Inflate Gate and Leadership
You may be asking yourself what does
Inflate Gate have to do with leadership.
I say it has everything to do with leadership.
Leadership is all about
accountability. Leaders choose
accountability. They do not simply
accept it or take the responsibility, they want it because they know how
important it is.
The current situation
By now, everyone knows about Inflate
Gate; the fact the New England Patriots were playing with game balls inflated
below the standard set by the NFL. That
the footballs were checked by officials and found to be up to standard prior to
the game and at a point later in the game it was determined the game balls the
Patriots were using were underinflated.
What followed was a firestorm of
reaction from all sectors. Everyone (as
usual) wanted to know what people knew, when they knew it and who was the most
likely guilty party.
This set the stage for a moment of
brilliant leadership action. However,
for the many that have seen or read Coach Bill Bellicheck's public
statements know he missed that opportunity.
The fact is, he raised more questions about himself, his team and especially
his quarterback. Leaders do not do
this. Leaders do not cast a shadow on
the integrity of their organizations.
Being accountable does not mean
confessing to guilt or claiming responsibility for an act. It is choosing accountability over all else
when a crisis hits. I will not recount
the whole of Mr. Bellicheck's responses, but to simply say he did not come even
close to stepping up as a leader during this crisis. Think about all the
articles and TV hosts that you and others have seen that have played a part in
casting a shadow over the Patriots and the all time sporting event the Super
Bowl. None of this had to happen even though
the facts of the deflated footballs remain.
Mr. Bellichek is not alone. Leaders for whatever reason step over huge
opportunities to be accountable and incur the consequences that come with it. There was a moment and it was missed.
How could Mr. Bellicheck have done that you may ask?
Simply by taking accountability. What
he did versus taking accountability stand in stark contrast. Here is an example of what Mr. Bellicheck
could have said. You will quickly notice
the difference.
First, I want to apologize to all the
fans, the audience and most of all to my players. I have failed you. I'm accountable for what has happened and
will do my utmost to find out what happened, why and when. That is my promise. How did I fail? I failed in allowing the desire to win to
destroy the integrity of the game and especially my team that has worked so
hard this year to reach the Super Bowl.
I have in some way behaved in such a manner that it has allowed one or
more people to think that winning at all costs is acceptable. This is never acceptable. Somehow, that must have happened. I would like to think it did not. However, as the leader of this team on and
off the field and until I discover reasons why not, I am and will remain
accountable to the public, the owners and to the NFL. I regret this happened and as I said before
will not stop until I can stand before you with the final analysis of the
situation.
This, is leadership. This is what real leaders do. They know that doing otherwise destroys
confidence in their own integrity and those around them. It is like a cancer that begins to rot and
organization from the inside out. That,
while it destroys the brand that a company has spent years creating. It only takes one crisis and one failure of
leadership to destroy. Leaders know that
integrity is earned over time and one failure to step up to accountability can
destroy what was worked for so hard.
Actions for You?
Choose accountability as a
leader. Pay attention to your behaviors
and the messages it may be sending to the organization and people around you
and take accountability for that. Look
for opportunities to step up and claim your leadership accountability when
things go wrong. People will respect
your for that. That and you might even gain a new respect for yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment