Page 245 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Adversity Is Your Asset
YOUR OWN SPECIAL PROVIDENCE 227
I mention these obstacles and setbacks not to suggest I faced greater
or more frequent challenges than others or that fate had been un-
duly hard on me. Just the opposite, in fact. Leadership in any con-
text comes with such adversity. Fate seems, at times, to single out
the leader for testing, as if it wants to know whether that leader
is strong enough, resilient enough to be the one trusted with
leadership.
Early on I had come to believe that events in life usually work
out as they should, for a reason, even if that reason is not readily
apparent. Perhaps it was because of my faith, the example of my
parents, or my own experiences along the way. I don’t know exactly
why, but I began accepting what fate offered and tried to make the
best of the situation—to move forward with optimism and the de-
termination to make the most of the hand I was dealt, whether it
was good or bad.
Losing the coaching job I longed for at Minnesota, being forced
to play UCLA’s home games on the road for many years, waiting
so long for an adequate gym, watching a potential national cham-
pionship team become decimated with injuries—all these setbacks
and more are what coaches and leaders deal with every day. We are
paid to deal with fate.
Those who prevail look fate in the eye and say, “Welcome,” and
then move ahead without complaint, excuse, or whining. While we
can’t control fate, we are—or should be—able to control our re-
sponse to it. In leadership, your response becomes crucially im-
portant, because ultimately it is the response of your organization.
When you have found an excuse to let up or quit, so will your
team. When you press on with enthusiasm regardless of the cir-
cumstance, your organization—if you have chosen good people
and taught them well—will follow you as you continue to fight on.
Quit or fight? It’s the leader who decides for the organization.