Excuses Are Over

While it's easy to come up with excuses why things don't work the way we planned - the biggest challenge for many is to stop coming up with the reasons why we missed our target, look at ourselves introspectively and make the necessary changes to be successful.

Accountability is one of the cornerstones of leadership.

By demonstrating that we're responsible for the things we do, we're creating a culture of accountability and displaying to others that we're focused on achieving our goals, on both a personal and professional level.

On the next episode of HCL Radio, leadership speaker and business growth expert, Sam Silverstein shares what happens when we lack accountability as leaders.



Here's what Sam said.

Sam will also share insights from his latest book, No More Excuses.



No More Excuses is a way of looking at the world—a standard to which we hold ourselves and others accountable. It’s a strategy for life and work that attracts others to us, because accountability is a universal trait of admired people.

When we lack accountability, we fall into the trap of making and accepting excuses.


Thanks for reading!

Coulda Woulda Shoulda

We've all had to deal with the feeling of regret at one time or another. I know I've had more than my fair share as a coach for my daughter's juvenile basketball team.




I recall one game when our team was down by two points and there was enough time on the clock for one more play.

We had the ball so I called a time-out and brought the team in to explain what we were trying to do collectively.

Not very many of the girls had a lot of experience in high pressure packed games so I wanted to make sure that we were all on the same page.


I was purposeful and thorough in my explanation but unfortunately, I forgot to give instruction to one of the players in terms of where I wanted her positioned on the floor.

When the play started she was too close to the ball and as a result her defender was able to jump in the passing lane and steal the inbounds pass which sealed the game.

We lost!

I immediately realized what happened and I knew that I should have explained in greater detail what I wanted everyone to do.

Hard Court Tip

We have two clear choices when we make mistakes. We can dwell on our mistakes and live in regret or learn from the experience and move on.

Part of learning from the experience is accepting the circumstances and taking responsibility for anything that you could have better handled.

Regrets can easily turn into burdens if we dwell on them for too long, burdens can impact our present happiness and even interfere with your future, or motivation to move forward.

"I don't have to wait until the next morning to regret something I did that was kinda dumb" Bobby Knight

Thanks for reading!

Audley

The Big Shot

There's nothing more exciting in basketball than winning a game on a last second shot.

While much attention is paid to the "shot" as being the difference maker, it's actually very rare that one solitary play determines the outcome of a game.



Rather, it's the events leading up to the buzzer beater are the culprits we should point our fingers at.

Look at it this way.

A squad is winning by a huge margin and the other team makes a furious surge in the 4th quarter and eventually wins on a game winning shot.

Was it the last shot that won the game or was it the steps leading up to it that mattered most?

Both are correct because they've contributed to help the team win. The reality is that the team wouldn't have been in a position to win if not for all the small things leading up to the "shot".



The pathway to our failures and successes are made up of a series of actions leading up until the final outcome.

A missed free throw in the 1st quarter or making a big defensive play are both examples of small things that can happen over the course of a game.

These contributing factors may seem insignificant at the time but they do make a difference, especially in a tightly contested game.

As leaders, it's important to pay attention to contributions from all sources and what role they play in the final outcome.



Understanding what the contributing factors are make the evaluation process much smoother to move through and thus set the team up for future successes.

Thanks for reading!

Audley