‘If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same’ (from Rudyard Kipling’s If)
When one of the world’s leading female tennis players lost a major championship recently, she very publicly attributed the loss to her poor play rather than the winner’s skill. Only on reflection did she realise and acknowledge the lack of grace in her remarks.
Not just in sport but in life and work there are times we will succeed and times we won’t. How we respond in either scenario determines our impact on others, on our relationships, and on what happens next.
When the going isn’t going well, we must, as leaders, be hyper-aware of our response. Maturity and grace are needed in our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Yet when the pressure’s on, when failure looms, a considered response can be replaced by heated reaction and seeking to blame.
If, instead, we pause, reflect, seek other perspectives (not just those that echo our own) we come to a higher, more appropriate response.
In doing so we’ll build greater trust, strengthen relationship, engage others in wanting to help and to bring their best efforts to the situation, and set the standard for how we handle adversity.