If you want to run a marathon, life will not hand you the trophy. It will hand you a pair of running shoes.
I read this quote on one of my social media channels recently, and it got my attention because it’s so applicable in business and in life.
If you’ve taken on the role of leader in your business or professional career (owner, C-suite executive, manager, or team lead), then you have essentially signed up for a leadership marathon. The race to a finish line of success.
The title will not automatically guarantee you win the results, the accolades, or the loyalty and hearts of your people. In other words, you won’t be handed the trophy just because you entered the race and obtained the label of leader.
What you will be handed is a pair of running shoes, the tools, if you will, to make all your dreams come to fruition. They will allow you to put your feet on the path of learning and growing into a leader to be remembered for all the right reasons.
But you will have to find those tools and run the race yourself. You will have to learn, train, and improve. You will have to fail and try again. You will need coaching as well as openness to feedback so you can see your blind spots and step into the leader you were born to be.
This is how marathons are won. You start by putting on the shoes and accepting the challenge, without having it all figured out in advance. You pick your race and the destination, and then you decide to go big or go home. You put in the time and effort, and you get better over time.
This quote reminds all of us that success is not granted but earned by those willing to do the work of learning the art of leadership. The good news is that what we learn and the ways we grow as leaders help us not only in our work but also in our personal lives, really anywhere people look to us for direction or those who are observing (and learning by) how we communicate in crisis, conflict, confrontation, and even in triumph.
So, order up your running shoes. Decide to do the work of becoming the very best leader you can be and communicating in a way that your people will believe in your mission and goals, trust you, and be eager to follow you by choice.
If we can help you run the best race of your life as a leader, then reach out, and we’ll show you how quickly and easily you can gain the skills you need to unite your team and accelerate your performance and theirs.
“The real marathon is never the race, but the preparation leading up to it.”
– John Hanc
