On Saturday, December 31, 2022 at 11:59:58, Ohio State Buckeyes kicker Noah Ruggles’s missed field goal attempt landed on the ground securing a 42-41 win for the Georgia Bulldogs in what some are calling the greatest College Football Semi-Final Play-off game ever contested.
The Bulldogs experienced the thrill of victory as the Buckeyes suffered from the agony of defeat. An ESPN reporter caught up with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart shortly thereafter in the post-game celebration. But Coach Smart was not in a celebratory mood. In fact, when asked why the Bulldogs were ready to play TCU for the national championship, he appeared despondent, bordering on angry, and even concerned. Below is the interview:
"I don't know that we're ready for TCU right now. Based on what I just saw, we have a lot of work to do."
Kirby Smart is locked in. pic.twitter.com/f5qjsjsozn
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2023
To recap, Coach Smart said, “I don’t know that we’re ready for TCU right now. Based on what I just saw, we have a lot of work to do. So I don’t know a lot about TCU but I do know I respect their coach and their program and they did a tremendous job today but we gotta play better.”
From Coach Smart’s comments, we learn the following three leadership lessons:
Successful Leaders Focus On The Process More Than The Outcome
You never reward a drunk driver for arriving home safely. You know it is just a matter of time before something terrible will happen.
Though they won the game, Coach Smart knew the team made multiple mistakes and did not perform at their best. He enjoyed the victory but was certainly not in a celebratory mood. Coach Smart knew his team could have easily lost. In short, they dodged a bullet. Successful leaders know if you do not perform the fundamentals of your job well, sooner or later, you will face a situation in which the outcome will not be to your liking.
Coach Smart knows if the team plays like this again, they will lose to TCU.
Successful Leaders Focus More On Their Team Than The Competition
What I am about to share is counter-intuitive thinking. Most leaders do not think this way.
I love how Coach Smart acknowledged he did not know much about TCU but he did know his team did not play well. It reminded me of a conversation I had on my third day at INJOY Stewardship. I thought I would impress the company’s president by asking about the competition. He looked at me in a disappointed fashion and said, “Brian, why are you worried about the competition? You don’t even know what we do yet. Why are you worried about someone else? Go figure out what we do.”
He would like Kirby Smart.
Success Takes A Lot Of Hard Work
Hard work works. Success smells a lot of like sweat. Coach Smart’s solution to sub-par performance is to work. I’m sure the Bulldogs will work a lot this week on schematics, fundamentals, conditioning, drills, eliminating mistakes, execution, film study, and situational awareness. It is going to be a hard week. I am also confident that even though Coach Smart doesn’t know much about TCU right now, he will be an expert on them by Monday, January 9th.
Conclusion
If you wish to be a successful leader, work hard and focus on your team and its process for improvement. It sounds simple but very few do it at an elite level.
For more from Coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, read 10 Things Elite Teams Do – Leadership Lessons From National Champion Head Coach Kirby Smart.
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