A triathlon has 3 primary disciplines Swimming, Biking and Running. Many athletes focus all of their training in these three areas and never practice what some would call the 4th discipline, “The Transition”. It is the smooth execution of transitioning that could be the difference between a good race or GREAT race and a tricky “I learned a lesson” race experience.
Transition includes the preparation, organization and execution of moving from one sport to the next during a race to include the right nutrition, equipment, clothing, mental and physiological shift from one type of athlete to another. This takes practice to know what you need so the athlete doesn’t become “lost in transition” (I’m not going to mention any names here to protect the identity of some really good friends of mine). Knowing what is appropriate to be successful in a triathlon also takes the ability to respond appropriately to the situation, changing as needed to achieve desired results. Much like business and life…
Successful business leaders have experienced many transitions in their career and the most successful have grown and developed the ability to adapt to their current situation. Transitioning from the swim to the bike means you no longer need to use the same gear; goggles or wetsuit, however a bike helmet, bike gear and nutrition is needed to traverse the next stage. Similarly in business a company may need to adapt systems of support, relationships, behaviors and skills to transition to a new role, a new client or a new business opportunity. This may sound like a “well duh” as my daughter would say, however you may be surprised as to how many people are unaware that they are biking with swim goggles and a wetsuit, or trying to leverage the same strengths that got them the promotion to now supervise an entirely new, diverse group of people
Another example of “lost in transition” is someone who is competent at their job because they are stellar at problem solving yet are unable to appropriately transition from their work role to another way of relating with their spouse or children. They may lack the ability to connect with their spouse or transfer from problem solving thinking to being supportive and communicative if that is what would be appropriate. Lack of self-awareness is one of the major pitfalls of career stalls and relationship issues.
Often when asked which of the disciplines I’m best at, I’ve always responded with “transition”, mostly because I’m not a strong swimmer, biker or runner. Now looking at it from another perspective, I hope my transitioning skill is something I will continue to grow and learn from, in sports, business and life.
When you ask yourself the question, “How am I at transitioning?” What comes to mind?
I would love to hear your comments and thoughts regarding this topic.
thanks this is good