When we have the label of “leader”, we often assume that to mean that we need to get out in front and show people the way. That may be true sometimes. But great leaders allow for leadership among team members based on their strengths and not their titles. They “manage” the team, but allow for different leaders to emerge.

How many times in our lives have we put something off because we’re not ready, we need more time, we don’t feel comfortable, etc. etc.

I love the Olympics. I love that Olympic athletes have been toiling away in relative obscurity for much of their lives, training for the ultimate moment. I love seeing them finally get their recognition when their amazing talents are brought into the light for the world to see.

I’m a full time firefighter for the City of San Diego. And I have been for 19 years. In those 19 years, I’ve had an annual evaluation each and every year.  But I have yet to be asked what I think about my Captain and his/her leadership performance.

My teammates and I were multiple time world champions in a crazy non-stop, multi-day sport called Adventure Racing, in which mixed gender teams of 4 people kayak, mountain bike, mountaineer, raft, run and hike for 5-10 days, across some of the most remote and inhospitable places on earth, using only a map and compass for navigation and racing NON STOP — so if we slept and when we slept was all part of our team’s strategy.