Imagine you are an athlete and in this situation both you and the opposing kicker missed an easy field goal to win the game. Which coach would you rather have?
Fast-forward to the postgame press conference. When Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians was asked if he had any words for his kicker after the game, he said simply:
Make it. This is professional, this ain’t high school, baby. You get paid to make it.
Ouch.
And how about Seattle coach Pete Carroll? What was his postgame response to his kicker’s blunder?
[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 that’s what I call having someone’s back.
In contrasting these two reactions, we learn a lot about leadership. The truth is, anyone can fall victim to a misstep in a high-pressure situation.
The question is, can these two kickers come back from their mistakes? Or, by extension, will your team members be able to recover when they slip up?
Of course, much has to do with an individual, the person’s unique personality and character, and how he or she chooses to respond.
