Stand Behind Your Team: Effective Leadership Example
Effective leadership is shown by supporting your team through mistakes and recovery.
With the Super Bowl only a few weeks away, football teams enter into the playoffs and this season will draw to a close. After another exciting season of wins and losses, one of my favorite things to watch isn’t the game, but the press conferences following a loss. I feel you can learn a lot about the players and coaches, and effective leadership, by listening to their reactions, especially after their team doesn’t perform well. Most interestingly, after the October 23, 2016 NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks, which ended in an 6-6 tie that came down to missed field goals, both coaches remarked on their kickers’ performances.
Reaction #1:
Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said, “Make it. This is professional, this ain't high school, baby. You get paid to make it.”
Reaction #2:
Seattle coach Pete Carroll stated, “[Hauschka] made his kicks to give us a chance and unfortunately he didn't make the last one. He's been making kicks for years around here ... but he's gonna hit a lot of winners as we go down the road here. I love him and he's our guy.”
Now imagine if this wasn’t about football.
Imagine that one of your team members missed a deadline or lost a big deal or a client. As their leader, how would you respond – with the first reaction or the second?
Arians’ viewpoint is valid – This is your job. Do it well. However, isn’t everyone entitled to a bad day? Instead of spending your time pointing blame, first think of your own mistakes. You are in a position to help your team member recover so it doesn’t happen again. If you have their back like Carroll did, and make the best of a bad situation, you’ll get the best out of your people.
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