You’ve been hearing about it for a while.

And you have a strong view one way or another.

Relax.

This is about change.

The NFL says it values player safety.

Ambiguous?

Roger Goodell said “There is no higher priority than player safety.”

Sounds like a vision. A goal. Something to aspire to.

So now Roger Goodell has a choice.

He has said the words.

He has taken some action, passing some new rules to protect players and encouraging innovation in helmet design.

He now faces the leadership decision: what is my priority? Do I reinforce the goal at the expense of other priorities?

If you missed last night’s game, Chicago linebacker Danny Trevathan lowered his head and hit a defenseless Green Bay receiver whose forward progress was stopped.

Hit is too kind.

He sought to destroy Davante Adams.

In fact did just that, knocking his mouthpiece out and leaving Adams out cold.

And opportunity number one to reinforce Roger Goodell’s vision was missed.

Referee John Hussey penalized Trevathan but allowed him to stay in the game.

The evidence is clear. The result is clear.

So now Goodell has a choice to make.

Do I reinforce my vision? Or do I allow it to be compromised? How much of a message do I send?

You may recall Goodell suspending Tom Brady for 4 games over deflated footballs.

Or Ray Rice 2 games for punching a woman in a hotel lobby.

Does he do something here to the player or the referee who failed to enforce the more serious consequence?

Here is an opportunity. To make a statement. To show people where your heart is. To validate the priority that you have said is “number one.”

As a business leader you face this decision every day.

You have a similar opportunities where someone behaves in a way that counters your goal, whether it is an actor or an enabler.

Maybe you don’t have the benefit of video evidence.

What do you do?

And do you see how your action contributes to achieve your goal? Or sadly, the opposite?

Do you feel the need to explain your action to your organization?

If you answered no, think about that.

Because in the absence of your explanation, people in your organization will create their own.

And do you think that will benefit your goal?

Reinforcing change is hard. But it is the most important factor in achieving change.

Having grandiose visions and taking action are both critical but without reinforcement fail to achieve meaningful change.

Turn this example around. What if Travathan had stopped running?

Would anyone have recognized him for understanding the priority and taking action?

Or would it have gone unnoticed?

What if Roger Goodell highlighted the decision to stop, recognizing the player and validating his action as part of his vision?

You as a leader can recognize. You can reward. It doesn’t even have to be monetary.

Think about this in the change you seek. What are you doing to reinforce your goals?

Without video evidence, do you have a coach or someone that can guide you?

Because after all, leaders are people too.

And people see what they want to see.

As they are doing with the National Anthem protests.

#changeleadership

The post The NFL has a problem. appeared first on Litner Consulting Staging.

Now if you’re not a basketball fan, let me tell you this: Kevin Durant is a basketball player.  A really good one.  Although not an NBA Champion (yet), he has won consistently at every level.  He is an All-Star every year.  A Hall of Famer.  Regarded by many as one of the top 5 players at his position.  Ever.

After game 3 ended, Durant was asked by a reporter:

“What gave you the confidence that you could make that shot?”

Now let me tell you something else about Durant.  He is seven foot tall.  Built like a string bean.  The man possesses quickness that a man of his stature should not have.  Even in a world of giants, he stands out.  In other words, Durant is athletically gifted.

Now back to that question.

Durant could have responded in any number of ways.  How would you respond to that question?  Forget the words for a second, how would you respond emotionally?

Yeah.

He could have easily said:

Are you kidding me?

Or

Have you not been watching this game, this series or my career?  I have hit that shot more times than I can count.   I became the third player ever to score more than 25 points in all 8 of my first Finals games.  I know how to score.

Or

I knew that if I shot it, G-d would make sure it went in.

Instead, he answered,

“I’ve been practicing for that shot my whole life.”

So what is notable about this?  What can you take away from this brief 2 minute exchange?

First, lets look at the intent of the question.  It was a reporter trying to fill some time.  Could she have asked a different question?  Yes.  Could Durant have assumed some negative intent in the question she chose to ask?  Yes.  Did he? I don’t know, but if he did, he didn’t allow it to guide his response.

If he did, perhaps he would have gone with the first answer.  A gut emotional response, confrontational in nature.

Or he could have taken it a step further and validated why the question shouldn’t have been asked in the first place.

Or he could have said it was chance or divine intervention, depending on your beliefs.  Of course there are players on the other team as well – and while his prayers may have been answered, theirs were not.

Instead, he acknowledged his accomplishment.  And told you why.

Shooting that shot in the gym hundreds of times per day.

Learning from times where he failed.

Building his mental toughness and resiliency to believe he will be successful

So what can you take from this?

As a leader, you get asked questions all the time.    How are you responding?

Because your responses say a lot about you, who you are and what you believe.

And your teams are watching.  And learning.

The post Kevin Durant appeared first on Litner Consulting Staging.