“You Can Get It If You Really Want.” Jimmy Cliff
Abraham Lincoln is perhaps the best model of perseverance ever known. He started two businesses that failed. His fiancée died; during the next year he suffered a nervous breakdown. He ran unsuccessfully for the state legislature; he was defeated in two runs for the U.S. Congress; he was defeated in two runs for the U.S. Senate; he was defeated as a candidate for U.S. Vice President. Soon after, he was elected President of the United States!
Teammates on successful teams develop resilience. They bounce back. If a test fails, the product or software will be improved. If a sports team loses a game—or several games—they encourage and console one another. They talk about what they can do to improve. In 2004, the Red Sox were losing the American League Championship Series to the Yankees, three games to zero. Most of the fan base, including myself, saw very little hope. However, the Red Sox did not give up. They won the next four consecutive games, and won the American League Championship. For their encore, they went on to win the World Series!
Successful musical and theatre groups endure many hours of practice and rehearsal in learning to sing, play, or perform a single song or dance competently. Some members of both types of groups will drop out when they realize the hours of practice that are needed to master an instrument, or a performance. Members of a theatre group must usually practice singing, acting, and dancing for weeks or months. The last verse in “Impossible Dream”, from the Man of La Mancha, says it all:
“…And the world will be better for this
That one man scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star”
To promote perseverance on your team:
- Anticipate difficulties.
- Identify risks to your team’s success.
- Plan workarounds for any obstacles.
- Learn from mistakes and defeats.
- Strive to improve your performance every day.
- Record “lessons learned” from any failure, and avoid those missteps next time.
- Learn to pick yourself up after being knocked down, and try even harder. Think about what you learned, and what you will do differently next time.
- Never give up.
Thomas Charles Belanger is the author of Teamwork in Ten Days: Building Successful Teams in the Arts, Sports, Business, and Government, available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
©2012, Thomas Belanger
