One invitation to run spurs a 20-year commitment to health, molds a better leader.
It was a simple invitation from a GE Appliances manager to run a mini-marathon 16 years ago that sparked triathlete Bob Sanders’ fitness journey. The senior director for parts operations was encouraged to participate in a team run with GE Appliances executives and Sanders thought, if they could do it, so could he.
“Our leadership team has a focus on fitness,” Sanders said. “And when you find yourself wanting to be a leader, you do what leadership is doing.”
So he did – and he didn’t stop there. Several half-marathons, marathons and triathlons later, Sanders just completed his fifth Ironman competition and says that encouragement to push his fitness boundaries almost two decades ago has not only made an impact on his mental and physical wellbeing, but also made him more productive and a better leader.
With triathlons, “you have to take it one step at a time,” said Sanders, who leads a team of four. “That mindset – just one foot in front of the other – is a life lesson in work or anything else. It makes bigger challenges less intimidating when you realize there’s maybe no clear way to get to your goal except to start toward it.”
Alejandro Vela, executive director, microenterprise, and Sanders’ manager, was so impressed he could complete a triathlon with all his work and family duties. “It’s a miracle he could even find time to do this with everything else going on,” says Vela.
Time management and organization – not to mention the support of his wife and two kids – are keys to sticking to his fitness plan, Sanders said. He gets up at 4:30 a.m. several times weekly to train and schedules his workouts ahead of time. And while it’s not easy, he said, it’s worth it.
“If I can get my workout in, I can be better prepared for whatever comes at me during the day,” Sanders said. “I mentally feel good.”