Successful leaders seem to be unreasonable in their search for superior performance. I know this may sound like a “bad thing” to you. Let me see if I can give you a more empowering view.
First of all, what I am saying about unreasonable might be better said if I used the words, “without reasons.” No excuses, bad circumstances or “the dog ate my homework.”. That dog doesn’t hunt no matter what form we might use. Be consistent with your standards.
To begin with, unreasonable can live in the leader’s thinking. “Am I asking too much of the player” or “If I ask that, will I lose their loyalty or trust?” At times, we also worry about being liked. A definite trap. It isn’t about “like or dislike.” It is about requesting what is wanted and needed and providing them openings for actions such that they win.
Being unreasonable doesn’t require anyone to be a jerk. It is consistently asking for what’s possible in the action. It is also being clear about what is missing in the player’s training that is in the way of his/her progress. In my experience lack of training is a major cause of failure. It’s asking the person to go hunting the bear with a willow switch. If you are unreasonable and the person fails it is your failure too. You never take your disappointment out on the player. You learn what there is to learn and get back in the game.
If you are consistently unreasonable with yourself and your players they will be unreasonable with each other which is the prize here. The leader cannot be everywhere at once nor would they want to be. The more the players are willing to create their actions, the more engaged they will be.
Sometimes being unreasonable is merely making a request for what you need in the face of feeling you won’t get it, so why ask? Last thing … you never have to demean a person to get them in action. Ridicule and sarcasm demeans you and the player.
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