You wouldn’t send an Olympian to one practice and expect a gold medal, so why do we treat our leaders that way?
Professional athletes train more than they perform. Every sprint, drill, rep, and recovery session builds toward that one defining moment under the lights.
In the corporate world? We flip the equation.
Leaders are expected to perform at a high level, every day, with almost zero time set aside for consistent development. Maybe they attend a workshop once a year. Maybe there’s a leadership retreat every few years. And we call that “training.”
We’d never do this to a professional athlete. But we do it to our leaders all the time.
It’s time we change that.
What Professional Sports Got Right That Business Gets Wrong
When I was in the submarine force, we trained constantly. We drilled emergency procedures until muscle memory took over. Why? Because in high-stakes environments, you don’t rise to the occasion—you fall to the level of your training.
Leadership is no different. The pressure is real. The stakes are high. Yet most companies rely on “event-based development”—a keynote, a conference, maybe an e-learning module—and expect it to hold for the year, or longer.
No wonder 90% of companies say they can’t adapt quickly to market changes.
We’re not preparing leaders to win. We’re throwing them into the game without a warmup.
Elite Leadership Requires Elite Preparation
Here’s what the world’s top performers understand that businesses need to embrace:
- Training Isn’t an Interruption. It’s a Requirement
Athletes don’t train once and expect to stay sharp. They build routines, track progress, and refine constantly. Leadership training should be no different. Leaders need regular reps, not random events. - Performance Follows Preparation
If you want better decisions, stronger teams, and faster execution under pressure, you need to build those muscles before the pressure hits. That means daily leadership practice, not just fire drills.
Leadership Is a Skillset, Not a Title
Athletes don’t become great because they were given a jersey. They earn it through disciplined effort. Same with leaders. Leadership isn’t automatic. It’s earned, developed, and sharpened over time.
What Training Looks Like for Business Leaders
So, how do we fix it?
At Lead With Purpose, we help organizations implement consistent, purposeful leadership development. That means:
- Practicing fast, smart decision-making
- Running post-action reviews to accelerate learning
- Coaching managers to lead with clarity and conviction
- Using tools like the One Page Purpose Plan™ to align and engage their teams
- Creating a culture where training is part of the rhythm, not an afterthought
The best teams don’t separate training from performance. They blend the two. They get better while they execute.
Final Thoughts: Great Leadership Isn’t Luck. It’s Trained.
You wouldn’t put a quarterback in the Super Bowl without a season of consistent training and improvement.
You wouldn’t ask a Navy officer to lead a sub without months of preparation.
So stop sending your leaders into high-stakes environments without the training they need.
Because when the pressure hits—and it will—it won’t be the conference they attended a year ago that gets them through.
It’ll be the habits they’ve built, the clarity they lead with, and the steady leadership they’ve practiced every day.
Let’s get to work.
—Marc Koehler
Founder, Lead With Purpose
Keynote Speaker | Elite Leadership Expert | Former U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Officer
Book Marc Koehler for 2025
If your organization is feeling the pressure of competing priorities, unclear direction, or slow transformation, it’s time to upgrade your leadership system.
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