Leadership lesson form a Triathlete

Resilience, mindfulness

and discipline applied in leadership

The Challenge

A triathlon competition consists of 3 sports: swimming, cycling, and running, with the goal of completing all three disciplines in the shortest time possible. I have been practicing triathlon for 21 years, engaging in various distance modalities, and here I share an analogy with business activities.

To be a good triathlete, one must train the body rigorously: long-distance sessions, strength routines, restorative therapy, monitoring heart rate, following a balanced diet, comparing performance with other athletes, and finally, competing. This is very similar to what a leader faces in their corporate environment every day.

The Process

Before preparing the body, the triathlete also trains the mind; they create a vision of themselves finishing the competition and receiving the medal. This vision must be repeated and kept in mind over and over until the goal is achieved. A good leader should be able to build a corporate vision, communicate it effectively, and ensure that their entire team understands and fully executes it.

A good triathlete doesn’t engage in “impossibles”; they know themselves well and understand their capabilities; they identify their main goal and create a plan for the entire season. A good leader never sets a goal without knowing where they start; to create a strategy, they must fully understand the current situation and create their short and long-term strategic plan based on that.

During a triathlon race, the athlete adapts to different conditions, manages their energy to complete all three disciplines, adjusts to the weather, hydrates, reacts to competitors passing them, etc. A good leader knows that even with a well-defined plan, things never go as planned; they must adjust and ensure that their team reacts well and quickly; they attention to signals from competitors, the environment, and internal team issues, using this information to change the tactical actions of their plan to ensure that objectives are met despite unforeseen circumstances.

A triathlete seeks to improve their performance and adjusts to achieve a better time in the future. They analyze how they prepared and executed their previous competitions. A good leader also seeks continuous improvement, analyzes trends, considers past failures, and reflects on mistakes to define action plans that will prevent them from repeating the same errors.

The Outcome

Engaging in sports is an act of freedom, and being a leader is also an act of freedom. Most runners do it because they enjoy the sense of achievement, of overcoming others or themselves. A leader enjoys the ability to influence, to overcome setbacks, to achieve through others. During both activities, dopamine, endorphins, and adrenaline are generated, this allows us to enjoy the process and constantly contemplate the next achievement.

Triathlon has made me a better leader. What are you doing to improve your leadership?

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