There's one subtle difference between leaders who can persevere in the face of failure without losing confidence - and those who can't.
The Film Room
Football is like life in that both can come down to inches.
One inch here, and the Tennessee Titans will win Super Bowl XXXIV. One inch there and the Byung-Hyun Kim isn't cursed in Arizona baseball circles.
Life is the same way.
As Annie Duke discusses in her book Thinking in Bets, some of our best decisions - the right decisions based on all available information - still don't work out the way we want.
(For context, Duke opens her book arguing that the call to throw at the end of Super Bowl XLIX was statistically the best call)
Kansas City Chief's head coach Andy Reid faced a similar situation in 2019 when his Chiefs lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots after seemingly winning the game on an interception that was called back due to a defender being just four inches off-sides.
Following the game, Reid refused to place blame on the defensive player who was offsides, and instead told the entire team, "We all could have been four inches better. We've got to move forward."
This was a crucial point in Reid's career.
He'd lost four NFC Championships and a Super Bowl during his tenure in Philadelphia and was developing a reputation as a good coach but not "one of the greats."
Yet, that following off-season, something special happened in the Kansas City offices as everyone committed to "four inches of improvement." He sought out improvement and feedback throughout every part of the organization to make incremental progress and avoid a repeat failure the following season.
In the five seasons following that pivotal loss to New England, Kansas City won 3 Super Bowls, played for another, and came within three overtime points of playing in five straight Super Bowls.
So what was so special about what Reid did?
According to Ohio State professor & management scientist Paul C. Nutt, the most significant difference between corporate leaders who can break free from a losing streak and those who seem to compound their mistakes with more comes down to the decision they make immediately following the mistake.
As shared by Sally Jenkins in The Right Call, successful leaders who break free of failure are "more forthright and searching when a decision goes wrong." They treat their failure with a sense of curiosity and investigation.
Nutt's "discovery process" involves taking a proactive approach to:
- gathering information about potential root causes of a problem
- engaging a diverse set of stakeholders
- exploring a wide range of alternatives before settling on a solution
This approach goes in the face of a more common response - which is making an emotional gut-feeling reaction at the moment.
The Practice Field
So how can we improve at being "more forthright and searching when a decision goes wrong?"
1. Own the Decision Publicly
We started the year discussing this very topic because a) of its importance and b) its lack of being a widely adopted practice in today's world.
As soon as something has gone off teh rails, call a meeting/send a message and acknowledge what happened, what you're taking responsibility for, and what insights you've learned during.
ex: "Here’s what I decided, why I made that choice, and what I believe went wrong. I want us to learn from this."
2. Ask Tough, Reflective Questions
The real work starts inside. We can rush from decision to action, but when facing a undesired outcome, it's important we make time to chew on questions that can aid us in the future.
Some help questions include:
- What information did I overlook?
- Who would I have been better off consulting regarding this?
- Did I let emotion or bias sway my choices in any way?
You can also process these questions with a mentor to help you find clarity.
3. Invite Feedback from your Team
I read once how Navy Seals will remove rank following a mission and sit in an open circle together to breakdown the entire mission - good, bad, and everything in-between on an even playing field.
This allows the leaders to seek feedback from their team and vice versa as a means to learning and growth rather than solely a critique.
We all know hindsight is 20/20 but asking something like, "If you were in my shoes, what would you have done differently?" is a great way to elicit other perspectives and make sure your team isn't stuck in an echo chamber.
It's like the mindset you need working with a personal trainer - the feedback helps strengthen you instead of tear you down.
4. Develop a Rebound Plan
Our willingness to bounce back is crucial in keeping our team moving forward after a negative outcome. We can utilize the Well? Better? How? the framework laid out in my book Lead Better Now, or a three step process that answers:
- Identify what currently can be salvaged.
- Create steps or a SOP to prevent similar mistakes in the future
- Communicate this new plan to your team
“Here’s the issue, here’s the fix, and here’s how we’ll avoid this in the future.”
5. Avoid making a quick, emotional decision
One of the biggest takeaways from Nutt is the importance of being thorough in your own discovery process to avoid the quick, emotional response that tends to compound one mistake with another - and extend your losing streak into the future.
I'm cheering for you to impact others today, Reader,
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This Week on the Podcast
Monday
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Wednesday
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Friday
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