I believe that one of my “strengths” as an Army Officer is that I maintain a high level of physical fitness. I found that running and doing triathlons while in Command inspired me to be a better leader. Physical strength highlights discipline, perseverance, and resiliency. It means you are willing to work hard to achieve a goal. I have found that looking for physical challenges (from a Spartan 5K all the way to an Ironman or ultra marathon) is one way to practice goal setting. When we are setting goals, we are being mindful about our time and what we want to achieve. This can translate directly to being a good leader. In any given workday, we practice problem solving, decision making, and need focus. Fitting in a workout in our crazy OPTEMPO lives can seem impossible. But according to positive psychology, exercise does improve cognitive function! So leaders who make exercise a priority definitely have a leg up over those who don’t. And guess what else fitness is good for? Building camaraderie. Building strong teams. When you set goals together, just like a mission, success brings you all closer together. So why not find ways to strengthen your bonds, release endorphins, and get healthy and in shape TOGETHER?

I decided to start a running team at our hospital at Fort Benning when I was a Commander. I’d never run a marathon before. How fun would it be to get my Soldiers and some of our civilians to do it with me? I decided to pick a race (The Soldier Marathon on Veteran’s Day Weekend) and write up a training plan for both the marathon and the half-marathon. I advertised to all the employees of the hospital (here is the flyer I created). As long as Soldiers weren’t flagged and had above a 250 PT score, they could come run with me for PT instead of doing organized PT with 1SG. We ran on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and long runs were on Saturday. I thought no one would come voluntarily to a SATURDAY run. But they did. MOST of them did! It was amazing. 28 people ended up running their first half marathon, and 12 people ran their first marathon. I was so incredibly proud of them. Not only that, I got to achieve my first marathon milestone with all of them too. It is a bond we will always share. They all got healthier, more fit, and got higher APFT scores. Many of them will occasionally write me and tell me what races they’ve signed up for. This bond and this challenge made us stronger people.

Giving people a goal will often inspire them and push them in ways they haven’t experienced. Sometimes, people need to know they have the support and love to back them up when they pursue a goal. Realizing what our body and our mind can achieve is an incredibly enlightening experience. And fitness is one of the many tools you have at your disposal as a leader, to bond with your Soldiers.

So, what have you done in the fitness realm to bond with your Soldiers and build camaraderie? Does this post make you think of trying something similar in the future? Why do you think fitness builds strong teams? Strong leaders?