When I’m Not Playing Well

You may have been witness to the interview of Carlton mid-fielder Patrick Cripps, second time winner of the Brownlow medal in the AFL.

Cripps had polled the most votes of anyone before him and he showed great humility and composure—a combination of who he is and the media training for today’s players.

What impressed me above all was his anticipation of what he is yet to achieve, particularly when he said:

“When you’re not playing well, can you still lead the team?”

When any of us is not playing well, we can look to both the internal and the external factors.

The internal may come about when we have some temporary or long term health or fitness issues, a loss of appetite for the contest, a set of skills that is somehow deficient, an emotional burden through loss or anxiety, or we are attempting to recover from a disaster of our own making.

The external may come from a malfunctioning game plan, resource shortages, when we are under personal or professional attack, or the game plan of our competitors.

While none of us is a champion like Cripps, we usually operate to the full extent of our own attributes, yet we may suffer a loss of form that threatens our entire game.? When we are beginning to flag, we may try:

1.????? Getting feedback—who do we know can give us a frank and accurate assessment of our performance, in confidence?? Someone who can prompt us to search for the answers to our form slump without necessarily wading in with their own “solutions”?? Such a someone is not necessarily an intimate who values your relationship over some rigorous discussion.? Maybe a coach?

2.????? Working harder and smarter on our game.? There will be those who have observed us from afar and will have a detached interest in how we play our game, our fitness and our skills.? ??Such people may be generous enough to provide their insights if we were to leave the door open, make a request or pay a fee.

3.????? Looking around—who else is having difficulty?? Sit down with them and find out what they need.? Not just when you are down, but always in leaderships you have the strength and the authority to raise others—understand and appreciate the skills and talents of other team members, see where their potential resides and find ways to help them thrive.

4.????? Getting over ourself.? While we depend on ego for our survival, we also know that in excess, it is our biggest barrier to learning and change.? We need to put ego aside and opt for self-confidence to know that we still have all our attributes, this is not the end of our career, much less the end of the world.

5.????? Having the humility to see that we always have something to learn, that we are open to challenge from anyone, we acknowledge others when things go right, we take the responsibility when things don’t go right, we make the best of what we have and we rely on leadership by influence—not positional power.? We never take ourselves too seriously.

6.????? Staying in the game. It may be appropriate to step out for a few weeks, which is what we all need, occasionally. But stepping out long-term?? We often hear the euphemism “spending more time with my family” when a situation seems unbearable.? The real challenge is to stand in the noise, yet to find stillness within (my next post).

It is inherent for leadership in any sphere that we are under pressure to perform well while still seeking to inspire higher performance from those around us.? Each of the above—or more likely, a combination—will focus us on the leadership requirements of our role, as well as returning us to our playing well.

In respect to Cripps’ question, yes, we certainly can still lead the team when we’re down.? In fact, this will be an opportunity for our leadership to flourish.

These leaderful responses will provide an even bigger boost when we also happen to be playing well.?

And they will inspire those who aspire to lead.

?

Next week: ?Finding Stillness in Noise?

?

About the Author

Jeff Bell?is Principal of executive consultancy ResultsWise in Perth, WA.?To boost your leadership, ask Jeff about Band of Leaders Australia (BOLA) [email protected] and his consulting, coaching and strategy facilitation, or his Advanced Leadership Course [email protected] Mobile 0439 988 662.?