Leadership Is Everywhere — Even on the Treadmill

There’s a picture sitting on my phone right now. It shows a treadmill screen: one hour, a handful of miles, and some numbers that, to be brutally honest, are unimpressive by any athletic standard. Especially for someone who grew up an athlete… someone who spent 21 years in the Navy… someone who used to pride himself on being a physical force.

But today, that picture is proof of something much more powerful than performance.

It’s a snapshot of leadership.

Leadership doesn’t always look like a podium speech, a strategic win, or some high-level executive maneuver. Sometimes, leadership is a quiet, sweaty walk after years of not doing the work. Sometimes, it’s standing in front of your own brutal truth and saying, “Yep. This is where we are. Now let’s get to work.”

That’s how I run my leadership consulting firm. Because that’s how I live my life.

We coach, train, and mentor with one foundational belief: leadership thrives in honesty. Not the soft kind. The brutal kind. The kind that looks at a problem — whether it’s a toxic culture, a broken process, or your own physical neglect — and refuses to sugarcoat it.

Humility, brutal truth, open honesty, and resiliency — those aren’t just traits of great leaders. They’re the cornerstones of our work with clients. Whether we’re guiding a C-suite team through tough conversations, helping a mid-level manager develop their voice, or challenging a high-performing team to reach higher, we bring these values to the table every single time.

That treadmill photo? It’s humility — knowing I’ve let things slip and that reclaiming discipline starts with day one.
It’s brutal truth — seeing the numbers, not liking them, but accepting them.
It’s open honesty — posting the photo, not to get likes, but to say “this is real.”
It’s resiliency — getting on that treadmill today, and promising to get on it again tomorrow.

That’s leadership in motion.

And if you lead a team, a company, a family, or just your own damn life, this is your reminder: leadership is not a title, a rank, or an image. It’s action. It’s ownership. It’s showing up — even when it’s ugly. Especially when it’s ugly.

At our firm, we don’t coach to make you feel good. We coach to make you effective. We train with real-world grit. We mentor through truth, not ego. And we believe your personal leadership is the foundation of every success you’re trying to build.

So here’s the picture. Here’s the truth. And here’s the question:

Where in your life are you avoiding the treadmill?
Because your team, your mission, your growth — they all start where your excuses stop.

Let’s walk the hard road. Together.
Leadership is everywhere. And it starts with you.