Like the nation, Barbara and I have been gripped with Matildas fever. Never thought we’d be sitting both at a live site and glued to the TV watching soccer matches.
Watching a team come together – coaches, leadership and players, there are some great leadership lessons to be had.
Akin to the Serenity Prayer – “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”, the Matildas learned to identify, acknowledge, accept and let go of the things they can’t control, and focus their attention back on the things they can control.
Put another way, control the controllables.
We can only do our best.
But that doesn’t mean leaving things to chance.
Preparation is everything.
Starting with purpose and vision. Tapping into your intrinsic motivation. And then ensuring everyone on your team is aligned with it.
Which has direct implications for your culture. What your values and beliefs are. How you conduct yourselves, both internally and with your clients and even your competitors.
Your leadership sets the standards for how you sell. Do you always tell the truth about your capabilities? And if you genuinely can’t help, tell the truth and even refer on to someone else – maybe even a broad competitor?
When delivering, do all your people step up and do their best? When things go wrong do you take responsibility and not blame others – even if they’re in the wrong?
I fully admit this isn’t always easy to do. I know I’ve slipped up more often than I like. But unless we have thought about the standards we want to uphold and then take positive steps to achieving them, how can we collectively hold our heads high knowing we did the best we could on the day.
