Coming back from a week of vacation, my mind is full as the week begins.
Heading to Phoenix this morning to conduct our bi-annual strategic planning meetings and attempting to align and inspire our executive team. I do love this part of my role.
Need to get my arms back around the day to day business, etc., etc., etc…
And, my mind can’t get away from…
TAKING IT PERSONALLY or TAKING PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
I have this massive gravity toward certain things… my mind struggles to pull away.
So, at 4:30 am this morning as I am finishing my packing, I walk by the kitchen table, and there is the Sports Illustrated Edition.
The cover is a big smiling face… “Pete Carroll: Won’t Be Haunted By His SuperBowl Decision”…
Wow – I am so jealous, and I so get it, and I so respect him, and I so felt my heart explode when the Seattle quarterback through that pass and interception with seconds left in the game, to lose what would have been the first back to back Super Bowl champs in many, many years.
I remember yelling and screaming at that play. I was rooting for Seattle.
I remember feeling deeply disturbed for how Pete Carroll must have been feeling at that moment… while I was angry and disappointed at him at the same time. I was taking his play call personally for him.
I remember it as if it was yesterday.
And, I remember how Pete Carroll came to the press conference. Stoic, smiling, and disappointed. He said something along the lines of “The team played great. This was my call, my responsibility. Of course it’s disappointing, we wanted to win. But, we played a great game, and I made a good call that just didn’t go the way we expected.” I was in awe of his level headedness – and at the time, I wasn’t ready for so much rationality… I was still emotionally wounded from his decision. Somehow, I was letting the interception momentarily define ME in some weird way.
He immediately took responsibility. He didn’t say the quarterback should have seen the defensive player. He didn’t say he wished he had that call over again. He didn’t blame the refs for other calls in the game. He owned it and it didn’t define him.
Pete Carroll is an amazing coach, and seems like a legitimately good guy. He coached Stanford, and the Seattle. He has built a great team with tremendous energy.
Do I think perhaps, he has succeeded to this amazing level by not taking winning and losing personally?
Do I think perhaps, its his ability to take personal accountability to the highest level without letting the loses define him that makes him so very special?
You bet!
Then, as I sat in an unusual lengthy security line at the airport, a young couple (early 30’s) was waiting right in front of me. She looked disturbed. “We have a 6:25 a.m. flight” they told the Security Agent at the front of the line, can we get in front. “You’ll have to ask the people in front of you.”
It was 5:50 a.m.
The woman seemed distressed. The man seemed like he was having a normal day. “We should ask the people in front of us, or we won’t make it” she said. “Unless, of course, they are all a$$H&8$$”. She looked furious. She had bags under her eyes. Her arms were crossed. She was pissed off at the world.
They didn’t ask anyone to go forward.
She barked about the security guy in the front of the line. “He had the power to let us through.” Followed by some insults.
I told them I thought it would be close for them, they should consider trying to move forward in line. It’s never easy to ask, but if my flight is not till 7:10 and I know I am going to make it, I will always let a few people through who say theirs is 45 minutes earlier, as will most people.
Half way through the line, the TSA Pre-Check “exit” point was opening up. “These people are running late” I told the TSA Agent, “any chance you can let them in?” No it needs to be random per my computer.
They looked at me. Didn’t thank me. And, then the guy, calm and collected went over to the TSA Agent who told him the same thing. As we moved along, “She could have completely let us through. She has the authority.” The scowling woman said. “She has no rhyme or reason as to who she is letting in.” She said angrily with insults sprinkled along the way.
I though to myself, “hmm… no rhyme or reason, sounds like the definition of random to me.” And, I am pretty sure the TSA Agents have to follow some kind of process for letting people in. Don’t know for a fact, but I’d be fairly certain they can’t cut corners for people who are late.
The TSA Agent did say, “If you want to get ahead, you have to bring an airline person with you.” And, again, they did nothing with that information.
Short story – the woman was furious the entire way. The man accepted it.
We got through security at 6:20. I am not sure if they made their flight. They very well might have.
I was trying to figure out… was she taking the lateness personally?
Not once did I hear her say, “We should have gotten here earlier!”
I didn’t see them attempt to ask anyone in a kind voice, to let them cut in front.
I didn’t see them go to the airline and have them escort them through which they very well might have done.
They just sat in line. He accepted it. And, she blamed every person in uniform and in civilian clothing for her situation. I don’t know their situation exactly, but they showed up in the security line approximately 30 minutes before their flight was taking off. I am not much of a planner, but if I am starting to go through security 30 minutes before take off, I am certainly taking some responsibility for whatever decisions I was making the 90 minutes prior.
I thought to myself… She is experiencing more disharmony from a possible missed flight, than Pete Carroll did from making a call that lost him the Super Bowl in front of about $100+ Million people. And, he didn’t blame anyone else.
It seemed like a couple of fitting examples for our discussion theme this week.
Who will I aspire to this week, Pete Carroll, or the angry chick at the security line…? I’ll give you two guesses ;-0
Do you take situations in life personally, or do you take personal responsibility for your situations in life?
More to come…
Yours in persona harmony ;-)
Nestor