Run your leadership Race
As running season kicks off, Lagos quickly checked off its ability to host a marathon on 6th February 2016.The thrill of the host city was evident as residents came out to support, tease and pass time as the option of vehicular movement was limited.
One could not help seeing the resilience of the people displayed as runners, walkers and explorers showed up against all odds.
Life is like a race and as everyone in leadership is running one, it’s important to draw on some similarities of life’s leadership race to lessons from Lagos City Marathon.
1. There is always a finish line: Every project or task has a deadline. Knowing the route and what’s required is key in completing your project, performance objective or goal. Understanding what it takes to get to the finish line sets the right tone to lead you and your team in a productive direction.
2. Adequate preparation is paramount: Like a marathon, leadership is for the long haul. We learn every day and must keep at developing our character and competence to be able to influence others in our business to achieve positive results. The more we hold ourselves to higher standards, the more we are challenged to be better people and to make others better. Preparing for the CEO role starts from your first line manager responsibility.
3. Refresh often, the journey can be tough: It’s critical to hydrate along the journey. Most experienced marathoners advice hydrating every 5 kilometers and nibbling on a snack or energy supply every 10 kilometers. Whatever approach you adapt, stick to it. Leadership is serious business and must be approached as such. Refresh by connecting with other leaders, deepening leadership capabilities by taking on more challenges and being ready for growth (and its pains) along the way.
4. The kit is critical: It was interesting to observe some participants on the course wearing all manner of footwear to run/walk the distance from Surulere to Eko Atlantic in Victoria Island. The same way the wrong kit can make or break you, the wrong tools, approach and tactic can slow your ascend up the leadership rung. Embrace using the right tools and technology to advance your leadership quest.
5. Pace if you can: Going it alone works but most often people give it their all and push some more only when with other people. Pace if you can along your leadership journey.
6. Starting fast doesn’t always get you to the end – Set your own strategy: From first time marathoners to the elite 100 marathon club, everyone who braces such a challenge must have a strategy. For Abraham Kiptum who won the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon in 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 21 seconds, he most definitely had a strategy. In Leadership, speed is important but equally as critical as strategy. You must have a plan to ramp-up your leadership skills and that of your team. The better the leader, the better the team and ultimately, the better the business.
7. Don’t rest on your laurels: Once the thrill and excitement of completing a marathon is gone, another challenge is usually in view. The Leadership race is similar, so run it consciously.
Ngozi Adebiyi