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Defeats: What Kind of Loser Do You Want To Be?

2021-03-09T09:04:51.883Z


Just tick off defeats and move on: That doesn't mean that we really learn from mistakes. We should give room to failure and let our feelings run free.


Managers - whether from politics or business - understandably focus on winning.

Getting to the top is an innate human desire.

It shows that we can make a difference and brings us financial and psychological rewards.

Countless management guides teach us how to win customers, form winning teams and beat the competition.

Losing control, our face, a job, status, power, or wealth - remains a curse.

Last but not least, the last US presidential election showed us that executives still have to learn how to lose with dignity.

Perseverance is commendable, but only up to a point.

In society, especially in the economy, we should not only tolerate defeat, but see them as experiences that can lead to change and growth.

We need to create work environments where you can lose without being considered a failure.

These four strategies make leaders smarter losers:

Change your competitive landscape

Take Stacey Abrams as a role model, she is a politician, lawyer and suffrage activist.

She ran for 2018 in the US state of Georgia in the gubernatorial election and lost.

Abrams could now have run again himself.

Instead, she chose to focus on voter registration and helping other Democratic candidates.

Instead of putting herself at the center, she remained true to her mission and oriented herself around.

You may recall that Georgia played a crucial role in changing power in the presidency.

Abrams' strategy achieved a perhaps much more sustainable victory in a completely different arena.

If you look at the corporate level, Slack is a suitable example.

Founder Stewart Butterfield and his team originally planned a video game called Glitch.

When the project slowed down, they turned the tool they'd developed for their team-internal communication into a product.

This is how the communication tool Slack was born, which Salesforce has since taken over for $ 27.7 billion.

Play to play

When you enjoy what you do and work for a bigger goal, you will care less who wins and who loses.

James P. Carse established the definition of "finite and infinite games".

Infinite games come to an end when someone wins, while infinite games never stop because they are played for the sake of playing.

Executives who play infinite games - defined by a mission such as shaping a unique corporate culture and building a functioning team - should be role models for us.

An example: Ingnacio S. Galán, CEO of the Spanish electricity company Iberdrola, started switching to renewable energies early on and wants to convince others of this.

Of course, he also wants his company to grow faster than the competition, but he also doesn't mind if competitors copy his strategy.

Because he firmly believes that his strategy is better for society.

For him, protecting the environment is the never-ending game.

As he wrote in an article, "Climate change has become a climate emergency and we need everyone on board to tackle it".

Fail quickly or slowly

Start-ups have shown us how important it is to fail quickly or to "fall forward".

At events, people meet to report publicly about their professional failure.

more on the subject

  • 2 Minute Exercise: A Better Start To The DayBy Neil Pasricha

  • Self-management: You can't have everythingBy Eric C. Sinoway

  • Micro Habits: Forget Your Ambition By Sabina Nawaz

Losing can also be excruciatingly slow, painful and expensive.

As a person, as a team or as an organization, we have to give this type of failure space to live out our emotions, our frustration and grief.

We create psychological security that can promote better collaboration, innovation and productivity.

And thus paving the way for a strong recovery.

One study found that sad leaders often perform better than angry ones.

Acknowledging negative feelings can also lead to better performance assessments.

If people do not feel that they do not have to perform at their best every time and every task, more meaningful conversations may arise with which they can develop personally and professionally.

Know when to give up

Defeat is a way of showing yourself vulnerable and humble.

As Doris Kearns, a US historian, puts it, the secret star of a US election night is the loser who delivers a dignified speech that will be remembered forever, like that of John McCain in 2008.

Managers need to recognize when their actions are shaped more by the desire to win than by the real desire for change.

They should recognize when their victory is superficial, short-term, or the price is too high.

Numerous economic scandals, from Enron to Wells Fargo, bear witness to what happens when victory (in this case, maximizing profits) comes at too high a price.

A counterexample is Dick's Sporting Goods, which decided to stop selling guns in the United States despite fearing a $ 150 million drop in sales.

What kind of loser do you want to be?

It is also important to recognize when events are beyond control, by individuals, teams or the organization.

Managers are responsible for what they can change, but for everything else they should know when to give up.

Numerous retailers and restaurants had to file for bankruptcy as a result of the corona pandemic, many of them do this in the knowledge that they can possibly show their employees and brands a perspective.

The restaurant chain Friendly's announced a restructuring, while restaurants remained open and employees could continue to work.

"We believe that the planned bankruptcy and the sale to an experienced restaurant group will ensure that Friendly's will come out of the crisis stronger than before," says CEO George Michel.

The 130 locations are to be retained.

Team A - The Honest Leadership Podcast

Astrid (Maier, Xing editor-in-chief) and Antonia (Götsch, editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business manager) - therefore Team A - have been leading teams for years.

Every two weeks you speak openly with guests from companies and universities about strong leadership and what drives managers.

All Follow Right Arrow

Behind all of these strategies lies the question: What kind of loser do you want to be?

In the years to come, many of us will lose the status symbols that once showed us we were one of the winners.

Hybrid working models and flat network organizations will cause problems for our egos.

And the consequences will also be material: some jobs will disappear, we will change employers more frequently.

Many of us will lose out when compared to intelligent machines.

This is not my pessimistic worldview, but the reality of jobs in a volatile and uncertain world.

When we think differently about winning and losing - switching the arena we play in, accepting infinite games, allowing ourselves to recover from defeat, giving up when the price gets too high or having no control over what happens - we become happier be in the job.

And win or lose again the next day.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-03-09

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