Most leaders focus on action.
They set the plan, adjust when needed, and push forward.
I’ve done that.
But the more I lead, the more I’m learning:
The real key to long-term growth isn’t just what your team does—it’s what they learn.
Because action alone doesn’t guarantee progress.
Reflection does.
And I saw this play out firsthand in our Run. Write. Build. workshop at Tribal Camp.
From Experience to Insight
After a hard morning of training, we headed to a coffee shop in Boulder for the most important part of our day:
Turning our experience into something we could learn from.
I guided our athletes through a simple, three-part writing prompt:
Write about your personal experience."What were you thinking about? What challenged you? What went well?"
Educate someone else."If you were coaching someone through this experience, how would you prepare them?"
Connect it to another area of life."Where else in life are these same themes showing up?"
Because if we had just run the miles and moved on, we would have missed the real opportunity:
To extract the lessons.
To see our own growth.
To take what we learned on the trails and apply it everywhere else.
Two reflections stood out.
Mason’s Big Unlock: The Power Of Running Your Own Race
At the start of the run, Mason was struggling.
He had just driven from Indiana to Boulder the night before
He was low on sleep and not acclimated to the altitude
His heart rate shot up as soon as the run started
His first instinct?
White-knuckle it. Push through. Force the effort.
But a few minutes into our run, he did something different…
Instead of overriding the discomfort, he listened to it.
Instead of chasing the group and suffering in silence, he spoke up:
“I’m gonna run my own race today”
And when we sat down at the coffee shop, he connected the dots:
"I default to white-knuckling it in my career too…
I’ve always pushed harder and taken on more. And I have a new opportunity to do the same thing…
But I just got a new job 3 months ago that came with a pay increase and more free time.
If I chase this additional new opportunity right now, I’ll undo the balance I just created."
He realized that - just like in running - seeing others pull ahead can trigger a perspective of lack.
A faster runner up the trail
A job with a bigger paycheck
Both can make you feel like you’re falling behind.
But success isn’t about chasing every opportunity - it’s about knowing when to push, when to hold back, and when to trust your process.
This is the power of reflection.
And here’s the kicker…
Because he ran his own race early, Mason had energy to keep going and push hard when the time was right.
Check him out crushing the final descent (2.5 hours in):
Blaine’s Big Unlock: Second Rep Confidence
For Blaine, the lesson was different—but just as powerful.
He ran this exact same trail the week before…
Alone.
No headlamp—so he had to wait in the parking lot for sunrise.
No pacing strategy—so he went out too fast and blew up on the climb.
No group—so when things got hard, there was no one to rise up with.
This time? Everything changed.
He showed up with the right gear.
He controlled his effort with the group on the climb.
He rose to the challenge of the hard run segments.
And on the descent? He led the charge.
He realized that doing hard things is more fun when you do them with friends.
But this lesson wasn’t just about the power of community.
It was also about Second Rep Confidence.
What’s Second Rep Confidence?
The first time you do something, there’s uncertainty.
You don’t know what to expect.
You don’t know how hard to push.
You don’t know if you’re capable of more.
But the second time?
You move with confidence.
You know how to pace the effort.
You know how to break through limits.
Blaine’s second rep on this trail run proved that.
And right now, he’s applying that same mindset everywhere in Colorado.
In Masters Swim → Learning to thrive in a new environment, knowing he’ll get better with every session.
On Mountain Rides → Adjusting to the elevation and climbs, trusting that the he’s developing skills.
On the Trails → Running smarter, staying patient, and knowing he can rise when it matters.
But here’s the real unlock:
Bringing Second Rep Confidence into First Rep Experiences.
Showing up like you’ve been there before—even when you haven’t.
And it’s not just about training.
This same principle applies to business, leadership, and life.
New challenges always feel uncertain at first.
But the faster you can adopt Second Rep Confidence, the faster you level up.
Run. Write. Build.
This is why we don’t just train in Tribal.
We run to test ourselves
We write to understand ourselves
We build by applying what we’ve learned to everything we do
And when you build the habit of reflection?
You don’t just improve as an athlete.
You improve as a leader, as a thinker, as a creator.
You improve at everything.
P.S. This was the final part of my 4-Part Leadership Series.
Did you Part 3?
Read it here:
