Self-indulgent buffoonery damages teams

If you watched last night's NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers, you saw Bob Costas express his opinion about America's culture growing more stupid and graceless, as reflected in sports. Costas speaks about the spontaneous displays of enthusiasm versus calculated obnoxious displays.

Take a look:

Costas refers to yesterdays Buffalo Bills v. New York Jets game during which a Bills player's celebratory antics cost his team a penalty, which made it easy for the Jets to score the game-winning touch down. When the same self-absorbed player dropped a pass near the end of the game, he did not do an apology dance, Costa says.

Costa asks where the coaches are and why the coaches don't bench players when their antics damage their team. So far, I have not seen a coach respond. What could a coach say, "It's just boys being boys"? I've heard that response often when this topic is debated. The problem with it is that the boy being a boy often causes penalties. When self-absorption impacts teammates or the outcome of a game, the coaches and team leaders need to step in. Team leaders can help the ego-driven athlete understand his role as a teammate and coaches can ensure the message is received.

Most players do not indulge in graceless buffoonery after they score. Most players understand where the line between buffoonery and enthusiasm is drawn, and they have the accurate filter through which to behave. The few who do not look foolish because of their actions, immature because of their lack of control, and selfish because they do not care about their teams.

The same can be said of teams within workplaces. I have not seen a teammate jump on a boardroom table, pull a pen out of his sock, and sign an approved proposal while spinning on his head. But, I have seen emails in which business teammates take credit for someone else's work. I have seen workplace teammates take jabs at others during meetings so they can keep all the attention. I've seen work teammates cause extra work for the whole team just to ensure that someone else does not get to make a good play.

Jealousy, insecurity, and lack of confidence cause the same type of buffoonery Costas refers to in the NFL. In fact, in his opening statement, Costas says our culture is growing more stupid and graceless and sports reflects it.

Another famous football legend, Lou Holtz, said, "When you reach the end zone, act like you've been there before." When players dance around like it's their first time in the end zone and they are shocked to see the view from there, they probably do not realize how they look to most people watching. The same can be said when workplace teammates behave in mindless exhibitionism.

What do you think: is there a line between enthusiasm and self-indulgence? How have you seen the line blurred at work? What should the leaders do about it?

3 Lessons from a two-toed, small town, high school quarterback

The past six months of Dylan Fink's life have been gruesome and triumphant.

The gruesome part was when a combine sliced through both of his feet, leaving him only two toes.

[brief pause for you to ponder that for a minute...]

An article in today's Kansas City Star (linked below) shares Fink's story from the combine slice to tonight's triumph. Tonight, Fink leads his eight-man high school football team to the semifinals as their quarterback. The article shares details of Fink's recovery, return to school, and return to the football field.

It is nice to learn about a teenager with character at a time when most teens complain if they don't have a cell phone. Imagine their reaction if eight toes were sliced off their feet? But, Fink is not "most teens." He is someone special, and we can learn from him and the story.

Three things we can learn from the quarterbacking teenager:

#1. Playing for your team matters. Fink's recovery stayed ahead of schedule because he wanted to play football with his friends. He's not doing it for money or fame. He's doing it to contribute to the team, a team of his friends.

Isn't there something workplace teams, and those who assemble them, could take away from that? People want to contribute, they want to be on the team.

#2. Fighting to be on the team matters. Fink worked hard to return to his team. He didn't even walk the first week after the accident, and the first time he tried lasted only a few seconds. The young man worked hard to go from not walking to scoring nine touchdowns in the season. His teammates know he worked hard. It showed them how badly he wanted to be on the team. They had to work hard to earn what Fink was fighting for. They knew Fink was fighting to be on the team, and they had to make it a team worth fighting for. His fight inspired them.

Could workplace teammates do the same? Workplace team members certainly know how each other feels about the team, so couldn't one of them inspire the rest toward higher performance? Of course they can.

#3. Prioritizing fun over profit can pay off. Sam Mellinger wrote in the article, "Sports are hard to hug sometimes. Players cheat. Coaches lie. Too many use success for ego and entitlement and greed. Profit is prioritized over fun, every stadium is a TV studio, every message comes with an agenda. Sometimes the whole thing can suppress character as much as cultivate it..."

When companies bombard employees with messages relaying ego, entitlement, greed, and agendas, the employees know it and are not inspired by it. Employees want to play for the team, but they do not want to play for some high level executive's fancy car. Fink says. “Being out there with my team, I feel like I’m accomplishing a lot.” Workplace team members want that same feeling.

Fink's character was cultivated long before the combine sliced off his toes. The combine slicing just gave him a chance to show it. It also gave us the chance to learn from the two-toed, small town, high school quarterback.

What do you think? Can workplace teams learn from the young quarterback?

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Please click here for the full article: Kansas City Star article by Sam Mellinger


UPDATE:
The Miami Eagles team was defeated by St. Joseph Christian, 22-30, in their final game of the season. Congratulations to Dylan and his teammates for a valiant effort.