“It’s just been the best time of my life, honestly. The fifth year has been a blessing, and I’m going to miss gymnastics so much. But I couldn’t be more thankful.” – University of Florida Gators Trinity Thomas
A Record Setting Gymnast
During Saturday, April 16th’s NCAA women’s gymnastics championship, University of Florida Gators’s Trinity Thomas scored a perfect 10.0 on her final vault. This was not the first time she had achieved perfection during high-stakes competitions. In fact, Thomas has scored a perfect 10 on 28 occasions, tying Kentucky’s Jenny Hansen and UCLA’s Jamie Dantzscher for the most in collegiate history!!!
To see her historic performance watch the video below:
Thomas was then quoted in this article from The Athletic article saying, “It’s just been the best time of my life, honestly. The fifth year has been a blessing, and I’m going to miss gymnastics so much. But I couldn’t be more thankful.”
The phrase which stood out to me was “I’m going to miss gymnastics so much.”
The harsh reality for Thomas was her gymnastics career was coming to an end. Perhaps she could stay connected to the sport through coaching or broadcasting, but this portion of her athletic career had concluded. Fortunately, it appears she has prepared herself mentally and emotionally for the inevitable.
The Harshest Leadership Reality
The harshest reality all leaders will face is positional leadership is just temporary. They will not be in their job forever. There will eventually come a time when you have led your last meeting, taught your last class, sold your last product, coached or played your final game, preached your last message, had your last performance, or like Thomas, execute your last vault in your final competition. Someone else will then occupy the position you currently hold. You will be replaced. All leadership is temporary.
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This reality comes with several implications for leaders. First, because your assignment is temporary, have a sense of urgency and steward it well while you have it. Second, do not be reckless but take risks. Go for it! The fruit is always on the end of the branch. For more on taking risk, read 9 Things Leaders Need To Know About Effectively Taking Risks.
Third, build a leadership pipeline. If someone is going to one-day replace you, make sure you have done all that was in your power to prepare them for the task.
Finally, leave the organization better than you found. You truly can’t have success without healthy succession.
Conclusion
When your temporary leadership assignment eventually comes to an end, I want you to be able to echo Thomas’s words shown above by paraphrasing, “It’s just been the best time of my life, honestly. The time here has been a blessing, and I’m going to miss this organization so much. But I couldn’t be more thankful.”
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