On Sunday morning, I went to play basketball at Siri Fort complex. Those who do not know about Basketball, the game is played between two teams with 5 players from each team on the court at one time. A maximum of 7 players are allowed on bench, resulting in a roster of 12 players.
Though, I play every weekend. This particular basketball game was different as our usual game go on for average 75 minutes for 101 points. This game lasted 120 minutes for 101 points. It was an extremely intense game. What made me write today was the intensity and application of every strategy to make an effort. Win or Loss is secondary.
Lesson 1 – Applying Change
We kicked off playing Basketball. At half time the score was 26 -52. Our team was losing by 26 points. Our team re-grouped after drinks and decided to give 100% no matter what, as at this point it seemed more or less one sided game. During the first half our team played zone coverage. In basketball, there are two kinds of defences Man to Man and Zone Coverage. As the name suggests man to man, the defender is assigned to a specific player. But in zone coverage, the defender covers a specific area. In the second half we played man to man.
As we had nothing to lose, we simply changed our strategy. Same applies in corporate world. You have to give time to a strategy and if it is not working, there is no harm in switching to an entirely new one. It’s all about having faith in your team and taking a risk to change.
Lesson 2 – Confidence in People – True Leadership
The score soon was 70 – 87. We were 17 points behind. Man to man is more tiring compared to zone. Soon, our team took this to advantage and pushed ourselves to limit. The score was soon 90-94. We were only 4 points behind. I benched myself and asked our best scorer who had not performed throughout the day to come in. He was not so sure himself if he should step in as he had a bad day so far and lacked confidence, but he could see I had belief in him. I motivated him and told him to enjoy the game.
Remember any one can lead when things are going well, but leadership is all about keeping your head straight when everyone else around you is losing it. You will see mark of leadership and stupidity when you watch coaches and top players make decisions. In the end, those who genuinely lead are those who put their teams ahead of themselves and realizes it takes a team to win.
Lesson 3 – Off the court actions impact on the court actions
The opposition pushed even harder and score was 92-97. The opposition was ensuring 4 points lead. Next 15 minutes no team scored, it was extremely challenging.
The opposition bench players were putting more pressure on their team to perform and swearing at them and asking to pass the ball to the best shooter. However, I was simply cheering for the team, Happy Moments. Remember if things are not going well outside at work, it will eventually impact things at work.
Lesson 4 – The unpredictable will occur when least expected.
Our team pushed even more harder and score was 99-99 each. The pressure on opposition team was immense and instead of the closest person shooting, they passed the ball to their best shooter to take the shot who was being defended extremely aggressively by our team. He missed the scoring opportunity.
Unpredictable outcomes occur every day. Sun still comes up the next day and there will be more opportunities.
Lesson 5 – Teams win because they are a team
Our team had gain the ball possession again and our best scorer who had a bad day so far took the final shot and scored. A proud moment for the team. A mission impossible at half time was achieved with our team winning 101-99.
Remember, individual players can and will drive a team and will create an opportunity to win but overall success is not possible without the work of the team. Being a lone ranger in the office may make you feel good but there is no way you will ever be able to achieve what is truly possible without a team around you.
Overall conclusion, we lost 119 minutes of the game and won the last minute the 120th minute which counted the most. if you wish to be a true leader, you need the appetite to take risk, build confidence in team and put team first, success will follow.