HOOK

The true measure of leadership is not what you accomplish personally.

It is what people become because of your leadership.

ENHANCEMENT

Great leaders do more than drive results.

They: develop confidence create ownership build accountability and prepare others to lead without constant supervision.

Because leadership that ends with the leader is not leadership multiplication.

That is dependency.

REFLECTION

My father was a high school athletic director, basketball coach, track and cross country coach, and a physical education and health instructor.

He was – and continues to be – my hero.

I was fortunate enough to manage his basketball teams for years before eventually having the opportunity to play for him.

On the wall of his office hung a plaque that read:

“The true testament of a coach is not their won-loss record, but what becomes of their players.”

That philosophy shaped my understanding of leadership.

My father was a great coach not simply because he won games – although he won plenty of them.

He was a great coach because he developed future leaders.

He helped me, and many before and after me, become better versions of ourselves regardless of whether we were: stars role players or bench sitters.

Everyone mattered.

Former players regularly came to our home years later just to visit, reconnect, and pay their respects.

That says far more about leadership than any scoreboard ever could.

And by the way, in partnership with my mother, he also helped raise and develop 11 children who would eventually become leaders in their own ways.

Five of my siblings later became coaches themselves.

That is leadership multiplication.

The role of a leader runs much deeper than delivering results in the moment.

A leader is accountable for what happens to the people they are entrusted to lead.

It is my belief that a leader’s primary responsibility is to create more leaders.

Yes, leaders are accountable for the scoreboard today.

But they are also accountable for the impact that echoes years into the future.

Many leaders can drive a team to a championship season or a strong quarter.

Far fewer create a legacy that continues long after they are gone.

Yet that is the true challenge of leadership.

Great coaches and great leaders create more leaders.

And we admire them not simply for what they achieved personally, but for the leadership tree they grew around them.

That is the real legacy.

CLOSING QUESTION

Who are you intentionally developing today that may someday lead because of your influence?