Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Reports say that coach after coach tried to advise Carson how to adjust his footwork, his downfield gaze, his timing. But, under pressure, he’d revert to the moves that were deep-coded into his muscle memory. Play after play, game after game, same moves, same results. Until the Coach got tired of talking and Carson got tired of listening.
We all have moves encoded into muscle memory that we have to change – if we want to get to the next pinnacle of success. What got us here with raw talent is great. But it won’t be enough to keep us on top or take us further – when the game gets faster, the competition gets stiffer, the rules change and the plays we have to call get more complex.
As executive coaches, we’re always excited when a CEO makes adjustments, executes the new moves we practice in dress rehearsals – and when s/he comes out and nails his or her pitch to investors or to the board. We’re excited when a VP sits in with a sales rep who has potential – and uses the “ennobling dialogue” formula to get the sales rep to lift her game. When a regulatory advisor gets a cross-functional product team to lift out of groupthink, hierarchy deference or summit fever – and win FDA clearance, rather than receiving one more letter with expensive requests and delays. Or when a CFO owns her power, claims her presence and humor, looks forward, not backward, and gets traction when she shows her executive team how to multiply profits.
If there are new moves you need to master, you have a choice. You can be an agile learner who steps out of your comfort zone and builds the EnQ to tap into the courage centre in your brain rather than falling back on old reflexes. You can give in to frustration — or rehearse so new skills get encoded in your muscle memory and take feedback without getting defensive. You can ask your team to “have your back” and lift your game, not feed your ego. You can acknowledge when age or injuries require you to learn new moves or rely on other players — because what you used to do in college won’t work for you as a mid-career or late-career pro. Or, you can blame your teammates and move on – hoping your old instincts will work better for you where you go than they did in the team you left.
Many coaching engagements start when a board chair asks us to work with a CEO who’s stuck in comfortable habits, or when a CEO asks us to work with a VP or Director who’s not getting enough traction. Nothing happens until the board chair or executive sponsor has the courage to sit down with tough love – and say, “We have a problem. This has to change. You’re capable of more scoring plays, fewer fumbles – if you learn different moves. Here’s a coach who can help.” If the boss assauages the ego of a Carson on the team and hopes they “get it” with gentle coaxing, sympathy and psychological safety, don’t be surprised if nothing changes. So, if you’ve got a Carson on your team, you’ve got to change your moves – rather than treating it the way you always treated it, and hoping for something better.
We wish Carson well. We hope a fresh start with a coach he likes will help him make adjustments and lift his game – especially since the only way the Eagles will play his new team until 2026 is if they meet in the Superbowl.
And we welcome your call – if a high-potential player on your team has moves they need to adjust, to make the most of new opportunities, new turbulence, new complexities and to thrive, not just cope, with new adversities. Or if you want to make those adjustments yourself, before you’re at risk of being a liability rather than a star.
————————————–
Merom Klein PhD + Louise Yochee Klein PsyD are business psychologists who run Courage Growth Partners, a leadership consultancy for innovation leaders who need to lift their game, improve their moves, broaden their perspectives and Make Courage (More) Contagious when they mobilize more diverse teams to seize bigger opportunities and solve more complex novel ambiguous problems. They’re Eagles fans. And they invite you to see if you can profit by with the courage to be more coachable – with this online Courage Readiness Test.
