Leadership Leaves A Mark

One of my favorite coaches growing up was a basketball coach named Brian Paine. Coach Paine was 6'10" tall and must have had a size 17 or 18 shoe. During games, I could always hear him walking down the sideline before I could see him.

He was demanding. He held us accountable in ways that were uncomfortable at the time. He expected more from us than we expected from ourselves. And he had a gift for finding the thing in each player that, when developed, would make them irreplaceable to the team.

I think about him all the time when I think about leadership.

Not the leadership that shows up in frameworks or keynotes. The kind that leaves a mark on a person long after the relationship is over. The kind where, thirty years later, you can still hear their voice when you're facing something hard.

That's the standard worth chasing. Not being liked. Not being remembered. Being the person who actually changed how someone thinks about what they're capable of.

The best leaders I've worked with had this quality. They weren't always easy to work for. Sometimes they pushed in ways that were uncomfortable. But they never stopped believing in you — even when you had stopped believing in yourself. And somehow, that belief had a half-life that extended way beyond the time you spent working together.

Think about the leaders who left a mark on you. What was it about them? What did they see? What did they require? And then ask yourself: am I being that kind of leader for someone right now?

Leadership leaves a mark. Make sure the one you're leaving is the kind people carry forward.