How to Be a Winner in a Losing Team

June 30th, 2010

Watching the World Cup makes me wonder if it’s possible to be a winner in a losing team
If you have been watching you will have noticed that there have been some games where there are winners in losing teams. The reaction by teams and officials to losses is interesting. Some immediately blame while others appeal for understanding. A few, however, quietly get up, dust themselves off, and get on with the job at hand. This World Cup has been a lesson for all of us.

They came to win
The teams all came to win and they carry the weight of a nation on their shoulders. It takes a special person to be able to handle all that when things are not going well. As individuals, we find ourselves in some kind of team. It could be your family, your work team, a community setup or even a bunch of friends. Each one of us is part of a group of people who often have a similar purpose or outlook and you contribute to that whether you are aware of it or not. The question really is how you step up when things are falling apart around you.

When things get messy
Often we see friends popping up only when things are going well. The minute something gets messy, they run for the hills. The same is true at work. Some people are naturally attracted to the limelight, especially when performance is good and the “boss” is heaping praise on everyone. But when business is bad, watch how people step back and try their hardest to disguise themselves. It’s natural to avoid being in the firing line. No-one purposefully wants to look bad, but the reality is that some teams lose.

Can you be a winner?
Can you still be a winner when you are losing? Can you show leadership when you’re under pressure? Firstly, losing demands that you show resilience. And that means showing grit, toughness and spirit. You may argue that it may require you to fake your emotions, but that’s not really it. Losing doesn’t mean you need to be happy and smile. It means you have to be real. And resilience means not staying in a negative state. By all means, get angry, be sad, but then move to the positive lane.

Responsibility
Secondly, being a winner when you’re losing means taking responsibility. Draw a line on a piece of paper, and write ‘blame’ underneath, and ‘learn’ at the top. Now choose which side of the line you want to live. Failure is not losing. It is simply not taking the next positive move. In this case, blaming will not help. Learning will.

Support
Thirdly, being a winner when the team is losing means you will always encourage and support your team mates. You’re all in this together and the more you can stick together the better. Helping others through a tough situation builds better bonds for the future.

Fighting spirit
Show some positive fighting spirit. Especially when you are down. It’s important to get up quickly and move forward in your actions.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 at 4:58 am and is filed under Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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