The Boy at The Track

There’s a boy I see most weeks when I run at the track.

He stands in the same place each time.

Not pacing. Not moving much.

Just there, looking out.

His support workers are nearby — talking, checking their phones, keeping an eye on things.

But he stands slightly apart.

Still.

Calm.

I’ve found myself wondering what he sees.

What he notices that the rest of us don’t.

The track is full of motion.

People running intervals. Checking watches. Pushing pace.

Circling, again and again.

And then there’s him.

Not doing.

Just being there.

What I didn’t expect was the effect it has on me.

Something in me slows.

Not my pace, but my attention.

I begin to notice what’s around me.

Not because he’s asking anything of me.

But because something in his posture invites it.

We often think of leadership as what we do.

Decisions made. Actions taken. Outcomes delivered.

But I’m beginning to wonder about a different kind of influence.

One that doesn’t announce itself.

Quieter.

Less visible.

The kind that comes not from movement,

but from presence.

Sometimes it isn’t what a leader does that shapes the environment.

It’s how they are within it.

Paul