Andy Neary uses cycling pace-lines as a metaphor for leadership: when times get hard, you have to choose to pull at the front instead of hiding in the pack. Easy to lead when things are going well. Harder when you're facing the headwind.
Chapters
One of the most beautiful things to watch in cycling is when a pace line works like a well oiled machine. What is a pace line? Well, that's when there's a line of cyclists riding one after the other, that's a pace line. And the job of the cyclist at the beginning of the line is to pull the entire group, keep up the pace, the speed of the group. Now, he or she cannot pull the entire group the entire time. So what happens is they move to the side, fall back to the back of the pace line, and then the second cyclist takes lead and starts pulling the group for a certain period of time. Now, when that pace line works together, it is a thing of beauty. They go faster, farther in less time. And there's a phrase in cycling that says, when there's a tailwind, everybody's a hero. It is so easy to pull that group when the wind's at your back. But when there's a headwind, hmm, that's when the men and women separate themselves from the boys and girls. Because some cyclists step up and say, I will go to the front of line and lead this group into this headwind. Others, they like to sneak in the middle and hope others do the work for them.
Where do you stand right now? Because for at least a decade, we had one hell of a tailwind behind us. It was so easy to lead, it was so easy to succeed. Now we got one hell of a headwind facing us. And you're either gonna step up and take the fun of the line and pace your colleagues, your family, your friends. Are you gonna slide in the middle and hope others do the work for you? You have two choices. My advice, do everything you can to get your butt to the front of the line. Because this country needs more leaders right now. They need more people. Pacing. You need to have an impact on those around you. And the best way you can do it is to control the pace line in your life. Because if you just try to sneak in and let others do the work, we know what the results gonna be. So get to the front of the line. Quit hanging out in the back of the pack. We want to see you step up and stand out.
