MyFootball,MyWorkPlace

Jesse Lingard and the Art of Giving Second Chances

Its a fresh week and am certain ,there has been a moment at your workplace,where the sports banter started.The Premier league football games continued to roll,and of course,choruses from Manchester in praise of Christiano Ronaldo,or Romelo Lukaku of Chelsea could have filled the airwaves.

So,if you're not into this football stuff like me, did you just leave for a cup of coffee, inevitably missing the moment the conversation transitions to business? Did you let your eyes go vacant and pray it will be over soon?

Well,if you paid attention(or mistakenly tapped into their banter),you could have heard of the name,Jesse Lingard. And for me,this is what caught my attention,from the weekend's action.

Mistakes do happen on the job, and you might need to convince your boss that you deserve a second chance when you mess up. When it happens, it's best to take responsibility for your actions and express regret for your error. If it was a bad judgment call or a poor decision, you can explain that you learned a hard lesson and assure your boss it won't happen again. For offenses against co-workers or clients, you may need to issue a formal apology for your actions.

Jesse Lingard,has had a mixed start to the season.Here is a man who is barely playing for the first few games, coming off the bench in all.

He scored against Newcastle United and his team won the game, two days later,in the last minutes of the match ,he gave a way the ball in what was a changing mistake against Young Boys,a "smaller" team to Manchester United,and his team lost the game .

Crestfallen he was.Here was a moment that he wanted the ground to swallow him.Inside him,he thought,may be the coach won't trust him with an opportunity to play in the next match,and yet he wanted to prove that,even in bringing back the superstar in Ronaldo,he was equally up to the challenge,to fight for a place in the starting line-up alongside the newly acquired superstars.

He was wrong.His coach still had trust in him and three days later,Lingard was back in the team,and this time scored a beautiful goal,in the last minutes of game,to win it for his team.

He didn't celebrate the goal,because he had scored against a West Ham United team,that last season,had accommodated him as a "loanee" from Manchester United,where he couldn't find regular playing time,and also managed to discover his best form.This is respect.Lingard got his second chance,and grabbed it by the "bull's horns'.

So,what's my takeaway to the Workplace?

Get Smart About Second Chances

If managers give employees second chances in the right way, they may never have a more loyal employee.Amy Rollo, a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in workplace issues at Heights Family Counseling in Houston, Texas, has these suggestions for managers mulling second-chance employee opportunities:

a)Make the right diagnosis. Managers and bosses need to understand the difference between red flag behaviors and honest human errors. "When you provide a second chance to someone who had an honest human error, that person can show up with loyalty and effort the remainder of their tenure," Rollo said. "If you give a second chance to a red flag behavior, you are asking for that behavior to be repeated."

Football is a game of mistakes. Lingard made the human mistake,owned it,his teammates supported him,and above all,his manager kept the faith in him.He surely rewarded this trust by scoring a good goal in the last minutes of the game,to help his team to the upper part of the league table.

b)Know the deal breakers. Some behaviors that do not warrant second chances include lying, stealing and a negative attitude that creates a toxic work environment. "These are employees you do not want on your team," Rollo said.

When Lingard,gave away the ball mistakenly in the game against Young Boys,his captain was quick to pick him off the ground,whisper a few words of encouragement,and point to him that,the next game would be better,and so it was.No negative energy to keep on the team,albeit the mistake.

c)Watch the response. Managers need to consider how someone responds to their errors. "Do they take responsibility, or do they make excuses and not own up to it? Do they show remorse and have an action plan of how they will correct it?" she asked. "When a second chance is provided, managers should make a plan with the employee that goes over how to learn and grow from the error. Most errors can be teaching moments if handled correctly."

No one can better demonstrate this,than Lingard,who made a mistake that cost his team mid-week,made up by scoring the winner in the next game,and moreover against a team that had given him refuge for the last nine months.His refusal to celebrate the goal,was a sheer description of a man who has respect for his former employer.

Conclusion .If you're the manager and truly convinced an employee is going to fail no matter what, then it's probably better to terminate them immediately because you're unable to give them a true second chance.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,the Manchester United boss, always insisted that Jesse Lingard was part of his plans for the campaign.Now ,this is a boss ready to keep his asset and give it a second chance.