Leadership begins at 2:00am

Dave McGillivray

Lessons I learned from Boston Marathon Race Director, Dave McGillivray. His day begins with a 2:00am wake-up call and concludes at 7:30pm when he crosses the finish line of his own individual marathon. 

(Source: Runner's World, May 2012, The Boston Wrangler)

• "If I've done my job right, I should be the least busy person on race day."

This is the essence of leadership. Take a team of people, find their strengths, hopes and desires and position them for THEIR success.  Unfortunately, some see leadership as positioning their people for the leader's success. 

• "I'm proud to finish last every year."

When the last runner crosses the finish line, Dave loads up and heads back to the start line. Not to begin cleaning up, but to put on his running shoes. He allows all 27,000 runners to cross the line ahead of him and then completes his own marathon. Servant leaders tend to shine a little brighter than selfish leaders.

• "At the end of my life, I hope I have used everything I had until I simply...ran out of time."

How often do you hear someone talk about just working hard? Most people I know are keeping something in the tank for later. They have a grandiose plan of saving a little energy for themselves; a little reward for having put in the time for others. 

When I think about the successful people I know, I see a clear trend of hard work, sacrifice and commitment. Sure, skill has something to do with it, but you just can't overlook good old "elbow grease."