Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey. ~ Charles S. Lauer

If you ask many accomplished people, they will tell you that someone believed in them somewhere along their path to success. It could be a parent, a friend, an employer, or a mentor of some sort – the point is that believing in someone can be incredibly powerful – even transformational.

I recently completed a 100 mile bike ride on behalf of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (as part of the TNT Team in Training). I opted to ride a little closer to home in the Shiner G.H.A.S.P. The event started in Austin and ended in Shiner, TX – where the famous Shiner beer is produced.

As with my first century ride in Lake Tahoe in 2008, there were several “Ahha” moments and lessons revealed through out the training and the ride. I’d like to share with you some of the more memorable moments during my most recent ride.

We started training in February and rode through all kinds of turbulent, icy cold weather. I questioned my sanity a few times while peddling in 30 degrees F with a wind chill factor in the teens. Why would I leave the comfort of a warm, cozy bed to train in the freezing cold with headwinds most of the way? My answer was always the same: I had committed to the event and once I commit to something almost nothing will get in my way of accomplishing the task. I was also reminded and humbled daily with thoughts of those with Leukemia and Lymphoma (who we refer to as Honored Heroes) and their family members. Some of our team members were directly affected by this devastating illness – one had lost his wife to Leukemia and another team member’s wife was currently under treatment for the disease. I was riding for these people who could not.

The entire season was a series of training sessions with severe weather ranging from the coldest of conditions to extreme heat and invariably, heavy winds. We never had the good fortune to ride with the tailwinds – we faced the 15-20 mile headwinds!

I couldn’t help but notice a teammate (I will call her “Grace”) who struggled through many of the training rides. In some cases her muscles cramped up and she could not go the distance. She missed many rides due to family issues and on another ride she had a fall. It reminded me how difficult my first century ride was and how one’s confidence level can really be shaken to the core.

I approached Grace one day, as she appeared to be very upset. She shared with me her frustration about how she was “doing everything right” in terms of nutrition and fluid intake, and yet she continued to experienced muscle cramps. This meant her training rides were usually cut short. This was a big concern for Grace, as she had not been able to complete 60 miles and the 100-mile race was only 2 weeks away. I assured her that these unfortunate mishaps were quite normal and that even with these set backs she was going to achieve her goal – but first she had to believe in herself.

On the day of the event we were blessed with cloudy skies, which kept the temperature low for most of the ride. We had lots of wind, but the good news was that for the first time all season we had tailwinds! I felt like I was flying!

I was very disciplined and diligent with my nutrition. I knew from experience that I must take in about 200-250 calories an hour, while I burn about 400 an hour. Calorie management is extremely important so that you do not deplete your system and are able to maintain a high level of energy over a lengthy period of time.

I felt fantastic all the way until mile 83. It was here that I began to “bonk” as they call it – I realized I had neglected to maintain my 200-250 calorie an hour intake. The reason that I lost my focus and hourly nutrition discipline was that I took the focus off of myself and put it on my teammate.

When I met up with Grace on the course she was struggling. She was full of self-doubt and mentioned, “I have never ridden beyond 55 miles and we are almost there…I don’t know if I will be capable of going any further”. I reassured her that she would be able to and that we were going to cross that finish line together – no matter what!

It was such a joy to see the expression on her face once we got to mile 55, then 60 and then 65. She was so shocked at herself and I kept saying, “Look Grace, look at what you are doing!” She started to slow down and I reminded her it was not a race and it didn’t matter how fast you go – I had her draft off of me to conserve energy.  Soon after we hit the mile 80 marker I started to fade. My focus had been on Grace and now she was getting stronger and I was beginning to fade – fast.

I was able to recover but my timing slowed down. We took turns drafting off one another – Grace was now sharing more of the workload and we were both the better for it.

We crossed the finish line together – though not quite together – Grace was ahead of me! It was so thrilling to see the look on her face when she realized that she was going to complete the ride – as well as to see her gain confidence, motivation and momentum over time. At every milestone mark I would say, “Grace, look what mile we are on – you are going to do this – you have this!” She would smile and say, “I know…I can’t believe what I am doing!” At the end she thanked me and told me that she could not have completed the ride without me. I know she could have finished the ride, but the truth was that she didn’t believe in her success. The power of belief conquers all!

There were many leadership lessons reflected back to me through out the entire Team In Training experience. Here are a few of the gems that bear repeating:

To Lead: Follow

As a leader you often need to put your employee ahead of yourself and their needs ahead of your own so that they can gain the experience and confidence to do remarkable things. What do you get in return? Associates with extraordinary performance, confidence to do more, motivation to do better and the recognition that they are truly valued.

Appreciate the tailwinds – Learn from the headwinds

The wind can be your friend or foe. See the gifts in every situation. Support someone. Believe in them. Be their “tailwind”. Challenges are untapped opportunities.

Be Aware of Your Thoughts

Anything is possible if you have an unwavering or unyielding confidence that no matter where you are or what has happened to you in your past, success is possible. Everything starts with a thought. Thoughts repeated over time become beliefs. Our success or failure begins with the foundation of our core beliefs. Honoring the belief that you can be successful is the most critical first step to success.

The personal satisfaction and gratification of helping someone grow is an exceptional feeling. It is humbling and rewarding.

So…the question is: who needs to “draft off” you today?

Tags: Century Ride, leadership, Lessons Learned from the Road, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

8:35 pm

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