Elite performance looks glamorous from the outside, but anyone who has lived it knows the truth: greatness is built long before the moment you cross a finish line. In my conversation with Madeline Davis Tully — national champion rower and multi-program collegiate coach — one theme kept rising to the surface: winning isn’t an outcome, it’s an identity you build long before the podium.
Whether you’re leading a company, leading a family or leading yourself through a major transition, the process is the same. Champions aren’t discovered. They’re constructed through intention, identity, and relentless consistency.
1. Identity Comes Before Achievement
Most people believe goals create identity. “When I hit the promotion… when I get the six-pack… when I lead the team… then I’ll become the person I’ve always wanted to be.”
But that’s not how performance works; in the gym, in sport or in leadership.
Madeline taught this beautifully: her crews didn’t become champions by talking about championships. They became champions by acting like champions now: in how they slept, ate, trained, studied, and carried themselves when no one was watching.
Identity first. Goal second.
Leaders get stuck when they try to earn an identity they haven’t yet embodied. High performers break through when they begin behaving today like the person they’re trying to become.
2. Great Leaders Don’t Always Sit in the Front of the Boat
Rowing is a profound metaphor for leadership. There is no “star player.” Every seat has a purpose. Some rowers set the rhythm, some generate raw power, some stabilize the boat, and some translate energy from front to back.
Madeline’s insight: the best leaders are the ones who serve the needs of the boat, not their own ego.
In the corporate world, this mirrors the Marine Corps philosophy of command and control: leaders position themselves wherever they can best observe, influence, and support the mission. Sometimes that’s the front. Sometimes it’s the back. Always, it requires humility.
Identity-driven leaders aren’t attached to position. They’re committed to the win.
3. The Steady Presence Wins in Moments of Loss
Anyone can show up when the team wins. The mark of a leader is who they become when the mission fails.
Madeline shared that after every race, especially a loss, she made sure she was the first person her athletes saw at the dock. Not emotional. Not defeated. Not collapsing into their disappointment.
But steady. Present. Unshaken.
That’s the power of leadership grounded in identity rather than outcome. When you don’t need the win to validate you, you’re capable of guiding people through the moments they most need you.
In business, sport, and life, the people you lead don’t need a cheerleader, they need a constant.
So What’s The Point?
Champions aren’t defined by the moment they win, but by the identity, consistency, and leadership they live long before the race begins.
Your Next EASIEST Step
If you’re ready to lead your life like the champion you are becoming, start by identifying the one habit that would most immediately shift how you show up each day. Choose it, commit to it, and execute it for seven days straight. Identity is built through repetition, not revelation.
Let Next Level Support You
You don’t have to walk this journey alone. Join our community of leaders committed to fitness, mindset, and growth. Inside the Alignment Village, you’ll find programs, coaching, and tools to help you move consistently towards the highest and best version of yourself!