As some of you may know, I am a lifelong long-distance runner. It started with cross country in middle school and has continued to be a favorite pastime even now into my 40s. This winter and spring, I was motivated to train for my sixth half marathon as my youngest daughter had set a personal goal to run her first marathon (yes, a FULL, not a half like me!) before she graduated from high school. For context, she just finished her sophomore year this week, and is only 16. Training for this latest half marathon was quite an experience as each one always has its unique challenges, but to train adjacent to my daughter who was going after a much BIGGER goal than I was? Amazing.
Beyond the physical challenges we both faced, I’ve found myself continually applying agile values and principles to my training regimen. Breaking down the 13.1 miles into smaller, manageable sprints, adapting my pace based on real-time feedback from my body, and prioritizing recovery. It’s truly highlighted how embracing adaptability, continuous improvement, and iterative progress can transform even the most daunting personal endeavors into achievable goals.
It turns out that my daughter was thinking along the same lines in terms of her own agile values, without ever using the label like I do, AND she could see me doing the same thing. It’s why I was so touched by the gift she gave me for Mother’s Day ahead of the Lake Placid Marathon/Half Marathon weekend. Shoelace tags that say “One Mile at a Time.” That phrase lines up beautifully with one of my favorite lines from Peloton instructor Ally Love, “You can’t do what is next now.”
This latest training journey has reinforced my belief that whether you’re tackling an endurance event, a significant personal project, or any other ambitious undertaking, these kinds of challenges offer invaluable opportunities to practice and refine the agile mindset we may bring to our organizations. However, these different personal projects and challenges also benefit our agile mindset as they teach us resilience, the importance of feedback loops, and how to pivot when necessary in a different context. It made me realize that it is a two way street for the learning and growth related to agile values – it doesn’t matter where the learning starts or flows to – both our personal passions and professional passions benefit.
I’m curious – what big projects or goals (personal or professional) do you have on the horizon that you’re thinking about how to approach in an Agile way?