Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!

  1. Share
0 0

It’s been several months since I wrote or posted about my 1st and 2nd grade Bronco football team. I’m not proud to say this but I didn’t want to admit that we were 0-7 going into Saturday’s game. I was asked often, “How is the coaching going? Are you having fun?” I would smile and say “Um, it’s going okay. The kids are really learning.” Of course the next question was “How many games have you won?” GULP!!! I would reply with “We haven’t won a game...yet...but we have really improved!” People were nice and encouraged me to keep going. Every week, I would tell myself before the game that it didn’t matter if we won or lost but I was lying to myself. It absolutely mattered!

 

Why?

 

I wanted the kids to have a moment of joy, satisfaction, thrill, taste of success because they had been putting tons of work in week after week. I saw their potential and new we could do it. We prepared. We showed up with a desire to win. We had talent. So what was stopping us? We needed to work together as a team on offense and defense. That sounds so simple but its not. Neither is managing teams in business and getting them to work together. 

 

I wanted the kids to experience four things…

  1. To Have Fun

  2. To Work Hard

  3. To Have A Good Attitude

  4. To Experience Success

 

It was my last game to coach my team and son as we were leaving for vacation this week. The team we were playing was ranked the second-best team in the conference. Their defense had only allowed seventy points all season and we had only scored thirty-one points all season. How in the world could we match up against them? I was talking to my son who is the quarterback and linebacker about the situation. I could see the fear take over his mind, soul and body. I brought him close to him and said “You know why we show up to play?” My son said “I don’t know.” I smiled and said “Because you never know when there might be an upset! It could be our week!” He didn’t seem to believe me but I was not giving up hope. I told the kids before the game to JUST HAVE FUN and TRY THEIR BEST! We will work together as a TEAM and not give up! 

 

Well, I am so thankful to say that we won that game 18-6. 

 

The team worked together for the whole game. There was only one big play from the other team that got away to score their only touchdown. The kids did everything I had trained them to do by working together. My son intercepted his first pass and ran through the entire defense. I was running with him and cheering for him to get a touchdown. The other team didn't give up and caught him at their twenty yard line. I didn't care for one second that he didn't score. I ran over to pick my son up and hug him with 100% pure love & joy for his success in life.  It was one of the greatest moments in my life!

 

How does his apply to business and leadership?

 

  • The only way to WIN is to work together!

  • Never give up!

  • Show up and put in the work!

  • Your people need to hear you CHEER for them LOUDLY with PASSION!

  • Let your people rest when they are tired.

  • Have backups in case someone needs to step away from their position.

  • Enjoy the WIN(s) every time and celebrate big!

  • You can't do it alone! I had Coach Dan who was part of the older team come help me when he saw me struggling. My son Jackson (12 yrs old), older players, and parents/grandparents/siblings of the players on the field holding tackling dummies during practice. WE DID IT TOGETHER!!!!

 

I won’t remember the losses but I will cherish this WIN with my team and sons...FOREVER!

 

Go Broncos!

 

The Impact of Leadership exists to equip, connect and grow leaders while having fun.

Bring us on your podcasts, into your company, and connect with us on social media. 

 

We're rooting for you. 

You're not alone.

 

NEED MORE? 

Check out the IOL Community Groups to connect with like-minded leaders!

Go to our YouTube and LinkedIn pages for more encouraging content.  

We've got over 100 podcasts to aid in your growth as a leader

Community tags

This content has 0 tags that match your profile.

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

0
Make it Great
Your Work Culture Matters We’ve worked hard over the years to make CCB Technology a great place to work. It has taken time, energy and intentionality.   It didn’t happen overnight.   We have had some tough years, especially the ones during what has now been coined as, “The Great Resignation” in 2021 when a lot of employees were quitting their jobs for greener pastures. Some of mine quit too, good ones. And I began to have moments of panic: What if we couldn’t find more good people? What if they all quit and left me? Of course, they didn’t, but I remember days in which I worried each person who walked into my office was there to lay a letter of resignation on my desk. Those were hard days. But I can honestly say that even through it, we held strong and even grew closer and tighter knit as a company. We hired more people, we fostered their growth, and now they’re the new “good people.”   When I was white knuckling my grip on the company, and super stressed out, I had other employees around me remind me how to foster positive culture. Now that things have settled a bit and we’re back to more stable times, I can see that we’ve grown as a company and I’ve grown as a leader.   Here’s a couple things that I’ve learned through the tough years and the good ones:   Make it Fun  I’ve been taught this by a lot of other people around me. You can basically take any mundane and boring day or task and make it fun, just add a bunny costume. Or call people into your office and hand them a pizza box full of confetti. Or hold an in-office facial hair competition. Get creative, get goofy and get borderline weird—like Peter Rabbit weird.   We always say, “no one drifts into excellence.” It’s a choice. Being fun is a choice too. It doesn’t just happen. You have to make room for silliness, for laughter and for joy. When your employees are having fun, jump in too.   Give Things Away I like to give my employees gifts. Try a “$100 handshake day” where you put money in your palm and give it to an unsuspecting employee by shaking his or her hand. I also love bringing in special treats or ordering pizza for the entire office. Give away gift cards, golf outings or fancy dinners. If money is tight, you can give things that don’t cost much, like public affirmation to a great employee, a hand-written card saying thank you, a silly song for someone that you wrote on the guitar, or just take company time to share in happy hour in the parking lot. Any gift shows your employees that you are thinking about them, care about them and want them to know that they’re appreciated for the work they do.   Freakin’ Promote People Screw the whole, “employees have to work for 3 years in the company before getting promoted.” If you have a good person who is talented and shows potential, freakin’ promote them! If you have work that you need done, and we all do, and you want to grow your business, like most of us do, then take good people and give them more responsibility. I recently stepped out of my role as the President of CCB and handed those reigns over to an amazing employee and he’s knocking it out of the park. You’ll never regret showing your employees that you trust them, you see what they can do, and that you’re willing to help them become better.   I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I can put my head down and just work. I can forget that company culture matters or feel like there’s not enough time or energy to get the work done but then I find myself burnt out, angry and annoyed. And no one likes that. Take the time to create a great culture and the work will get done, trust me.
0
Leadership Exposed: Sharing My Mistakes & Lessons Learned (New Podcast Series)
The past few months, I have launched a new series called “Leadership Exposed” on our podcast. This idea was born as Steve Scherer and I were thinking about new ways to connect with our listeners. We asked ourselves.... What are leaders needing to grow? How can I help them? What do I wish I knew when I started out as a leader? Then it hit me, leaders need to hear the truth on where I have failed so they can be better than me.   At IOL, we believe more is learned from failures than successes.   This is a twenty-minute series because you are too busy to hear me speak for an hour.   We have launched 3 episodes (today is the release of #3) where I share real stories to learn about my mistakes as a leader so you can learn.   Most people don’t want to share where they messed up because there is a fear that others will realize we aren’t perfect. We believe at The Impact of Leadership that we want to focus on the real issues not the fluffy stuff.   Here is a recap of lessons learned in the first three episodes:   Episode 1: Into to this series & hiring the wrong people.  *Click on the link to hear the episode.  Don’t ignore your gut when something feels off in the interview. Ask key questions and get clarity when you feel confusion with the answers given. Check their references (warning: no managers listed is a RED FLAG) to understand how to coach them well. Confirm they fit your company’s core values – create your own if you don’t have. Walk away if they are the wrong fit – it’s better to walk away if there is doubt.   Episode 2:  Are you a BSer?! *Click on the link to hear the episode.  Take time to ask follow up questions and compare the answers you are getting to confirm accuracy. Keep asking questions! It’s okay for a leader to be honest and say “I don’t know” to employees’ questions vs. making up something. Don’t overpromise and under deliver. Ask employees, not managers, how they are doing to hear their direct heart. Keep your commitments and define boundaries as a leader. Take action!   Episode 3: The difference between being a good boss vs. a great boss. *Click on the link to hear the episode.  A great boss… Bring accountability to your team. Give clear and specific directions with deadlines to your team. Be intentional, decisive and proactive. You cannot be a people pleaser. Ask “WHY” questions and listen well. Is passionate not emotional that is all over the place. Has integrity, vision, humility, creativity, emotional intelligence, etc. – lead in front.   No one is perfect so let’s be real on where we fail and how we have grown from our mistakes.   Nothing changes, if nothing changes.   You are not alone, we want to engage with you.   Reach out to me directly [email protected] if I can be of any help.   *JOIN CCB TECHNOLOGY FOR A LIVE IT SECURITY EVENT ON MARCH 19TH* https://ccbtechnology.com/security-summit/ Register HERE Use discount code: Save50 – This will give you a $50 discount at registration.