I did it...
I ran my first half-marathon. It wasn't too long ago that I hated running. I have always enjoyed exercise and have completed quite a few long bike rides. But running long distances...never. Shorter distances, maybe...but a half-marathon...never.
But I did it...
The motivation to sign up was nothing special, just became something I wanted to try. During the process I learned a lot about running long distances and my thoughts on setting goals were reinforced.
Training for distance race
- set a goal
- set a deadline
- communicated the goal with others
- doing the training with a team held me accountable and was fun
- met new friends along the way
- when I fell behind in the training the team was there to encourage me
- the coach encouraged and chastised. Gave us a plan, and was there to hold us back when we got too far ahead
- celebrated meeting the goal
- evaluate what could have been done better
I find the same list will work when my work team sets out to accomplish a new task or goal.
- set a specific goal (that supports our organization's purpose)
- set a specific deadline for when the goal has to be accomplished
- communicate the goal to the whole team even if they are not involved in the process
- accountability to the goal is accomplished through communication of the goal and deadline
- along the way you can discover team members skills you didn't know they had
- hold the team accountable to the set schedule
- if a member or process lags behind the schedule, be willing to encourage better progress, or even help with a task
- as a team celebrate the accomplishment of the task
- take time to evaluate the process and finished product
I am now training for my next long run and I am doing it with a team because I know the process and I know it is easier with the team.
Do you find meeting goals is easier when you work on them with a team?