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It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it?
Running at its core, is a solo activity. If you’re competing, it’s about your performance vs. someone else’s - even within a team, it’s ultimately about your individual abilities.
This may seem paradoxical, considering we often picture leadership as a collective endeavor. But the truth is, effective leadership begins with working on oneself.
And that’s the thing – being a better leader is synonymous with being a better person. It’s a journey that starts with YOU, necessitating self-reflection, self-improvement, and, most importantly, self-awareness.
It's no secret that great leadership begins with great self-awareness. Jennifer Porter pointed out in her HBR article, ‘To Improve Your Team, First Work on Yourself,’ that “the odds of improving the team dynamic in a meaningful and sustainable way will be higher if everyone — including the leader — learns to master three foundational capabilities: internal self-awareness, external self-awareness, and personal accountability.”
Great leaders are also typically thought of as visionary thinkers who exhibit stellar skills in strategic planning, decision-making, data analysis, communication, and people management. They also tend to have a presence that is focused, confident, humble, empathic, authentic, collaborative, and poised. And if great leadership begins with high levels of self-awareness, then it ends with high-levels of personal accountability.
Leadership contains a gamut of skills - both in mindset and behavior - that can be cultivated and developed.
So how can we become better leaders? How do we increase our self-awareness and improve our mindsets and behaviors to empower teams and produce results? Well, we can read books, listen to podcasts, take courses, get coaching, receive training, have a mentor, or we could build our leadership skills by taking on long distance running.
What is Distance Running?
There are many definitions for distance running. Some of them relate to the guidelines within the world of sports and competitions. Others relate more to recreational running philosophies. For our purpose of relating it to cultivating leadership, we’re going to define distance running as regularly running a minimum of 10K (6.2 miles) or more at least 3 times/week. I’d even go as far to define it as training for at least a half marathon. I know first hand what it takes, and how the process of training for a half marathon or marathon changes you. At the same time, I’m aware of the benefits that regular, consistent, distance running has as well.
The finish like at the Brooklyn Half in 2016
So aside from many of the seemingly health-specific benefits one can gain from distance running, what are the ways that it helps to make you a better leader?
Internal and External Self-Awareness
If self-awareness is at the core of being a great leader, then we need to start there. Internal self-awareness is all the thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and reactions we have inside of us. Running allows us to clear our minds and process what’s in them at the same time. The rhythmic movements, the breathing in and breathing out, the consistent repetitive motions put you in some sort of trance-like state, where your mind and body start to connect with each other in interesting ways. Sometimes you can just be present to the movements, tune in with them and be one with the rhythm. I like to think of it as “being one with the run.” That meditative state alone, allows you to clear your mind and to experience an extended state of “no-thought”.
And sometimes I like to think that “the run” chooses which “file” in your mind it’s going to open and look into. Other times you choose the file and start to think about it. When you let go, and let “run”, the space in that surrender enables you to see things from a different vantage point, clarifying your thoughts, connecting them in new ways.
External self-awareness is when we’re able to see and understand how our beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors impact the world outside of us - people, results, surroundings. With distance running, you’re constantly observing how your state of mind impacts your performance, as well as how what you do before, during, and after affects your runs. You’re forced to expand your awareness because your ability to be in it for the long haul is highly dependent on it.
Regularly going inward and separating your “self” from your thoughts, emotions and behaviors allows you to objectively expand your self awareness and build your emotional intelligence. You create an almost reflexive and reflective habit of practicing mindfulness that spills over into other areas of your life, especially at work with your teams.
Strategic Goal-Setting and Planning
Whether you’re embarking on a journey to become a distance runner or you’ve been running for years, one thing is certain - you’ve set ambitious goals for yourself (that may even be intimidating or seem impossible!) It might be to consistently hit a total of 20 miles per week, train for a half marathon, or even take on an ultra marathon. You’re identifying a destination, setting a goal, and then creating objectives to help you reach that endpoint.
Suppose your goal is to train for a marathon – you might create objectives like increasing total mileage by 10% each week until you hit 40 miles, strength-training twice a week, adapting your nutrition and caloric intake, or incorporating cross-training, speed-training, and hill-training.
These skills directly translate into effective leadership. As a leader, you’re tasked with setting clear, ambitious goals for your team. Maybe it’s hitting $12M in ARR by the end of the year, increasing customer retention by 30%, or becoming the top ranked company on a specific list. Just as with your running goals, these milestones need to be identified and clarified. From there, you set objectives for your team that align with these company-wide goals, molding you into both a visionary and a strategic planner.
Throughout your leadership journey, just as in distance running, there will be moments of intensity and fatigue where it becomes challenging to see beyond the discomfort and frustration. But your ability to envision a future state - of hitting your goals or crossing the finish line - provides a compelling “why” behind your choices and actions. You develop the capacity to see the forest through the trees, and keep pushing, keep inspiring, keep empowering even when the going gets tough.
The vision board I made the first time I trained for a marathon back in 2013
This big picture thinking, coupled with a knack for breaking down significant goals into manageable milestones, is pivotal in both running and leadership. You realize that part of your journey involves experimenting with different approaches, embracing uncertainty, and finding what works best for you and your team. The skills honed through distance running, like strategic planning and goal setting, can make you a more effective and resilient leader.
Data-Driven Performance and Tactical Excellence
Executing against a strategic plan is a huge feat, whether in distance running or in leadership. The discipline, focus, and with-it-ness necessary to carry out the tactics of each step is critical to success. So is the ability to measure or monitor performance and modify accordingly depending on the outcomes you’re seeing to ensure that you’re on track to hit your goals. Metrics like miles logged, pace, time on the pavement, heart rate, VO2 Max, and number of reps become KPIs to a runner, similar to metrics like revenue growth, customer acquisition cost, churn rate, or employee productivity are to a business leader.
Approaching the finish line of the NYC Marathon in 2015
But the parallels don’t end there. In distance running, the road (pun intended) is seldom smooth; weather changes, injuries or other unexpected events can force runners to adapt quickly. Similarly, effective leaders must remain agile in the face of market shifts or unforeseen challenges, leveraging their data-driven mindset to make fast decisions.
Distance runners inherently cultivate adaptability that’s critical to their success - which is critical for effective leaders. They’re comfortable navigating uncertainty, making on-the-fly decisions based on their collected data. They’re not just reactive; they’re proactive, constantly assessing their strategies based on both quantitative and qualitative information.
The discipline of running naturally cultivates a mindset that’s crucial in leadership. Whether it’s using data to improve running times or assessing team performance, leaders who run distance have a distinct advantage. Their experience with the constant ebb and flow of changing conditions and performance data equips them with the resilience and adaptability necessary to lead their teams effectively.
Holistic Wellness and Balance
Running long distances isn’t just about pounding the pavement or spending hours cross-training every week. It’s a holistic pursuit that engages your mind, body, and spirit. The idea of “mental toughness” is a big deal in all kinds of sports, not just running. It’s that moment when your legs are shouting “no more!” but your heart and mind are yelling, “yes you can! Keep going!” To keep pushing forward, and to do it without breaking down, you need to pay attention to every part of you - your physical self, your mental self, and your emotional self.
We can think of it as a symbiotic relationship: physical discipline cultivates mental resilience and vice versa. Our emotional states deeply influence our physical well-being, and again, vice versa. Things like the quality of your sleep and your downtime are all part of the equation. It’s a delicate balance - if you neglect one aspect, it invariably affects the others. Everything is interconnected.
NYC Half Marathon finishers after crossing the finish line.
Here’s where it gets cool: this awareness of how everything links up and the importance of taking care of all these different aspects spills over from running into leadership. Your team, your company, your business - they’re all part of a complex system. Everything connects and affects everything else, whether we like it or not, acknowledge it or not.
If a runner decides to skip strength training for a bit, it might be fine for a month or two. But as the miles start to add up, that little corner they cut might lead to their body breaking down, leading to an injury that could put them on the bench for up to a year. (Guilty.)
Similarly, a leader who doesn’t pay attention to their team’s needs or doesn’t provide clear guidance or autonomy will start seeing things go south. Performance will dip and things will start to fall apart. On the flip side, a leader who’s all about keeping their team comfortable but doesn’t give clear direction, strategy, or KPIs is also setting up for failure and heading for a crash.
Just as distance runners need to nurture their mind, body, and spirit, leaders must do the same for their teams and organizations. Leadership is also about caring for the holistic wellness and balance of our systems. This multi-faceted approach is what makes distance running a powerful training ground for leadership.
Building Community
Distance running is far from a one-person show. Sure, there’s lots of “me” time when you’re running, but you quickly realize you’re part of something much bigger. You have your family, adjusting their lives and activities around your long runs and race days. And dedicated spectators on race routes, who spend hours on their feet just to give you that much-needed boost. Volunteers stand for hours to provide you with water and fuel, keep you safe, and cheer you on. You’re part of a community of runners and supporters, from all walks of life, abilities, and ages.
Helpers, supporters, and volunteers everywhere
Ever noticed how runners acknowledge each other in the streets on their long runs? A simple wave, high-five, or even a nod of recognition - it’s a shared language. An unspoken affirmation that carries over into leadership - “I see you. I acknowledge your effort. I appreciate your dedication.”
When it comes to race events, it’s an experience like no other. You might show up not knowing a soul, but it doesn’t take long before you're part of this cohesive amalgamation of people, moving in unison in the same direction, with the same grit, to embark on this journey together, albeit for different reasons. You begin as a stranger and soon find yourself an integral part of a vibrant collective, maybe making a few new friends along the way.
I don't even know these folks! A testament to the camaraderie of the running community.
And the energy at a marathon - is nothing short of infectious. Encouragement and empathy fill the air, creating a language that transcends words. Whether you’re running or cheering from the sidelines, you can’t help but feel a surge of shared humanity.
That’s the thing about distance running - it teaches us a thing or two about community - how to build it, how to lean on it, and how to contribute to it. This isn’t just about running, it’s about leadership. Effective leaders acknowledge others, making them feel seen and heard, while appreciating the individual efforts that contribute to organizational, high-level goals. Leaders who appreciate the importance of fostering a robust, supportive community will be able to draw on its strength and nurture its growth - creating an environment that empowers every member, leading to a more successful and harmonious collective.
As we journey through the miles, it becomes increasingly clear how much distance running shapes us into more effective leaders. From honing strategic thinking and planning, nurturing data-driven decision making, cultivating adaptability, to embracing holistic wellness, the parallels are compelling and significant.
Shortly past the start line of the midnight run on New Year's Eve in NYC
If you’re inspired to start running or take on distance running, you can find some tips and sample training plans here >
But let’s remember, it’s not just about running. Running may work for me, but maybe not for you. And that’s ok. Essentially, it’s about engaging in any physical discipline that places similar demands on us - one that challenges our physical strength, mental fortitude, emotional resilience, and tactical skill. Activities that take us out of our comfort zones, make us face our fears, and then equip us with the ability to lead with more clarity, empathy, resilience, and effectiveness.
Feel free to reach out to me, I’m happy to share personal stories and provide support or running advice, and even guide you through your leadership journey with coaching and training services tailored to your needs. Together, we can explore the myriad ways you can grow as a leader.
So while I’ve shared how distance running has impacted my leadership journey from my perspective, I’m curious – if you're a runner, how has running impacted your leadership? If you're not, what other activities or experiences have shaped you as a leader? What endurance discipline, sport, or even hobby has made a profound impact on your leadership abilities?
I’d love to hear your stories and insights. After all, leadership, like running, is a journey best shared.
