“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things…” - Walt Disney

This last weekend Michigan football had a particularly heartbreaking loss to Michigan State. It’s been a long time since Michigan has done well in that rivalry. This year with a new coach, Michigan was winning the entire game. Until it ended with the most unexpected turn, and Michigan State won with 0:00 left on the clock.

“We played winning football and didn’t get the result.” - Coach Harbaugh, Michigan Football

It’s hard not to be sad for the unexpected loss. I see other fans angry at the decisions made by the coach. Some even blaming the punter who bobbled the snap. Get a grip (let's remember these are college kids). The reality of the situation is that the entire team played hard and in the end the team lost.

It’s an important lesson. You can make the best decisions as a leader and still end up with an unexpected (and undesired) result. How do you respond to failure? Leadership requires that we keep moving forward. That we don’t look to blame. We examine the situation to be sure we learn whatever is useful for next time. And keep moving forward.

We are all human, and we all can make mistakes. Your job as a leader involves other humans that can make mistakes. The only response is to keep moving forward. Ask yourself, what good is assigning blame? Yelling at your team? Quitting? Will any of that get you what you really want? Perhaps the mistake was not yours. Someday you will make a mistake. How will you want to be treated at that moment?

There is only one way to ensure victory: be better. It reminds me of the quote from Steve Martin “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” Be so much better that it's undeniable. How do you do that? Not through blame. Not by scaring your team, letting them believe that you might fire them. Not by giving up.

Focus on what you really care about - results. And work to be better next time. Encourage your team to be better. Demonstrate resilience through challenges. Practice empathy and grace. These are qualities of a leader. Keep moving forward in the most positive way. Others will follow you.