Equipping Leaders To Multiply

Something Behind the Success

Apparently Lance Armstrong’s athletic success was not only based on his extraordinary talent as a cyclist, but also on the intensive time and energy he invested in preparing for a race.

In his book, It’s Not About the Bike, he discusses the importance of building the right team, learning the course, and ensuring that he and his support staff have the right training, the proper conditioning and the best equipment to go for the win. In addition, he says he literally memorizes the entire 2,106 mile course, diligently researching every conceivable change of the wind, weather and temperature affecting each curve and straightaway.

So often with athletes we attribute their success simply to their natural athletic ability. In the same way it’s easy to look at successful leaders and attribute their success to their natural leadership ability. But it’s not strengths alone that make a leader great.  There is something more behind the success of effective leaders…an insatiable desire to study, learn, listen and understand.  Your strengths make you good…your disciplined preparation will make you great.

Where do you need to spend some time this week studying, learning and listening?  How would this type of research take your game up a notch?


Reader Comments

  1. I probably need to spend some time finding the course. With a new senior leader we are looking for direction and a little time in understanding the course will take me a long way towards building a team.

    Good thought!

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