I love CrossFit—it’s the most inclusive fitness competition on Earth—and while it has helped me to take care of myself, it has also taught me countless lessons about life and leadership, and helped me to develop into the Thoughtfully Ruthless® leader I want to be.
Because CrossFit has given me so much, once I get started talking about CrossFit, you will hear my passion and obsession come through, but you don’t ever have to set foot into a CrossFit gym (a box in CrossFit lingo) to reap some of the rewards. In these articles I share much of what CrossFit has taught me. Click on the links for access to the complete articles:
What CrossFit Can Teach You about Leadership: Burt Helm interviews me for Inc Magazine in this article which highlights entrepreneurial lessons drawn from CrossFit, including: vary your work experiencing, give underperformers a “no rep,” coach creatively, and build a competitive community.
What Failing at the CrossFit Games Can Teach You about Success: From my regular column with Inc Magazine I share here how nothing has taught me about success like failing at CrossFit. This article looks at what can be learned from finishing in the bottom 30 percent of the CrossFit Games: you can’t fail if you don’t try, measure and share success, performance during exhaustion matters, galvanize your team around a common goal, build a community where people want to belong, and team-building that leads to a real payoff.
How to Perform When You Are Exhausted: Exhaustion is inevitable. This article from my blog offers three tips for increasing performance when you are wiped out: make exhaustion the exception, not the rule; honestly assess whether you are getting the sleep, nutrition, and exercise you need; and find someone who will hold you accountable, even in the last ten seconds.
The Power of the Perfect Warm Up: This feature from my weekly VAL-uable Insights looks at how to protect your business and your reputation by making time for “warming up” and practice.
3 Ways to Be Thoughtfully Ruthless: Heather Hartmann, editor at BoxPro Magazine discusses three takeaways that she is implementing from my book Thoughtfully Ruthless: respond to emails as soon as you read them; make time to work out; and be shameless—know your brilliance and value and don’t hesitate to display it.
The Belltown Difference: This article from BoxPro Magazine examines the unique qualities of the owner of CrossFit Belltown, and successful leaders everywhere, including this one: “This is what makes a successful leader – makes a leader stand out from the pack – is when things happen, it doesn’t knock them off course.”
Val Wright on What Leaders Can Learn from CrossFit: This interview with BoxPro Magazine discusses how I got started with CrossFit as well as how it helps me personally. It also delves into a few leadership lessons I’ve learned from CrossFit, as well as how it has helped me to be a better boss.
Following the Leader: This article with BoxPro Magazine looks at a few ways CrossFit boxes can cultivate and grow their leadership.
Leadership Lessons from CrossFit: Anyone can learn and implement lessons from CrossFit. From my weeky VAL-uable Insights, I share three impactful lessons you can immediately put into practice: you can’t fail if you don’t try; the importance of measuring and sharing success; and how you perform when you’re exhausted matters.
Inspirational Quotes from Elite CrossFit Athletes: From my column with Inc Magazine, I share some of the most memorable quotes from CrossFitters, my favorite is from Kevin Ogar “Nothing Can Stop You.”
Why You Need to Grow as a Leader: In this Podcast interview with Heather Hartmann of Box Pro Magazine, I share the biggest pitfalls leaders fall into and lessons that CrossFit Affiliates can immediately apply to grow their business.
CrossFit is about setting personal bests and encouraging others to do the same. It is what sets outstanding leaders apart from the crowd. What is the most impactful CrossFit lesson can you immediately put into practice? Let me know and I just may include it in one of my upcoming articles.
3…2…1…GO!
Val