Leader Reflects on Personal Failure
The question remains, due to available evidence, as to whether he has improved
The self awareness to know when one has fallen terribly short in leadership is difficult enough. Expressing it publicly is on another level of challenge.
It requires honesty with oneself, poise, courage and strength.
Decorated professional basketball player Draymond Green recently showed that he has examined his unprofessional, violent behavior towards a former co-worker and admitted that he did not show the leadership expected of him in a well-known conflict in practice with Jordan Poole in 2022, when Green punched him.
"I will say I was kind of thrust into a vet role before I was ready to handle it,” he admitted in an interview with Penny Hardaway on the Two Cents Podcast. “Before I knew what it took to handle it, I failed miserably.”
In the moment, it instinctually felt like the reasonable reaction for him in an angry moment yet time and reflection revealed to Green his weak impulse control, lack of discipline and actions that violated trust, position and status within his organization.
“I haven't felt that miserable in my life,” Green recalls. “So, that was one of my biggest failures. It taught me a ton.”
Green is inferring that he needed to learn more so that he would not throw a punch when emotionally triggered. That might not land well with stakeholders.
He tries to communicate that he was in error, acted improperly and his behavior was a failure. He can say now, publicly, that he felt awful about what giving in to his worst instincts.
While he is no longer, that has been reported, being violent with people at work, his behavior — even if it’s in the highly-competitive and aggressive space of professional sports — still shows semi-regular evidence of questionable decision making.
Words matter. Taking responsibility does. Yesterday’s and today’s actions do too.
Green may not yet convince everybody or possibly, most people, that he has fully learned from his errors and won’t ever again be a repeat offender of over-the-top behavior that it is criticized or condemned.
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