Leaders can learn from seasoned athletic coaches when it comes to dealing with an abysmally poor initial performance.
When teams get blown away and find themselves in a lopsided game, the best coaches take a pause (halftime) and reset the score to 0-0. They then encourage their team to fixate on winning the next phase of the game without thinking about the margin or overall score.
By resetting the score and the team’s focus, coaches encourage their teams to recommit to their process and not to allow the score differential to deflate them and undermine their effort.
Good team coaches also understand the importance momentum plays in reinvigorating a team that is far behind. A better short-term result can start with one score or success.
Resetting the score allows the team to create this success by focusing on execution and not on how badly things have gone so far. Building on any small win is helped by leveling where things stand and starting fresh.
The positive psychology behind resetting and starting anew applies to any arena of competition and work.
People naturally feel hopeless and become demotivated whenever they are significantly behind in their commitments, goals, and desired outcomes, especially if the ability to reach the preferred conclusion or victory is no longer possible.
Mentally resetting the score or clock allows performers to reframe the situation as a fresh start and to focus their attention on immediate effort and improvement instead of the daunting challenge of catching up.
A reset interrupts any negative thoughts and emotional fatigue, and gives performers the needed boost in motivation, energy, and focus required to excel.
Going from outcome-focused to process-oriented restores confidence and makes it easier to bounce back from any new obstacle or adversity.
In the workplace, teams and individuals often encounter the same stressful periods where goals and timelines can no longer be attained.
Resetting the metrics, timeline, or goal set can help to clear mental clutter and distraction and enable fresh perspectives on tasks to recharge effort.
Mental resets are more than Obi-Wan Kenobi mind tricks. A reset changes the inner compass by redirecting focus. People perform best when they focus on process over outcomes.
Resetting the score or clock often brings out the best in near-term performance. Doing it when a team or individual is trailing far behind makes practical sense.
Maybe an extreme focus on process from the outset would prevent the possible calamity of becoming thrashed in the first place.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
