5 Things Triathlon Taught Me About Leadership

My name is Betsy and I’m addicted to triathlon. I’ve been racing for almost 10 years (through two pregnancies). I’ll never be a professional triathlete, so I’m forced to have a day job to pay for my hobby…my very expensive, time-consuming hobby. Thankfully, I have a job I enjoy that helps me pay the bills. Even better, I’ve found that my growth as a triathlete has also made me a better leader.

Here are five leadership lessons my addiction has taught me.

#1: Know where you’re going

In my early years as a triathlete, I really didn’t know how to plan out my race calendar. I would pick one or two races for the year, flip through some books to get some workout ideas, and hope for the best. I didn’t prioritize between races, which meant I trained and tapered equally for each one. I passed up the opportunity to use the fitness gains from one race to better my performance in another (more important) one. I certainly wasn’t considering how one year’s training could unlock accomplishments in the next. I was so caught up in muddling my way through the day-to-day that I never took a step back to define my long-term goals and what I should do to get there.

At work…

After some reflection, I realized this same approach would help align and rally my design…