We know that for some time now the sport of running has become fashionable. Thus, there are more and more people determined to put on tennis shoes and start in this activity that often finds its culmination in a race, allowing in turn to meet others in the same situation and feel the experience that calls not only participants but also to their families.
From this practice we can extract important useful ideas for all those with responsibility in people management. And I'm sure there are many more…
1. Sense as a motivational factor.
Many times the leader tries to achieve enthusiasm in the collaborators through different actions, and mainly using money as one of the most recurrent tools. However, after verifying its ephemeral power, doubts and anger appear. I recommend at this point to think carefully about the meaning that the employee attributes to his work. For the runner, this is in achieving a better physical condition, feeling better, meeting people or someone else related. But there is always a meaning for the one who runs and if he loses it, he will stop training. I am convinced that a person unable to attribute an important reason to what he does cannot be motivated from the outside. The responsibility of the leader will be to discover what is really meaningful to the collaborator.
2. Go after a goal. Planning.
Leadership without clear objectives is equivalent to going blind. The followers feel there that they have no direction and therefore they do not know what they should do. When the runner trains for a race, he must plan his diet, schedule and types of previous training, make sure he knows the circuit (if there are slopes or is it flat, what the weather will be like that day, etc.), among other aspects. Following the method will achieve, in some cases, to beat your own mark or simply to reach the goal. On the other hand, it is vital for the Leader not to trust only in his power to improvise but to dedicate the necessary time to plan actions in the short and medium term, thus identifying the necessary steps to achieve the results he intends.
3. Endure loneliness.
All those who achieved a hierarchical position in the organizational structure know perfectly that there are moments when they look around and there is no one. Moments to sustain compromised decisions or to ensure firmness. This is a requirement for both him and the broker. Both in training and in races, there are situations in which it is only him and his thoughts. Your success will largely depend on this ability.
4. Understand teamwork.
One myth of running is that it is a solitary sport. And this is true, but only in part since it is also possible to do it in groups. What's more, those who practice it this way admit that training is much more enjoyable than training alone. The so-called group of runners helps to sustain the desire if it declines (those moments when there is more desire to see a series than to go out for a jog) and push towards the goal through verbal language, with shouts of encouragement and also from the gesture, with greetings or high-fives. The best leader is the one who allows himself to be supported by his team of collaborators and shares his achievements with them. It understands perfectly that it is a key piece, but that its optimal functioning is governed by the actions of its employees.
5. Tolerate pressures.
Leaders feel pulled from different places. Subalterns, their own bosses, clients, suppliers and so on. On the runner's side, the pressure comes more from the inside than from the outside. However, in both situations we must raise our tolerance threshold for them. Giving up early is as disappointing as never having made up your mind to fight. The most efficient people are those who dare to do battle, which involves dealing with the periodic discomfort of tension.
6. The inexplicable thrill of arriving.
Achieve the sales estimate, or the notable reduction in absenteeism. Improving the financial situation of the company or other similar ones provide a unique feeling and one hundred percent comparable to the one that crosses the finish line. It is astonishing for first-time spectators to attend a race to see the finishing participants burst into tears with a smile on their face. It is a unique experience that deserves to be enjoyed and that is the direct consequence of having done things well and on time.
runfitners.com/maraton-tres-cosas/
7. Management of prior stress.
On the night before the race, the ideal would be to sleep like a baby, as would be desirable for the leader to negotiate an agreement the next day. However, not everyone can control the adrenaline that this implies and have insomnia or other unpleasant manifestations of discomfort. Here it is also worth saying that it is a matter of habit and training. It is not only the previous night in which it is necessary to do this or that thing but in all the previous ones. Dine early and frugally. Not watching TV or connecting to the web should be the condition of the previous days for both runners and leaders.
8. Continuous improvement.
A leader who trusts only in his current potentialities and talents, despising constant training will be perishable and when he realizes it, it will be too late. If a runner does not strive to improve, he will feel stagnant and his enthusiasm will progressively diminish until his extinction in the activity. Permanently improving means, on the one hand, admitting that we are not perfect, that we must continue to learn and be updated. And on the other hand, assume the effort that this implies, allocating enough space and time to carry it out.
9. Management of emotions and Control
In running there are several psychological techniques that help put the brain in our favor, visualization being one of the best known. There is a proverb in this that illustrates it: “A marathon is run first with the legs, then with the head and it ends with the heart”.
Indeed, exposing the body to 42 k is not only possible with adequate physical training but also a mental one. There are many times when the desire to abandon appears on the path and this is where the head must play in favor. Exactly the same thing happens with leaders: How many times did you feel like quitting, sending everything to hell? Or go mouth with the supplier who did not respect the deal? However, those moments in which you could manage your emotions, prioritizing reason, brought you a little closer to the goal and increased your personal commitment.
10. Passion.
Everything that one faces urgently needs to have enough desire to carry it out. Experience in both areas taught me very clearly that it is impossible to be a good runner if you do not do it for pleasure and you will not be a good leader if you feel uncomfortable in that place. Let's not think twice about the thing. As with a wooden stick, if we force it excessively, the only thing we will achieve is to break it. Let's prioritize our desire and strive to achieve it, which is what happiness is all about…
