Personal development is HOT: Companies want it, employees want it, everybody wants it! The goals are varied, from ‘developing as consultant’, to ‘strengthening collaboration’. From ‘increasing commercial strength’, and ‘add value on a strategic level’ to ‘communicate more directly’. All great goals, but then… Sometimes goals can be to big and abstract, and that is when we bring in Kaizen Development.
We often see that people prefer quick fixes with regard to their development. As if development is a new insight or trick that works instantaneously.
In this blog, Jochem describes how he is developing as a runner. His approach is applicable 1-on-1 to a work setting.
I have never been a bad runner, yet I had the feeling that there was room for improvement – I could do better. Not by training more (I already did a lot), but by training differently and improving my technique.
Finding inspiration
To enable myself I first searched for inspiration. After several talks with experiences runners and coaches, and many YouTube videos, I was overwhelmed. It seemed I was doing everything wrong as a runner and there were loads of possible improvements.
Choices
I deliberately chose to start with 2 specific improvements. To become a better runner through little steps (Kaizen). Improvement 1 was easy for me, I had to implement more interval training sessions in my schedule. A simple change, with many effects on the long (not short) run. Improvement 2 was more difficult. It was a technical change; instead of landing on my heel I have to land on the middle part of my feet. It will make me faster and decreases the chance of injuries.
Patience and perseverance
I thought this was a small step, which I would have mastered in a month. Meanwhile I have been working on this for 3,5 months and still I am unable to apply this new technique 100% of my running time. I started with applying the new technique 5km out of my 15km run – which resulted in a tremendous muscle ache. This ‘small’ step had to become even smaller.
Going quick, simply wasn’t an option. I decided I wanted to be able to run without a muscle ache before I would do the next step. At this point (3,5 months) I will start doing 12km out of my 15km with the new technique. I managed to get here in small steps, with patience and perseverance. Had I taken bigger steps, I would have been injured and gone back to my old style. And no, it wasn’t always easy to be patient.
Continuance
As soon as I have completely mastered this, I will start with my next improvement. The position of my arms is a bit strange and does not support my running. However, development requires conscious thought, and it is difficult to be conscious about more than 1 thing at the same time. That is why I am sticking to small steps.
I believe in this process. It enables you to continue to develop without setting the bar too high. You don’t jump over a 2m fence at once, you start with a low fence and build it bit by bit. At the same time it allows you to change a habit without stress or requiring extreme efforts. The challenge is to make the process continue; setting a new step after accomplishing the previous.
Do you want to read more about Kaizen Development? Click here.