What is leading from the front?

What is leading from the front? 

I still remember the sting of January air in 2016, the morning I slipped on my manager’s badge for the first time. “Fitness Manager”—two words that sounded powerful until you realize what they really mean: you are the point of the spear for an entire department. Every personal trainer’s win or loss comes back to you.

My marching orders were simple on paper—teach trainers how to build and manage businesses. In practice, that meant everything from sculpting their cueing during a deadlift to sharpening their pitch when a client asked, “Why should I buy another 20-session package?” It meant modeling how to greet a nervous first-timer, how to keep a veteran motivated on week 40, and how to carry yourself with the kind of integrity that makes people trust you with their bodies and their dreams.

Very quickly I learned a truth that has guided me ever since: you cannot coach someone to heights you haven’t climbed yourself. If I expect a trainer to log early-morning outreach calls, I have to be the first voice on the phone at 5 a.m. If I challenge them to hit a monthly sales goal, my own numbers have to blaze the trail. That is what leading from the front looks like—you embody the standard so completely that your team sees the path instead of just hearing it described.

Leading from the front also means taking the first hit. New software rollout? I dig in and crash-test every feature before the team ever logs on. New metabolic conditioning protocol? I grind through it—gasping, sweating, adjusting variables—until I know exactly where the sticking points are. By the time my trainers meet the obstacle, I can point out the cracks, the footholds, the places you have to crawl versus leap.

Those hard-won map notes pay dividends far beyond the gym floor. They helped me captain rec-league teams to championships, guide young athletes through injury comebacks, and—perhaps most importantly—teach my daughter that her father’s words are backed by footprints, not just sound waves.

So when I tell new leaders to “lead from the front,” I’m not tossing out a catchy slogan. I’m handing them a compass forged in sweat and mistakes. Step into the unknown first. Chart it. Conquer it. Then turn around, extend a hand, and say, “Follow me—this way works.”