Yesterday, the Arizona Cardinals suffered a humiliating loss to the Tennessee Titans. The Cardinals actually led 21-6 going into the fourth quarter, but fumbled that lead away and ended up losing 21-22.
The “fumbling” was both figurative and literal: Early in the fourth quarter, Cardinals Running back Emari Demercado made a crucial mistake when he casually tossed the football away shortly before crossing the goal line. (At least, that’s how officials saw it.) This negated a would-be 72-yard touchdown that would have put the Cardinals up 27-6.
Shortly afterwards, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was seen clearly livid on the sideline. He walked up to Demercado, yelled in his face, and made a striking gesture towards him as he walked away.
Contrast this with the reaction of Demercado’s teammates.
Featured Video
An Inc.com Featured Presentation
“I’m really close with Emari. I know his character, I know his IQ of the game,” said Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray after the game. “I wouldn’t think Emari would do that, but obviously we all make mistakes. He’s going to take that on the chin, he understands that.”
Soon after the gaffe, Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. put his arm around Demercado and consoled him.
“I was just reminding him that he’s a professional, he’s made countless plays for us, he’s made a lot of explosive plays and to not let that moment affect him,” Johnson said. “I wanted to be one of the first people to find him on the sideline and tell him wipe it off and keep going.”
In contrasting these reactions, we learn a lot about leadership. Namely:
How you react to your people’s mistakes can make or break their confidence, their performance, and your relationship.
Let’s take a closer look at why Gannon’s reaction is damaging. Further, we’ll see how he can now use this as an opportunity to gain trust with his players, and what leaders everywhere can learn from it. (Sign up here for my free email course on emotionally intelligent leadership.)
How good leaders handle mistakes
An NFL team presents a unique working environment. It’s male dominated, laden with testosterone. Yet, the principles of cognitive psychology and emotional intelligence apply here as they do anywhere.
The question at hand is: As a leader, how do you handle it when one of your people makes a mistake?
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage emotions, especially in the context of trying to reach a goal. So, that brings us to another question: What’s the goal?
Gannon has to answer that for himself. But most leaders would agree on a variation of the following:
Goal 1: The player and his teammates should learn from the mistake and strive to never repeat it.
Goal 2: Build trust and rapport with the player, so he sees you as someone on his side, increasing the chances he’ll take your advice to heart and apply it.
Which reaction do you think will accomplish those goals best? Gannon’s or that of Demercado’s teammates?
Now, admittedly: I’m not in the Arizona Cardinals locker room. I can’t see the conversations between coach and players. But Gannon has repeatedly emphasized the need to take care of the ball and look after the details (as most coaches do).
But here’s the point: Gannon and his coaching staff have not yet effectively gotten their players to execute on that. Which means, either the methods they’re using aren’t effective, or the trust in using those methods is not there.
To Gannon’s credit, he does see the need for a change.
“It’s on me,” Gannon said, when asked about the team’s sloppiness. “I got to go back to my drawing board and do a better job, because it’s unacceptable.”
So, where does Gannon start?
Let’s be straight: As a dad, workplace leader, and coach myself, I’ve made mistakes similar to Gannon. When you’re passionate about what you do, it’s easy to fall victim to your emotions and lose your temper.
But when that happens, you have an opportunity.
You can apologize. You can go straight to the person, and even the entire team, and say you overreacted. You can let your people know you’re confident in them and their ability. That you know they’re not going to make this mistake again, you’ve got their back, and you’re going to support each other moving forward.
Then, you deliver on that promise. And start building trust.
Two people made big mistakes yesterday, player and coach. Both have an opportunity to learn from those mistakes, and grow from the experience. If they do, they’ll get better.
So, the next time one of your people makes a mistake—or maybe that person is you—consider carefully what you’re going to say next. Because as a leader, it’s on you to set the example.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.