Hi all, Erin here. Recently I wrote about the importance of a nudge when you’re feeling stuck. This week, I’m sharing another nugget of wisdom I’ve gleaned from the Leaps process.

I took a Leap to get back into running

A few months back, Sara ran a half marathon, which became the inspiration I needed to get back into running after a nearly decade-long hiatus.

I dusted off my sneakers and began training for a 10K using the Nike Run Club app. Setting Memorial Day as my target, I embarked on my training journey.

Four times a week, with Coach Bennett’s motivational voice in my ear and the fleeting perfection of an East Coast spring as my backdrop, I hit the pavement. April was a month of disciplined runs—speed runs, tempo runs, recovery runs, and even fartleks (yes, fartleks!). I took a lot of pride in sticking to my plan.

By the first week of May I had built up to a consistent 3-mile run, half the distance of a 10K. I thought to myself, “Wow, these long run distances must ramp up quickly if I’m going to hit 10K in a few weeks.”

That’s when I noticed a small “5K” almost hidden at the top of the run plan in my app.

My pride went ‘poof.’

To my surprise, and because of a clumsy error, I had been training for a 5K, not a 10K, the whole time. And, for a fleeting moment, my pride deflated.

But then, I laughed. This 10K was a personal challenge, not an official race; I’d made great progress and my momentum was building. Why should an adjustment invalidate my accomplishments?

Leaps are lessons

I was reminded of the importance of that lesson again recently during the culmination of our eight-week Leaps Program with 31 incredible professionals on the People and Performance (P&P) Team at Kraft Heinz.

At the end of May, we gathered for Leap Talks. We heard from Alejandra who created a training guide on compensation structures, and Zuzana who set out to create more visibility into career paths and growth opportunities in one part of the business, and twenty-nine other professionals from around the world who had accomplished impactful projects that pushed the P&P Team’s vision forward.

But Leap Talks encompass more than just a recap of a project; they’re a platform for sharing the personal and professional lessons learned throughout the journey, insights from which we can all benefit.

“Pivot, pivot, pivot. Reframe. Right-size the Leap, and then right-size it again.”

That’s a direct quote from Sara, who summarized an enduring theme as it emerged—every single Leaper had made adjustments along the way. When Kirti hit a barrier with her Leap to create a change management playbook, she pivoted to seed a network of change champions. Through her stakeholder research, Silia found that live events were better received than asynchronous ones; she adjusted her plan to launch a podcast on women’s leadership in Ops to create a series of live events instead.

At the end of the day, even in the cases where the Leap seemed “smaller” than what our Leapers from Kraft Heinz had set out to do, the outcome was better because of the pivots.

Own your pivots

Reframing your goals doesn’t diminish your achievements. Instead, it’s about embracing the pivot, sustaining momentum, and maintaining confidence. Whether your Leap is training for a 10K (okay, a 5K!), rolling out a training plan for your team, or anything else in your life or work, every adjustment is part of the journey.

So...what are your latest pivots? How have you reframed your goals and continued to move forward when things go differently than you planned?