January 6-12th was a tough week for football in Alabama. Former Auburn Tigers kicker, Cody Parkey, made headlines as he missed the field goal that would have won the game for his Chicago Bears against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, January 6th, and the Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the Clemson Tigers in the National Championship game on Monday, January 7th. For those involved (and even for some on their couches), these moments were heartbreaking. But what stood out most to us in the midst of these two events is how those involved, specifically Nick Saban and Parkey, responded to failure. Saban, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, fell short of winning his seventh national championship. For a coach who has experienced so much success, many might expect his reaction to failure to be a bit more dramatic. Instead, we heard a somber Saban take the podium at the post-game press conference and say, "Well, obviously we're all very, very disappointed, but I'd like to say that I'm very, very proud of what our team was able to accomplish this year, to win 14 games, win the SEC, win the Orange Bowl, have an opportunity to play for the National Championship, really proud of our players, really proud of our team. And I don't think that one game necessarily defines who you are, and that's certainly what I'd like for our players to know... Got to congratulate Clemson. They did a very, very good job..."
Parkey also didn't shy away from his failure. After missing a total of 10 kicks on the season and missing the game-winner in the playoffs, he addressed the media, saying, "I thought I hit a great ball and was trying to play the wind. There's really no answer to it. I didn't make it. I take that loss on me. The sun is going to shine tomorrow, but unfortunately, this one is going to sting for a while." So what can we in the medical industry learn from this? As doctors, we are in unique positions as player/coaches. We don't just call the shots; we are also on the field. How should we personally handle failure in our practice? What about our staff? We wanted to take a quick look at a few ways we can deal with failure in our practices in order to grow both individually and professionally. Make Room for Failure One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is guarding both themselves and their team against failure. Yes, we have to do our due diligence and prepare, but the time will come for us to put ourselves out there in order to see what happens. If you are Coach Saban and Alabama, it might be new packages and schemes in the National Championship. For Parkey, it was his first time kicking in an NFL playoff game. The stakes were high, but room for failure was made by simply taking the field in a challenging situation. In sports, failure is always a possibility. Within reason, it must be the same in our practices. A patient's health or well being is never to be put at risk, but we must give ourselves and our staff the opportunity to fail because failure sparks growth. Show Up Just like Saban and Parkey, we have to show up when we fail. Perhaps the most damaging thing a leader in any businesses (but especially a medical practice) can do is to pretend failure doesn't happen. Why? Because if you hide from your failure, your employees will model that behavior. We should probably all be thankful that ABC 33/40 doesn't show up at the end of our workday and hold a press conference, but we should take the responsibility of debriefing seriously. Yes, you should acknowledge your wins, but you should also own your losses and discuss them with your team. Failure is not your goal, but it is necessary for growth. Make sure everyone in your practice knows this by showing up and owning your own failure. Learn from Failure Failure isn't simply to be accepted. It is to be dissected. Sometimes, it is easy to see what went wrong. Maybe the patient's insurance information was copied down incorrectly or the schedule overbooked? In these cases, you should reinforce existing policies and make sure everyone on the team understands what needs to happen. But when the problem is more complex, bringing your team together to figure out what happened as a group is important. First, the mistake should be acknowledged and one or multiple people should take responsibility. After this happens, it's all hands on deck to figure out a plan to make sure it never happens again. Conclusion Failure is inevitable and is a necessary element for growth. This means that, in a way, failure is good. Cody Parkey has missed field goals before. He may never line up on the field for another kick, but this most recent failure and how he handled it will make him better. This wasn't the first National Championship Coach Saban and Alabama have lost. It might not be their last. But we have seen in the past that Coach Saban gives his team opportunities to succeed, accepts responsibility for its performance should it fail, and goes back to the drawing board with the singular goal of never seeing it happen again. We can and should take this same approach in our practices. Doing so only guarantees personal and professional growth for all involved.
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