Lessons in Leadership - Through Triathlon!

Many posts ago I wrote about the leadership lessons I gleaned from Ironman triathlon competitions (http://itsaboutleadership.blogspot.ca/2012/08/ironman-as-metaphor-for-leadership.html).  The lack of references to triathlon since is testament to the fact that I have largely been absent from this personal athletic endeavor for five years now.

I have any number of reasons as to why the hiatus between major events - most notably adding in two more children to my parenting responsibilities - but after a failed attempt to reengage in a significant tri event last year my wife and I were back out on a course on July 3, 2016!  And as before, lessons were learned and reinforced.

First, there has to be some motivation or goal in mind to undertake a triathlon event.  For my wife and I, given how our lives have changed since 2011 we were realistic enough to know that personal bests were not in the cards.  Finishing was going to be the goal.  More important to us at this stage was in fact reengaging and recommitting to a healthy lifestyle.  Having a race to compete in (The Great White North Triathlon) functioned as a milestone and deadline to which we could aspire.   As "they" say, without a goal any direction will do! This was not an Ironman distance but still daunting as we got back into things - 2 km swim, followed by 90 km on the bike, followed by a 21 km run.

Second, luck or success (in leadership and triathlon) favors the prepared.  Speaking for myself, there is no doubt that greater effort had gone into getting physically prepared for 2016 than in previous years.  I had lost some weight and in fact was less than what I had competed at in 2011 and 2012.  Unfortunately, I did not get in workouts on a consistent basis (e.g., daily) from January to June.  Further to that point, I had not donned my wetsuit since my last Ironman, had not had an open water swim since 2011, and did not have a bike ride of more than 45 km at any time leading up to the Great White North.  Not a recipe for high performance.  The clear lesson here for athletics and leadership is you can't ride on past success or performance in the belief that it will carry you to success on an ongoing basis.  Your mind might remember past glories but your body will give you great and almost immediate feedback to the contrary!  There must be recognition that success comes from daily investment.

Third, success is rarely based on a single skill.  Triathlon is a multi-discipline sport.  So is leadership.  However, if we think of triathlon as swimming, cycling and running we would miss out on other equally important components.  In my recent race this was again made clear in terms of needing to put all of the elements together - including nutrition and hydration - to succeed.  You really can't just excel at one discipline and expect to have success.  In leadership if you expect to rely on only one skill and/or never change or develop those skills you'll be quickly outpaced by your competition.  Our business environments are changing too rapidly - maybe even daily or hourly - to stand pat.  Our workforce and customers are becoming increasingly diverse along with their expectations and demands.  Leaders have to continuously evaluate, learn and evolve.

I can't do justice to the comparison between triathlon and Leadership if I don't discuss mental toughness and resilience.  You can have everything in place - training in several disciplines, fueling plan nailed, equipment ready - but if you are not mentally prepared for race day all of the prep work might be for naught.  In this particular event what hit us on the course - literally - was a torrential downpour accompanied by hail!  We were fortunate enough to be able to take shelter just off the course but what we lost many minutes waiting for the deluge to pass.  We also discovered that many of our other competitors were spared this particular challenge.  Fair doesn't have to be part of the race equation, nor does it play into the business world.  Regardless, you have to have experienced adversity (through trying and taking risks) if you are to develop the mental toughness and resilience to overcome and continue.  Quitters don't get far in life.   The best leaders have faced their share of adversity on their way up to their current roles; they've experienced conflict, they've had to make tough choices, they've had to balance multiple priorities and tasks, and they have sometimes failed.  However, that's what has (hopefully) molded them into better leaders.

Triathlon is often a lonely venture.  So too leadership.  But they don't have to be.  In this particular case there is no doubt in my mind that it would have been relatively easy to call it a day after having been drenched with rain, pelted with hail and lost time waiting by the roadside.  Wet, cold and frustrated.  Time to go home and have a hot shower.  What certainly helped me continue was the mutual commitment I had made with my wife to complete the race.  Throughout our periods of adversity and frustration with the day we could draw upon each other - and dark humor - to get us to the finish line.  In the same way, leaders do not have to walk their path alone.  There are many opportunities and options to build and sustain networks and partnerships that will inevitably support your leadership success.  Too often what gets in the way of developing those partnerships are things like ego and fear.  Put aside pride and build the relationships that you will need to succeed in the face of the challenges and setbacks that will come.

Finally,  one of the best lessons to be reinforced through this particular triathlon event was that there were still opportunities for me to give back and support others.  As my wife and I were closing out the race we were encouraged by other competitors with similar goals to ours - achieve a personal best, finish the race, catch the next person in front of you.  Despite the nature of the competition there was still a recognition that we were all in it together.  That same spirit allowed my wife and I to run the final kilometres with a fellow athlete who was completing her first half-Ironman.  And at the end of the race we stepped back to allow her first moment in the sun as a half-Ironman finisher.  In business and leadership I believe the same lesson is available to be applied.  Yes, we are in competition, but we can also have success by not just beating down the other.  In addition, most of us have had experiences that others have not.  Even if we don't feel particularly successful in the moment we need to recognize that we still have something of value to offer.  Leadership doesn't just have to be about our individual or personal success.  If we can keep our eyes up a bit more we might just be able to impart some wisdom and inspiration to others who are trying to follow in a similar path to our own.  

Triathlon and Leadership - more than a few lessons to be learned.  Keep learning and enjoy your leadership race!
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.