Perfection Doesn't Always Happen

On my drive to work this morning, I was listening to sports radio.  There was a special guest on the program this morning who was a former NFL lineman.  During the course of the conversation between the radio host and the guest, something was said that really made me think.  The topic was great teams vs. bad teams and great coaching vs. bad coaching.  The former player told the radio host that the difference between a good and bad team was how they handled mistakes.  Great teams know that during the course of a game mistakes will happen and they know that they will have to overcome them.  Bad teams wait for the mistakes to happen and then crumble from there.  The same goes for coaching.  Great coaches do not pout when mistakes happen or hang their head for their team to see.  Instead, they coach their players through the mistake and work towards finishing the game strong.  On the flip-side, bad coaches tell their players that in order to beat the oppossing team they have to play a "perfect" game.  The problem with this pep talk is that perfect games rarely happen.  There will be mistakes made on the field, and once that first mistake is made the head coach sulks and does not coach with all of his heart anymore because he feels demoralized and defeated already.

After listening to this comparison on the radio, it really made me think about leadership as a whole.  Great leaders do not sit around and pout because something did not go right.  They continue to lead in such a way that the mistake can be overcome.  However, I've noticed that a lot of leaders do the exact opposite.  When a bump comes along in the road they sit around and stop coaching because they feel defeated.  The problem with this approach is that people are still looking to you for leadership no matter what has happened.  They need to know, "where do we go from here?"  If we are busy sitting around pouting, people will become discouraged and momentum will be lost.  However, if a leader can maintain their composure and continue to push forward, people will follow.  I want to encourage everyone to not get down when that "perfect" game doesn't happen.  Overcome mistakes, and lead your people to victory, not defeat. Be a great leader, and not a bad one.