What makes somebody a leader? Is it a position or a title? Is it the nameplate on the door or maybe a spot towards the top of the organizational flow chart? I think I have some answers for those questions. But first, a story.

I’ve never been terribly athletic. My parents didn’t push me into sports. My love has always been music. I started band in the 4th grade, but because of my size (I’m 6’4″ – in the top 3 percentile of the entire planet. Really!), by middle school the coaches started pursuing me for football and basketball. Here are the results:

• I went out for spring training in football and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Guys half my size bulldozed me like I was a feather in the wind. It was painful – physically and emotionally. I decided I better get out while I still had a life. Death was imminent. I was just sure of it.
• So next, I went out for the basketball team. The coach said I hustled like nobody he had ever seen. He said they could use somebody of my height on the team. But unfortunately, hustle and height weren’t enough. I was cut from the roster.

So fast forward 30+ years. I’ve been training extra hard for triathlons over the last year. When I finished my first half-marathon a few weekends ago, I was thanking my coach for guiding me along. I told him that I’ve always been a band geek and not an athlete and I was grateful to him for helping me with this transformation.

His response to me was, “Dude. You ARE an athlete.” Now wait a minute. I know athletes. They’re those guys that play football or basketball and don’t get cut from the team before the season ever gets started. Read more and see if YOU are a leader.