"You're never as good as you look when you win or as bad as you look when you lose." - Earl Weaver
Mom taught us early, "somebody's gotta win and somebody's gotta lose."
There's a result-performance hierarchy.
Loss aversion studies show that loss feels about twice as badly as winning feels good. In sports, that may have nuance. For example, in development, we experience "good losses" as a worthy opponent and heavy underdog. And at many levels, we have unsatisfying wins, winning while playing poorly.
Self-awareness of process and results. Reflect on the link between process and results.
Attribution bias casts ourselves in a positive light. When we win, we exult in our achievement and when losing we blame field conditions, officiating, weather, or bad luck.
Scapegoating assigns blame for losses. "Scapegoat theory refers to the tendency to blame someone else for one's own problems, a process that often results in feelings of prejudice toward the person or group that one is blaming." Scapegoating allows us to protect our ego during setbacks. In Gridiron Genius, Mike Lombardi asserts the difficulty of playing for Jon Gruden who takes credit for wins and disperses blame on players for losses.
Resulting occurs when we overrepresent outcomes on skill or decision-making and ignore the impact of luck. In Thinking in Bets, Annie Duke estimates poker results as about three-quarters skill and a quarter luck. She points out that the Pete Carroll pass decision leading to Malcolm Butler's interception was a low probability event amidst a reasonable decision tree.
Live by design with private and public statements in the heat of battle. Don't crush the souls of children through ill-advised speech. Recall President Lincoln's hot letters "never sent, never signed." Another alternative is the '24-hour rule' of holding fire. That doesn't preclude coaching and motivation, but what is reasonable for for older adolescents may be abusive for children.
Lagniappe. "See yourself doing right and you do right."
Lagniappe 2. The magic of Harden, slowed down. "You can't go anywhere without your feet."
Lagniappe 3. From Michael Lombardi, "Gridiron Genius"
"COMMAND OF THE ROOM Followers need something to commit to. Great leaders know how to grab a team’s attention and then show them what they’re all fighting for. As Belichick says, “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes but no plans.” You can’t buy into a plan unless one is laid out clearly and plainly for the entire franchise.
He cared only about what was ahead and how to move forward with a collective blueprint that gave them the best chance of victory.
COMMAND OF THE MESSAGE
Players can’t accomplish anything unless they can visualize the path.
COMMAND OF SELF
Personal accountability is the ultimate sign of strength. When a leader admits mistakes, it shows the team that he expects as much from himself as he does from his players.
