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Can your team overcome adversity and win?

Leaders are expected to deliver success

When a leader is put in charge of a team they are expected to deliver positive results. This axiom is particularly true in professional sports. No pro sports club hires a new coach thinking that the team will have a losing season. No. The coach is there to make the team win. The fans expect no less. The same is true in business. Organizations do not put leaders in place to perform poorly. The exact opposite is true. They are expected to succeed. They must be able to handle adversity.

The Raiders hired John Gruden to win games. He is not smiling much these days.

Leaders are replaced when they fail to deliver

If leaders do not deliver positive results they are replaced. It is how the sports entertainment industry works. Every year coaches who do not win are replaced. Some sports leagues like the NFL and English Premier League are brutal on coaches. No one cares if the team does not have enough talent to win. The expectation remains the same – win. The coach or manager is fired if the team does not win. No exceptions, no excuses. The business world is not much different. Organizations cannot afford to keep losing leaders in place. Too much is at stake.

Leicester City Football Club fired their manager even after he won a miracle title for them. — Leicester City Football Club fired their manager even after he won a miracle title for them just a few years before.

Teams that win are remembered and remain

In sports, the teams that win championships are the ones we remember. Try to recall who lost the Super Bowl two years ago. Hard to do. It was the Atlanta Falcons. We are much more likely to remember that Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to the greatest come from behind victory in Super Bowl history. It was an amazing win.

The Philadelphia Eagles were surprise winners of this year's Super Bowl. — The Philadelphia Eagles were the surprise winners of last year’s Super Bowl.

Winning year after year is hard

Last year’s Super Bowl was a much different story. The Philadelphia Eagles reigned supreme. So it goes. Winners are remembered. Losers are forgotten. The business world is not much different. Companies come and go based on how they perform. The companies that succeed remain. Others disappear over time.

Lehman Brothers was once a highly respected investment company. They are gone.

Success in sports requires winning when it counts

No one really cares how a team performed during pre-season. Those games do not count for much. They are practice. Instead, success is measured by how a team performs in the playoffs. Was the team even able to make the playoffs? If not – it Wmight be time for a new coach. Were they able to win it all, and take home the trophy? Did the team win when it counted the most?

The Washington Nationals are highly successful during the season, but not in the playoffs. Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The need to succeed is the same in the business world

The same is true in business. What about your team. Did your team deliver when it mattered the most? Did you close the deal, or lose to a competitor? Were you able to make your clients successful? Did you make your financial numbers this quarter? Are you growing? Are you winning? If your team is not able to win when it counts, then you may be in trouble as a leader.

Blockbuster video failed to survive while Netflix continues to thrive.

All teams face adversity at some point

Success does not come easy. If it did every team would be successful. Many teams struggle to succeed, to deliver, to win. Why is that? All The Way Leadership! believes that many teams struggle because they do not deal well with adversity. Instead of rising to the occasion they crumble. They lose.

The Cleveland Browns are infamous for losing a lot of games.

Some perform their worse when it matters the most

They miss the shot. They fumble the ball and fail to get the first down. Great teams, on the other hand, deal well with adversity. They overcome it and make the shot. The team scores the goal. They deliver. They win.

The Eagles scored on a fourth and goal play in the Super Bowl. It changed the game.

The leader plays a critical role when adversity strikes

What is the first thing that team members do when they face adversity? They turn to their leader for guidance about the best way to handle the situation. Picture the New England Patriots going into halftime at Super Bowl LI. The one they were losing to the Atlanta Falcons big time. The likelihood of winning was remote at best.

The New England Patriots hired Bill Belichick to win Super Bowls. Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports — The Patriots Bill Belichick is known for winning. Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

How leaders respond to adversity will affect the team

You better believe that most of the players were looking to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for leadership. They were wondering what do we need to do to win. How were Tom and Bill acting? What were they doing? I bet they were cool-headed. They were analyzing what happened in the first half. They were mapping out a new strategy to win.

Tom Brady is known for his ability to lead his team to victory. Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports — Tom Brady throws a pass during the Super Bowl. Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The leader must keep her wits when times get tough

What about you? How do you behave when adversity strikes? How do you handle the situation? Are you able to remain calm and lead your team to victory? Or do you lose your cool and become unhinged? I am not saying that all leaders need to remain calm at all times. There are a time and a place for high energy leadership. Rather I am saying that it is important that a leader keep her wits when adversity strikes.

Tom Brady is known for his calmness under pressure while leading his team to victory.

Leading well requires that you keep your head in the game

Few people want to follow someone who loses control of himself during high-pressure situations. Some sports coaches and leaders yell and scream when put under pressure. I have worked for this type of leader. It is unsettling and usually does not end well for the team. No one wants to work for a leader who turns into the Hulk under pressure.

Bobby Knight was known for losing his mind during some games.

When you are the leader quitting is not an option – deal with adversity

Real leaders do not quit when it gets hard. Instead they dig-in. They double down. They do all that they can to lead their team to victory. In the end, they may lose, but at least they gave their best effort. Their team members and others will respect a leader who goes the distance. The one who puts it all on the line. Simply put – quitting because it gets hard is not an option when it comes to leadership. When you want to quit remember the words of Winston Churchill.

Never, never, never give up.
Winston Churchill

You are telling your team that it is okay to quit

If you quit, then you are signaling to your team that it is okay to deal with adversity by avoiding it. Which brings me full circle to my original point. In order to win, a team must be able to deal with adversity. It is a rare thing that victory comes without it. Hang in there, and lead your team effectively when adversity strikes. It will make the victory that much sweeter.

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I hope you join me on this journey to raise up the next generation of leaders. The world is in desperate need of more great leaders. Women and men who lead with confidence, clarity, and creativity. It’s time to become the leader that your world needs. Let’s go All The Way!

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What happens when leaders fail to confront poor performers

Leaders are expected to deliver results without breaking the rules. No organization puts a leader in charge of a project or team thinking that he or she will fail in the role. Equally important – no one wants the leader to send the organization into turmoil for doing something that should not be done. Leaders are usually selected based on their previous performance and future potential. It is important they deal properly with poor performers.

Your team expects big things as well

I believe that most followers have high expectations of their leaders. In the last two blog posts, I wrote about two troubling leadership trends: hitting the easy button and not having a good strategy. This post describes the third troubling leadership trend that is becoming more prevalent – limited leadership accountability. I will look at this trend from two different angles – poor performance and bad behavior.

Tracking performance is not that difficult

Let’s start with the good news first. Most organizations can track their performance without too much difficulty. It is pretty amazing the amount of data available to leaders and other stakeholders. In my current leadership position, I receive a ton of data about my business unit. Many leaders do. Business metrics, customer feedback, and employee surveys provide insights into performance. Below are some examples of questions leaders can ask and get answers.

How much revenue did we generate last month?
Was it above or below our target?
What do our profit margins look like?
How well are we supporting our current customers?
Are we gaining more customers?
Are we losing current customers? If so, why?
How many employees did we hire last month?
How many employees left last month?
Why did they leave?
Do we have a competitive employee benefits package?

Leaders have the data they need to deal with poor performers

All of this data is great. Not only can leaders determine how well they are performing, but they can leverage it to identify what is causing problems. For example, if you are running an online company you can use tools like Google Analytics to understand user behavior. You receive a list of who is visiting your site and what they are doing while there. You will notice when traffic to your site suddenly drops. Facebook advertising provides detailed data about your digital marketing campaigns. You will learn how many users clicked on your ad which helps inform your online marketing strategy. Leaders usually can figure out how well we are performing.

Google analytics provides powerful insights into web site performance and user behavior. — Google Analytics provides powerful insights into website performance and user behavior.

Failing to get the job done is costly

There may be many reasons why an organization is not performing well. Some reasons will be easier to address than others. You may have an inadequate strategy, new competition, the wrong product, a bad marketing approach, or simply struggle to keep up with customer demand. If the poor performance lasts for longer than a quarter or two I recommend an organization starts looking at the leadership they have in place. Is the leadership team the right one. Are changes needed? Do not wait more than a year to consider making changes. The pace of the modern world moves too fast to allow poor performance to persist year over year.

A prolonged drop in stock price is usually an indicator of poor performance. — A large drop in stock price is usually an indicator of poor performance.

Teams that win are usually well-led

In an earlier post, I described how leadership directly affects performance. The sports entertainment industry understands this principle probably better than other industries. Sports teams that win multiple championships spend a lot of time making sure they have the right leadership team in place. Look no further than the New England Patriots – same owner and coach for years. Results – multiple Super Bowl victories.

A decade of poor performance is unacceptable

In contrast, if the team is not winning it is not uncommon for the owner to replace the coach. But, that change does not always work. For example, my beloved Washington Redskins have made their fans suffer through a decade or more of mediocre football. For some teams this performance is fine. Not for the Washington DC area. We expect to win. The Redskins possess multiple Lombardi trophies. They just have not won one in a really long time.

The Redskins qualified for the playoffs only three times in the past decade.

Making the right change is critical – deal properly with poor performers

The Washing Redskins owner keeps trying to solve the problem by replacing the coach to include bringing back Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. Even that move did not work. He eventually left and someone new was brought in. The names of coaches who have tried to win under the current owner are too long to list. All these coaches and nothing really changes. Points to the fact that the problem is most likely the owner, not the coach. Until that change is made the Washington Redskins will continue to be happy just making the playoffs. Forget about winning a Super Bowl.

Joe Gibbs speaks with three Super Bowl trophies in foreground, after his return as the Washington Redskins head coach. — Joe Gibbs speaks with three Super Bowl trophies in the foreground, after his return as the Washington Redskins head coach.

What to do if you are the problem

The question that naturally follows is what do you do with low performing leaders. More importantly, what do you do if you are the problem? What if you are a leader who is failing to deliver results. If you are the problem it is time to do something about it. Don’t hit the easy button and hope for the best. Hold yourself accountable. Invest in yourself. Become a better leader.

Coach Belichick holds us accountable everyday. We appreciate when he’s tough on us. He gets the best out of us.
Tom Brady, Quarterback for the New England Patriots

All the Way Leadership! is here to help

In the coming year, we will continue publishing curated content about leadership. We also plan to launch a training program for leaders who are looking for ways to increase their individual impact and improve their leadership effectiveness. Take advantage of these resources and the many other ones that are available. Don’t wait for your boss to walk into your office, close the door, and have a tough conversation with you about why they are removing you from your current role. Don’t be the guy in the cartoon below.

Hold poor performers accountable, or pay the price

It is important as a leader that you hold yourself accountable, and those who work for you. If you have low performing team members you need to work with them on ways to improve. Perhaps they need training, coaching, or more guidance. It is up to you as the leader to figure that out. Don’t watch your team members flounder without doing something about it.

Tolerating poor performers will effect team morale. — Tolerating poor performers will affect team morale.

Rarely will the problem solve itself

If you have worked with the person, and performance does not improve, then you need to consider making a change. It is a difficult decision to make. Do not take these decisions lightly. The reality is that sometimes you have to remove the poor performer and move on. If you do not then you are sending a signal to the rest of the team that poor performance will be tolerated.

Getting rid of poor performers can be difficult.

Failing to deal with poor performers is not fair to others

Whatever you decide – avoid simply handing the problem to someone else. Many leaders are afraid to deal with poor performers. I have witnessed this first-hand many times in the government. The poor performer is not helped or fired. Instead, they are moved. The problem continues. In fact, it gets worse over time. The poor performer eventually is promoted and put into a position of greater responsibility. The problem grows until someone has the courage to deal directly with the poor performer. Don’t let that happen to your organization. The results can be devastating if you choose to ignore it.

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What happens when leaders press the easy button?

Today’s leaders are under a lot of pressure to get results and get them quickly. Strong performance is expected. Let’s face it – winning in the modern highly competitive world is difficult. If you do not achieve success, then you may not last long in your position. That sounds harsh, but it is the reality. New leaders will be brought in to get the job done that is left unfinished by their predecessors. Hitting the easy button is tempting. I am a senior leader and work for one of the best companies in the country. I know first hand the type of pressure that leaders feel. We are expected to succeed. Everyone receives an annual growth target. No one gets a pass, no matter what the market conditions look like. No excuses – get the job done!

Leaders are expected to succeed

As a leader, you probably face the same expectations. But we all know success does not come easy. No – you will be tested at some point. How leaders deal with this test varies. Some thrive on the competition while others struggle to survive. Over the past few years, I have noticed several leadership trends that are becoming more prevalent these days. Some trends are positive like more diversity in senior leadership positions. While others are troubling. For the next few weeks, I will talk about a few troubling trends that I see related to leaders dealing with high-performance expectations and the potential impact they are having on society.

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
– Alexander Pope

Leadership challenges are complex

The challenges that many leaders face are vexing. Some leadership challenges are complex due to the size of the problem. If it is a big problem it will likely take a long time to solve. For example, in 2010 British Petroleum (BP) faced a huge leadership challenge when one of their rigs spilled an enormous amount of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Several people died. The oil washed up on the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast. It was a huge mess that dominated the news for weeks. It took BP years to recover from this tragic event and the aftermath.

This map shows the size of the BP oil spill problem.

Leadership challenges are uncertain

Other leadership challenges are complex because it is difficult to determine what caused the problem. For example, back in 2009, Toyota had to recall millions of its vehicles. The gas pedal in some Toyota models stuck to the floor preventing the driver from stopping the vehicle. It was unclear what was causing the problem. Fixing this problem took a long time. Once again, several people died and Toyota was in the news for months regarding this problem. Several have studied this problem and it still remains unclear to this day if the gas pedals stuck, or did the drivers cause the accidents. It did not really matter to Toyota – they still had to deal with the situation. It haunted them for years.

Toyota kept selling cars during the controversy. — Toyota kept selling cars during the controversy, but their sales dropped.

OPM debacle – a case study of pressing the easy button

In 2015 someone hacked into a database managed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), an organization in the US government. The hackers stole all the files containing the personal data of everyone who holds a US government security clearance. OPM leadership reacted to the situation by hitting the easy button.

The OPM hack was in the news for a long time.

They decided to handle the crisis like previous hacking incidents

OPM set up a website so that anyone could check to see if their data had been stolen. They sent letters to all affected parties. It was over twenty million people. I know about the letter because I received one of them. OPM started to investigate the details of what happened. As they would soon discover – it was a complete debacle and would only get worse. The easy button did not work.

The OPM Director at the time trying to explain what happened to congress. — The OPM Director at the time trying to explain what happened to Congress.

The situation goes from bad to worse

First, there were problems with the letters. The address data they had for some people was old. It was hard to tell if everyone affected actually received one. OPM sent out more letters. I received another one. Second, several people questioned whether the new website that OPM launched was secure, or not. Some did not use the site since it was set up by the same organization that had just been hacked. Third, there was a debate about who should pay for the credit monitoring everyone would need in the aftermath. The cost was not trivial. Lastly, the hack was worse than thought. In fact, OPM had been hacked more than once. Stealing the data was easy for hackers due to the negligence of the company responsible for managing the database. It became clear that something more needed to be done…quickly.

OPM leadership explaining to Congress what happened.

Leaders pay the price for pressing the easy button

As things worsened leaders started getting fired. It was amazing to me how long it took before the Chief Information Officer, the person responsible for securing the organization’s information technology assets, finally resigned. She should have been fired right away so that new leadership could be brought in. Someone who would not defend why things were the way they were. Someone who would solve the problem in a timely manner. The most disturbing part of the situation was that it was hard to tell if the problem had actually been solved. Was the data properly protected? Some reports indicated there were still problems months later.

Turns out there was more than one breach. Double trouble.

Complex challenges require comprehensive solutions

The magnitude of the OPM incident cannot be understated. Any enemy of the US would want this data. Many believe one of our adversaries stole the data. They took advantage of lax leadership and we all pay the price. Leaders need to address complex challenges with comprehensive solutions that actually solve the problem. Effective leaders recognize when they are dealing with a complex challenge and address it in an appropriate manner.

The sensitivity of the OPM data stolen is unsettling.

Do not hit the easy button and hope for the best

No – good leaders quickly assess the situation and set solutions into motion. They continue analyzing the problem and craft a comprehensive solution that will address the challenge in the long-term. Sure – some problems are easy to fix. You make a few decisions, implement some small changes, and the problems are solved. But many leadership challenges are complex, like the examples I have included here.

Complex challenges require leaders with comprehensive solutions to solve them.

The impact of pressing the easy button

When leaders press the easy button while dealing with complex challenges we all pay the price. Problems last longer than they should. It costs more money to solve. Sometimes, the effects continue for years. I know because I still continue to monitor my credit and will do so for the rest of my life to avoid anyone using my personal data to ruin my credit. More importantly, I do not want my children to suffer negative consequences from the OPM debacle. Yes – you guessed it. The files included family member data also.

ATW! is designed to make you a better leader

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Why focus on leadership right now?

Great question. My simple answer is that we are in great need of leadership now. I believe that leadership is a fundamental ingredient for success aka getting stuff done. Achieving success does not come easy. We all know this. If it did – all of us would be successful. We would see a thriving world – populated with healthy people, high-performing organizations, and strong communities. But, that is not what we find. Instead, we witness a world full of people struggling just to make it through another day, organizations failing to deliver results, and communities that are falling apart.

The US government deficit is growing again.

Not all is doom and gloom

Many people are successful, some companies are performing well, and there are plenty of connected communities. Rather, I am saying that sustained success seems to be the exception, not the norm. There has to be a better way. A world in which more of us experience success on a regular basis. I believe there is, and it starts with leadership.

“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”
— Vince Lombardi, American football coach, and NFL executive.

It all starts with effective leadership

It is difficult, if not nearly impossible to achieve great results without effective leadership. Sure – other ingredients are needed for success, especially in large organizations. Teamwork, respect, diversity, dedication, motivation, resilience, innovation, courage, and ethics to name a few. But, I am convinced that any organization can have all those other ingredients, and will still struggle to achieve real success without strong leadership. In the classic business book Good to Great, Jim Collins highlights the fact that great leaders populate great organizations. This was particularly true for high performing companies. I agree with Jim’s conclusions.

Jim Collins concludes great organizations are headed by great leaders. — Jim Collins concludes that great organizations are headed by great leaders.

Leadership matters a lot

I first came to this conclusion while serving in the military. It was amazing to me the difference leadership made. Great leadership led to high performance. The opposite was also true. Bad leadership resulted in poor performance. For example, one unit I served in was performing well. We had a great reputation – well known for delivering awesome results. Everyone enjoyed working there. Morale was sky-high. We had a strong team and a great commander leading it.

Great leaders build teams that work well together.

The day that leader left was a bad day

He was replaced with an inferior leader and performance started to suffer right away. The situation did not improve over time. It only got worse. Morale plummeted and our reputation diminished. It was difficult to watch this degradation firsthand, especially for all of us who had been there during the peak performance years.

Low morale is a direct result of poor leadership - it will infect the organization — Low morale is a direct result of poor leadership – it will infect an organization

Leadership directly impacts performance

I also experienced the exact opposite scenario in a different unit. We were not performing well and everyone knew it. We had a really bad reputation. Morale was low. Mediocre was a good day for us. A new commander with better leadership skills arrived and we started to perform much better within weeks. No mystery to me why the sudden turn around happened.

The unit performed in direct correlation to the leader’s effectiveness. Leadership mattered. It made a huge difference.
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It was that simple. I have seen similar scenarios play out in the business world, government agencies, churches, and charities. My guess is that you have likely seen the same thing happen. High performing organizations with an effective leader in charge. Or the opposite, bad leadership resulting in poor performance.

Performance correlates to leadership ability — An organization’s performance directly correlates to a leader’s effectiveness

All The Way Leadership! will focus on training the next generation of leaders who will help make the world a better place. I do not think we will have one without the other. If we want a better world (I know I do), then we need better leaders and lots of them. In case you cannot already tell – it is a topic I am passionate about which I will talk about more in the next blog post.

ATW! is designed to make you a better leader

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