Building on last month’s four disciplines, let’s talk about something every leader wrestles with: the gap between where we are and where we know we should be.
Every leader in this industry knows it exists:
- The gap between the leader you are today and the leader you want to become.
- The gap between what you expect from your team and what you actually model.
- The gap between the standards you believe in and the standards you live out when no one is watching.
That gap doesn’t close with intention.
It closes with discipline.
Not complicated discipline.
Simple disciplines repeated over time.
Here are three that consistently move the needle.
Discipline #5: Sweat Dripping Off Your Chin
I firmly believe every leader needs sweat dripping off their chin a few days a week.
Not because it’s trendy.
Not because it’s about fitness.
There’s something about pushing your body that clears your head and sharpens your thinking.
When you push yourself physically, you process stress better.
You think more clearly.
You build discipline.
Some of the best thinking I do doesn’t happen behind a desk. It happens when I’m training.
Movement sharpens the mind.
You don’t need to become an Ironman athlete.
But leaders who never push themselves physically often find themselves drifting mentally.
Discipline in one area spills into others.
Action Step:
Find something that pushes you physically three to five days a week. Run. Lift. Ride. Train. Do something that forces you to sweat and clears your head.
Discipline #6: Eliminate Drift
Leadership gaps rarely begin with dramatic failure.
They begin with drift.
A little less intentional.
A little less prepared.
A little more distracted.
A little more reactive.
Drift compounds quietly.
No one wakes up and decides to lower their standards. It happens slowly when we stop paying attention.
If you don’t design your days, your days will design you.
Strong leaders build guardrails.
Guardrails against distraction.
Guardrails against complacency.
Guardrails against the small habits that quietly pull them off course.
Sometimes closing the leadership gap isn’t about adding something new.
It’s about removing what doesn’t belong.
Action Step:
Identify one area where you’ve drifted—health, focus, preparation, follow-through, or presence at home. Remove one distraction or friction point this week.
Discipline #7: Raise Your Floor
Most leaders spend too much time chasing their ceiling.
They want their best days to be better.
But great leaders focus on their worst days.
Closing the leadership gap isn’t about occasional greatness.
It’s about eliminating inconsistent leadership.
No emotional blowups when you’re tired.
No missed commitments.
No checking out when the week gets hard.
You don’t need to be extraordinary every day.
You need to stop being inconsistent.
Raise your floor, and the gap starts closing.
Action Step:
Identify one leadership behavior where you’re inconsistent. Define your new minimum standard for the next 30 days—and stick to it.
Why This Matters
Leadership gaps don’t close because we care.
They close because we train.
Every standard you raise, every distraction you eliminate, and every discipline you repeat moves you closer to the leader you know you’re capable of becoming.
And when leaders get better, everyone around them feels it.
Your team feels it.
Your culture reflects it.
Your family benefits from it.
This Month’s Challenge
Before the next issue hits your mailbox, focus on three things:
Sweat: Do something physically challenging three to five days a week.
Drift: Remove one distraction that’s quietly pulling you off course.
Floor: Define one leadership standard that becomes non-negotiable for the next 30 days.
Small, intentional disciplines compound over time.
Start closing the gap today.
Looking Ahead
Next month, we’ll continue the conversation by looking at another leadership challenge many of us wrestle with: how we respond when pressure hits.
Because pressure doesn’t create character. It reveals it.
