

The best leaders ask the same question. They are competing against yesterday’s self. “How do I better prepare myself for that kind of situation? What can I do to handle that better next time?”

Intentionality: The intentionally of high performing athletes is a differentiating factor. They don’t allow chance or accident dictate for them how they will perform. They work to set the stage for their success.

The best leaders do the same. They are intentional about their choices. They may not have created their circumstances, but they own their decisions within them. They are intentional about results. Intentional about how they lead.

They don’t leave things to chance.

Goals: Lastly, athletes have goals. Whatever those goals are, they have goals. The goals shape how they train, informs their pacing and budgeting of energy and effort. It determines what their needs are.

The best leaders also set goals. They are clear about their goals and they organize everything around their goals.

Setting goals includes the concept of accountability. Athletes will often keep training logs, training plans, and track performance. They pay attention to inputs and outcomes. They watch trends.

Effective leaders set goals and develop their own training plans. They also pay attention to inputs and outcomes. They measure progress.

Conclusion

Athletes come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of ability. I’ve trained and competed with athletes that competed at the highest levels and those who are just happy to be part of the event at all. All who are serious about their own personal performance share the qualities above.

What differentiates these athletes from people who just show up at the gym once in a while are the characteristics above. It isn’t genetics, ability, memberships or anything else. It’s internal. And mental.

This is true for leaders who perform well over the long haul. They also come in all kinds of personalities, backgrounds, levels of responsibility and skills. But what they share is they don’t leave success to chance. They don’t leave their performance to “the fates.” They take responsibility for their success. They don’t drift into reactivity.

Success is internal – whether we are setting records or never set a record. It’s about persistently and intentionally becoming the best version of ourselves that we can.

That already sets you apart.

Take good care,

Christian

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