Latest issue Jun 29, 2024

The 4 Horsemen of Leadership: Essential Principles for Fitness Business Owners

In traditional business, leadership is typically identified as a position, role or set of high level responsibilities one is accountable for. Leadership training incorporates developing skills, both hard and soft, to be effective in the role. "Effective Communication", "Relationship Building", "Strategic Thinking" are all skillsets common to the standard leadership training curriculum. While skills training is wildly important, there's a foundational level that needs to be addressed.

Below we'll discuss key core principles (The 4 Horsemen) that will transcend you from a mere fitness business operator to a true leader of people. Mastering the embodiment of these principles is foundational for the impact desired on your business, relationships and life.

Identity

In this phase, leadership is less about acquiring skill sets and more about embodying specific principles. It’s a profound shift from doing to being. This state of being is constant, unable to be turned off or "left at the studio." Before we dive into those principles, understand that the intention isn't to learn a set of skills, but to truly transcend who we are at our core.

This identity shift is crucial because your impact as a leader is limited if you do not personally align with the values and behaviors we'll dive into below. When we make this shift, leading becomes intuitive and authentic, rather than a set of actions to be performed. It’s about living the principles of leadership so deeply that they naturally guide your behavior and decisions, creating a seamless blend between personal and professional life.

For leaders in the fitness industry, this concept of identity is especially relevant. Fitness professionals often emphasize the importance of consistency and commitment in achieving goals. Similarly, the journey to becoming an effective leader requires a consistent and committed approach to embodying these core principles. This embodiment means your leadership traits are evident in every interaction, whether with members, team members, or in personal relationships. The age-old saying "how you do anything is how you do everything," couldn't be more true.

Let's dive in more about what these key leadership principles are and how we can go about acquiring them as part of our new identity.

The 4 Horsemen

#1. Emotional Intelligence (EQ):

Simply put, this is our ability to acknowledge, understand and effectively manage our emotions along with recognizing, understanding and influencing the emotional state of others. The people we lead may have events and issues going on in their personal lives we have no knowledge of. More times than not, there are things in their life that are far more important to them than a smooth rollout of the new program we’re implementing organizationally. Meeting your team with empathy is the key to unlock the door for a real relationship. Achieving heightened levels of EQ allows for empathy to show up more often than not, ultimately allowing you to connect more deeply with the people who matter most.^1,6

Signs of mastery here include:

People feel safe enough to be vulnerable around you.
Emotional regulation of the self.
Higher levels of empathy and compassion.
Relationships evolving more deeply.
Diffusing difficult conversations/situations.
Genuine inquiry of others' well being.
Positively reframing challenging events.

#2. Service:

This is commonly mistaken as “doing things” for others to be nice or to be liked. While serving is a nice thing to do, it is not for the sole reason of unloading responsibility from others. In fact, that alone can be detrimental towards one’s development. Service to others is compassionately supporting them towards their best version of them. What’s interesting is that we are unable to uncover that without mastering the first principle of EQ. Sometimes, service can be filled with positive emotions and a celebratory feeling. Other times, it shows up as a difficult accountability conversation. Regardless of if the person we’re serving feels happy or sad, our duty is to the best version of themselves.

Servant oriented leadership flips traditional leadership on its head. This concept of leadership referenced in ”Leaders Eat Last” - Sinek and Zingerman's philosophy of Stewardship, states that leadership is a bottom up approach vs. a top down, empowering and uplifting others as opposed to commanding authoritatively. The greatest act of service you can give to your people is- your time. This time must extend beyond that annual performance review, the quarterly audits and the company bbq. Truly serving your people is being alongside them physically and emotionally, unconditionally. In my fitness business, we close the facility down from 1pm-3pm intentionally. This is our unstructured time for my team members and I to workout together. During this time is when the highest quality connections are made. It's when I get to see them, agenda-less, and truly understand how I can best serve them in their current state. Structuring unstructured time with your people will ultimately serve your business.^2,4

#3. Influence

Influence, also known as communicating directly to that "best version" declared by the person(s) you're engaging with. At its core, influence is about creating a connection between individual motivations and organizational goals. Every person on your team has unique drives and aspirations. They have beliefs and goals that matter most to them. Effective leaders understand these personal motivations and align them with the larger vision of the organization. This alignment creates a powerful synergy, where personal and organizational goals become intertwined, fostering a sense of shared purpose⁴.

Influence begins with genuine curiosity. To influence others, leaders must first understand them deeply. This involves asking insightful questions:

Who is this person? Understanding the individual's background, experiences, and identity.
What are their experiences? Gaining insights into their journey, challenges, and triumphs.
What drives them? Identifying their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.
What excites them? Recognizing their passions and interests.
How can I help them achieve their best? Finding ways to support their growth and development.
How do I connect their wants with the organization’s needs? Bridging personal goals with organizational objectives.

By knowing these answers and communicating why it matters, leaders can create a meaningful connection with each team member, fostering trust and respect. Once team members feel understood, valued and connected with, they're more energized to buy into the collective vision. This shared meaning creates the intrinsic and infinite human energy source. Again, these conversations can exist outside of a formal development meeting. In my experience, more meaningful connection takes place when they are. ³

#4. Accountability

Accountability is arguably one of the highest expressions of love in an organization. Like love, it can be selfless, painful at times yet reinforcing of the relationship. When holding ourselves, or others, accountable to the things we declare is the most caring thing we can do. Accountability is like the “vegetables” of leadership—essential, but not always the most appealing.

First and foremost, if you the leader has not made the identify shift, accountability starts there. Leaders must first hold themselves accountable, setting an example for their team. This means consistently aligning actions with values and goals, being transparent about mistakes, and demonstrating a commitment to personal growth,even when you "clock out" for the day.

Successfully nurturing the first 3 principles, we now have a strong foundation to hold others accountable. Holding others accountable to what they say they want is much more powerful than holding them accountable to standards they don't align with. If you have the right people on your team, you will always be holding them accountable to their standard,which is in turn our standard.⁵

Conclusion

Being a leader is an authentic shift from "a role to perform" to an embodiment of the principles above . These principles aren't theoretical concepts to be turned on and off; they are integral traits that define who we are. By making this identity shift and mastering the 4 horsemen principles, we can create a powerful and positive impact on our business, our team and our members.

So, as you step forward in your leadership journey, embrace these principles wholeheartedly, and watch as your influence transforms your business into a thriving, cohesive, and impactful force.

Sources:

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence.
Sinek, S. (2014). Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t.
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Weinzweig, A. (2010). A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to Building a Great Business (Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 1). Zingerman's Press.
Lencioni, P. M. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. Jossey-Bass.
Deloitte. (2020). Purpose-driven companies: How to build and maintain the trust of stakeholders. Deloitte Insights. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/marketing-and-sales-operations/global-marketing-trends/2020/purpose-driven-companies.html