Why I Teach My Team To Break The Rules...

I wanted to know every rule connected to each new action I was taking. I enjoyed being able to follow a prepared path laid out for me to achieve success; it was my way of guaranteeing that I would accomplish my goals. It was my freshman year of high school and I was ready to spread my maturing wings; I had never played organized football but a lot of my friends were signing up and so was I. Eventually, I stumbled into the starting Free Safety position on defense and was beyond eager to make an impact on the team.

Every practice was littered with my yelling: “Coach, can I do this?” “Coach, if he goes there, could I go here?” “Coach, what if I…?”

Remember, I had never played organized football, and much of the intrinsic traits necessary to be successful had yet to find me. The best way I knew to combat this gap was to ask a barrage of questions at every dead-ball. But one day I heard a yell much louder than mine…

“Holloway, stop!” The head coach lost it for a brief moment and snapped at me the way he typically snapped at the players making constant mistakes. I was certain he wasn’t talking to me!?! I didn’t make many mistakes; I know I didn’t make many mistakes because I made sure to ask all the right questions before and after each play at practice.

“If you continue asking ‘how or why’ something is done, after each play, then I am led to assume you don’t know or don’t have confidence in what to do during each play,” this coach’s wisdom bestowed a newfound level of understanding upon me.

My eyes were now opened; from here I realized that rules create a comfortable level of structure and certainty for those who follow them (and those who enforce them). Rules allow for organizations to put a box around a process or an expectation in order to protect the artistry of what’s been created. They give you predictability. Ease of replication. Accountability. There are so many wonderful benefits that come with the creation of most rules.

There is also, however, one glaring thorn in the rule making arena: all rules are made by humans. Even the rules of nature that are then interpreted by humans and explained in a way humans can understand. And if we only know one thing in this life; it is that all humans are perfectly imperfect. The creation of most rules is simply another way of saying we like how things are right now, and want to keep it this way, more so than not.

We can’t expect an imperfect human to make a perfect rule for other imperfect humans to follow perfectly… can we? No, of course not.

Therefore I am able to deduce that all rules are meant to be broken. Destroyed. Shattered. Challenged in the most meaningful of ways. And at all times.

As #leaders , this can put us in a sticky situation, though. On one hand, you should absolutely have a set of rules in place to create structure and provide measures of predictable success. On the other hand, leaders are also responsible for creating an environment that embraces failure (as long as it happens in the name of creativity and potential growth versus inability to perform).

But rules can be so limiting; they could restrict the ability of those you’ve put in position to help carry the team to the next level. Our impact can only reach as far as the rules will allow. Even our growth can be limited by the rules we obey while trying to grow.

*This is not a battlecry for an environment absent of all rules; that sounds bananas!*

Instead, this is a plea for balance and understanding. This is a challenge for all leaders to go deeper when trying to problem solve via people leadership.

Let’s think about how rules have impacted our lives—both positively and negatively. What is your relationship with rules? Are you a rule breaker or a rule follower? Do you feel restricted by rules or propelled by their consistency?

I often think back to my interaction with my freshman football coach. Admittedly, I didn’t know how to digest at that stage of life, but it has taught me valuable lessons throughout my journey as I revisit the moment. I remember him ending that speech in saying how he “needs someone who can be trusted to play the position and make the right decisions.” I haven’t broached this conversation with him, but my point-of-view in this story has allowed the adult version of me to benefit from my younger self’s clumsy journey. See, while I was focused on the rules laid in front of me, my coach was painting a much larger picture of growth and accountability for me as a leader.

Rules are a basic necessity that outlines a structure and the foundational expectations of the tasks at hand. They are not a fortress meant to prevent movement above or beyond where the eyes can see. They are very useful tools that provide guidance when one is in need.

While it is the group of rule followers that create a standard of stability for today; it is the group of rule breakers that pave the way for a bigger tomorrow. So, I encourage you to learn all the rules you need to learn in order to understand how and where to break them.