Having active feet improves our ability to influence in this world. Our feet take us closer to the people that matter. They take us on the journey of life and leadership with those we are entrusted to lead.
Active Feet
One the most Fundamental ways for us to improve our health is to maintain active feet. There are a lot of studies out there that suggest getting 10,000 steps a day can significantly improve our physical well-being. Running, cycling, hiking, and walking all require active feet.
Coaching is in my blood, I have coached young athletes my entire adult life. I have coached baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling. No matter the sport, “Move your feet” applies to all of them.
A position player in baseball, active feet puts them in a better position to field the ball. A defender in basketball, active feet helps them stick to who they are guarding. In football, elite players are able to use active feet to get to the point of contact quicker. Wresters use active feet to create angles of attack and to wear their opponents down.
Active feet makes a person healthier, active feet allows for an athlete to perform at a higher level. The same is true for leadership. Active feet can improve our leadership health and allows us to perform at a higher level. Here are three ways active feet applies to how we lead in life and leadership:
Creates Connection
In life, I have two teenagers. As many these days do, they can confine themselves to their rooms listening to music, scrolling through social media, or talking to friends. Sometimes, if I want to create a connection, I need to have active feet. I need to walk down the hallway and into their space.
In leadership, if I want to create connections, the same is true. I need to have active feet. My feet need to walk buildings and walk hallways. They need to lead me to office doors and into collaborative spaces. It’s how connections are created.
Creates Proximity
The further I have gone in leadership, the opportunities to be distant from the people have increased. The busyness of the day can easily idle my feet. The demands of the day can leave my feet Stuck at my desk. Daily survival can easily anchor my feet to where they are, and not where they need to be.
The people that matter in life and leadership deserve proximity. Let’s be extremely clear, it’s not possible for a leader to stay in constant proximity. What matters is effort. When our feet are active, it places us in the vicinity of the people we are entrusted to lead. It closes the distance.
Creates Importance
When I became City Manager almost five years ago, my intention was to have active feet. I wanted to be able to walk City Hall daily and our other buildings once a week. There are days and weeks that I am successful in that ambition and there are times that I fall short.
There are small moments that make the biggest differences in leadership. Early in my transition into the position, I was followed out in the hallway after visiting one of the divisions in the building. The person tracked me down and asked if they could share something with me. Concerned, I said “Sure.”
Honestly, I was expecting a concern or complaint to follow! I was wrong in my assumption. The team member wanted to thank me for making them feel like they, “existed.” Wow…that was deep. I didn’t feel like I had done anything special, but it forever made me realize the potential impact of active feet.
Conclusion
There are moments in life and leadership where we are the hero, then there are moments where we are the zero! I wish I could tell you that I had the leadership gift of active feet from the beginning. The success story I shared about walking the building, was set up by a leadership failure.
Prior to my current position, I served the city as the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Resources. The office had been expanded a few times and it was somewhat of a maze. My office was in the back of that maze. A direct path to my office would bypass about half of the offices in the building.
One morning, my day was off to its normal start. As a task driven person, my commute built up a massive list of to-do’s in my head. Upon my arrival, I entered the employee entrance and took a direct route to my desk. I planted my feet at my desk and started to attack the day.
Just as I had started on that mental list, one of our young leaders came into my office. She asked me an interesting question, “Why are you always mad when you get here?” That wasn’t exactly what I expected to be asked! Defensively, I responded that, “I’m not mad.”
She said, “Every day, you go straight to your office and never come and say hey.” Her office was to the right, I always turned left. She was in the half that I bypassed daily.
It wasn’t my intention to make her feel this way, but it was certainly the direction I was taking. I wasn’t mad, my feet were active…they just weren’t leading me in the right direction.
That moment taught me an extremely valuable lesson. Active feet creates proximity, connection, and the ability to make people feel important. My leadership feet have never traveled the same way since that moment. Now, it’s always towards the people.
