How a leader handles their team’s winning or losing is critical to its ongoing success. A proper understanding of success and failure and how to leverage it can dramatically impact your team’s fortunes.
Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells is genuinely considered one of the NFL’s all-time great teambuilders and motivators. In this article written for the33rdteam.com, Coach Parcells analyzes four outcomes which often result from an NFL game and how he processes those results with his team.
Whether you lead a church, business, non-profit, or athletic organization like Coach Parcells, the following lessons will help you navigate your team’s current performance into a brighter future:
Outcome 1: You play well and you win easily.
Coach Parcells warns that “Fat Cat Syndrome” can result from this. A leader must fight complacency and overc0nfidence. Coach Parcells would literally show his team pictures of fat cats and tell them that’s what they are acting like.
Outcome 2: You play well but lose.
In this scenario, your team feels it did as well as it could and they still lost. As a leader, you must build your team up. Coach Parcells would say, “Look, I know we didn’t get this game, but I’m starting to see things I like. If we pay a little more attention to detail and play a little smarter football, we’re gonna win many games, not just a few. We’re gonna win a lot.”
This gives the team hope and confidence.
Outcome 3: You play below your ability but still win.
Experienced leaders know how this eventually turns out. Sooner or later, your luck will run out. Success is short-term. You are on borrowed time. A phrase you begin to hear is, “They think they can turn it on and off like a light switch.” In reality, no they cannot.
Coach Parcells would say, “Fellas, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you think you’re going to continue on this path successfully, you’re wrong.” He would then support his claims with statistical data. In this case, facts are your friends as a leader.
Outcome 4: You play poorly and get beat soundly.
This is the most challenging one. Hopelessness can set in. Your team will question its skill, competence, and ability. Their confidence is low.
As a leader you must show you still believe in them. Coach Parcells would say, “Hey, things aren’t good, we all know it’s not good. But look, they’re not canceling these games. If we can alter a few things, that can help us turn it around.”
Conclusion
Right now, your team is likely in one of these four categories. Learn from Coach Parcells how to best successfully navigate these terrains. Applying his lessons could determine your success moving forward.
To read 24 Hall Of Fame Leadership Quotes From Bill Parcells click HERE.
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