Cultivating Your Staying Power
D'Arcy completing a 20-mile, solo swim up the southwest coast of Lake Michigan in June, 2018.
A question came a few drinks into the Ad Club's annual holiday party a month or so ago: "How do you apply your experience of endurance racing to your work and career?"
As it was my third drink, I can't recall my official response, but it was something to the effect of, "It's all relative: Ironman has made any challenge much easier to tackle. Knowing I've been able to battle the mental demons that inevitably come your way during an Ironman, I can come face to face with any other type of demon and more easily prevail."
The response, though well-intentioned, wasn't 100% true. The countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears that go into training for an endurance race are grueling — they command and demand focus, dedication, and stamina. Race day presents its own set of challenges: you've put in the work, but now it's time to face the day and the many, many unforeseen circumstances that could hamper your optimal finish (or prevent it from happening altogether). Net net, there is unpredictability in both racing and in the workforce that make it hard to always apply my athletic pursuits to career challenges.
What I've been able to glean from endurance racing is this:
1) Act with integrity and commitment in everything you do. You learn a lot about yourself doing these races since there's a lot of time with just your thoughts. You must act with integrity and choose to commit every arm pull, pedal stroke, and foot strike you make. In business, it's completely fair to expect your team to act with integrity and commitment as you do.
2) Hold firm to your authentic self. Not every challenge you face is worth fighting if, in the end, you are an altered or compromised version of yourself. To finish an Ironman is to be true to oneself. Race within yourself, focus on your own performance and doing your best versus worrying about how you stack up against your competition. In business, focus on what roles bring out your authenticity and fulfill you. If what you’re doing forces you to act otherwise, consider a move or shift within the organization.
3) Consider the other person's perspective when in a challenging conversation or situation. In short, be empathetic. Racing Ironman means you are on course with 1,700+ other athletes. It’s not just you out there. Consider what others are going through. Give high fives, stop to check on someone who is on the side of the road, shout an encouraging word. In business, recognize that everything is personal (despite the common conceit of "it's business, not personal"). Try to uncover what is fueling your colleague's perspective as a means of understanding it, and use that understanding to collaborate towards a positive outcome.
D'Arcy Toffolo is an Executive Managing Director for the integrated agency, Moore. Toffolo leads the agency's Denver office as well as the advertising vertical. A 20-year agency veteran, Toffolo's expertise spans business development and marketing functions for agencies including Digitas, CP+B, and Integer. Toffolo has competed in triathlons since 1998, including eight Ironmans and has completed a 20+ mile solo swim in Lake Michigan in 2018.