Friday, October 19, 2012

What we can learn from the NFL referee lockout


Some have called it the worst officiating in the history of the game, but how bad would it get before Roger Goodell would say enough is enough. I think the straw that broke the camels back happened On Monday night September 24 between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. The American silversmith Paul Revere would have referred to it as the call heard around the World.  Seconds after the play ended facebook pages, twitter accounts, and blogs were buzzing about the blown call. To some up how bad the officiating was Goodell apologized by saying "We are sorry to have put our fans through that."

Believe it or not you can find some leadership lessons for your company, church or business as a result of this fiasco. Ken Blanchard wrote a great piece that sparked my interest.

Four leadership lessons from the NFL's fumbled handling of the referee lockout. 
I really liked all four, but the one that stood out was number two.

  • Training is necessary, but it shouldn't be used to "fix" people.
    Ken went on to make the point that the NFL conducted rules, clinics, refereed preseason games, and have had weekly conference calls to evaluate their performance and work on improving their weaknesses. People can learn new skills and sharpen their existing abilities, but the purpose the of training isn't to "fix" people.  He later goes on to say that leaders have to be willing accept the fact that that there are some things that certain individuals will never be able to do well. I think the replacement referees are a great illustration of just that.
    This article is a great read and worth your time.
    Four leadership lessons from the NFL's fumbled handling of the referee lockout. 

Roger Goodell and the NFL no doubt fumbled on this one, and it looks like it cost the Green Bay Packers and some others teams a "W."



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