Amber Martinez, the COO of JEM Wellness Brands – Crunch Fitness, shares how leadership debt impacts turnover, member experience and profitability, and how operators can address it.
In the fitness industry, we spend a great deal of time talking about performance. We focus on sales targets, retention, net member gain, personal training revenue, labor efficiency and EBITDA. These metrics matter and they are essential indicators of business health.
What we often fail to address, however, is the underlying force that determines whether those metrics improve or deteriorate over time: leadership.
A recent quote by Scott Chisholm captured this reality perfectly: “Leadership debt is like tech debt. It compounds over time, and no one wants to work on it.”
Leadership debt accumulates when organizations delay, avoid or underinvest in developing the people responsible for leading others. Much like deferred maintenance on equipment or outdated systems, the cost does not disappear. It compounds — quietly at first, then visibly and eventually painfully.
Performance Is an Outcome, Not a Strategy
In health clubs, performance does not originate with numbers. It originates with people. The strongest clubs are not simply better at selling memberships or closing personal training packages. They are better at selecting the right team members, placing them in roles aligned with their strengths, and developing leaders who know how to coach, communicate and create accountability.
When leadership development is treated as optional — or worse, theoretical — clubs experience predictable symptoms:
• Inconsistent execution across departments.
• High employee turnover.
• Uneven member experiences.
• Frustrated managers and burned-out teams.
• Declining margins despite strong top-line effort.
These are not operational problems alone. They are leadership problems.
Leadership Compounds — For Better or Worse
Leadership always compounds. The question is whether it compounds as an asset or as a liability.
Strong leadership creates clarity. Teams understand expectations, standards and priorities. Coaching conversations happen regularly. Performance issues are addressed early. Culture becomes intentional rather than accidental.
Weak leadership, on the other hand, creates drag. Poor behaviors are tolerated. Accountability becomes inconsistent. Standards erode. Over time, the organization normalizes underperformance, even while expecting exceptional results.
This net-negative leadership has a direct impact on the member experience. Front desk interactions suffer. Cleanliness standards slip. Sales processes become transactional rather than relational. Personal training teams lose consistency and confidence. Members feel it and they leave.
You Cannot Delegate Leadership Development
One of the most common mistakes in multi-unit fitness organizations is assuming leadership development will happen organically. It doesn’t. Leadership must be taught, practiced, measured and reinforced.
Managers cannot effectively coach others if they have not been coached themselves. Leaders cannot model accountability if accountability has not been clearly defined and upheld at the top. Culture cannot be sustained through posters or slogans; it is built through daily leadership behaviors. This requires time, structure and discipline. It also requires leaders to be honest about their own gaps. Talking about leadership is not the same as understanding it. And understanding leadership is not the same as consistently applying it under pressure.
Managing Process, Leading People
In successful clubs, there is a clear distinction between managing process and leading people.
Processes create efficiency. They ensure consistency in sales, operations, scheduling and reporting. Leadership creates engagement. It develops confidence, ownership and trust within the team.
When leaders focus only on process, performance may improve temporarily. When leaders invest in people, performance becomes sustainable.
Developing leaders who can coach, give feedback, set standards, and build trust is one of the highest-return investments a fitness business can make. It improves every vertical of the operation from sales and service to retention and profitability.
Addressing Leadership Debt
Leadership debt does not resolve itself. It must be intentionally addressed through:
• Clear leadership expectations and role clarity.
• Ongoing training and development, not one-time events.
• Regular coaching and feedback loops.
• Accountability tied to leadership behaviors, not just results.
• A commitment to developing others as a core leadership responsibility.
This work is not glamorous, and it is not fast. But it is foundational.
In an industry built on transformation, we cannot ignore the transformation required of our leaders. When leadership is strong, aligned, and developed, the business follows.
Leadership is not a soft skill. It is a business driver. And in today’s fitness landscape, organizations that invest in leadership development will not only outperform, but they will also outlast.
