Take Your Team with You

by Chris McDonald

“You need to take your team to the finish line with you.”

I use that saying often when talking to people people about building a team for success.

You could use an example that a CEO might sit down at a boardroom with his team of directors and he gives them the grand plan. He would then talk about what he needs from his team and how they go about executing the plan. Each director has a roll and they all go to the finish line together!

When you are looking at taking on the challenge of something that takes as much commitment as an ironman you need to consider the same approach for yourself.

It is important for your team to:

• Understand the goal
• Understand what that goal means to you
• Understand how much commitment it will take to reach that goal

You might want to sit down with your family and loved ones and make them feel like they are a part of the “team.”

If your family is not familiar with the large workload that is involved consider having a family calendar with your training schedule on it so everyone knows what is coming up.

A few other quick ideas:

• Plan to finish a long ride at a park or cafe and meet the family there for lunch
• Have you spouse/partner join you on your short easy runs
• Use a jogging stroller to take the little one along for a run
• Have your family join you at the pool during the summer. This will give you time to play a little and then squeeze in a quick swim. It may also give them a better appreciation of what you are doing if they can see how hard you are working.

When things get tough on race day and you are looking for motivation to keep pushing you can think, “I am not the only one who has sacrificed for me to be able to pursue my goal.”

No matter how you do in your race, knowing you have fulfilled your goal of taking your team along on the journey will make crossing that finish line even sweeter.

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