Changing Expectations

It’s difficult for a competitor to be picked up by a new team. And different expectations can be a challenge. A star player joined a new team and was not playing as much in a game as he thought he should be. The team was losing the game. The player felt he had more to contribute. He was looking daggers at his coach. On the flip side, the coach had many irons in the fire. Major offensive and defensive players were injured or ill. Substitutes had to step up and quickly learn the responsibilities of new positions. The coach was heavily involved in managing the game and couldn’t complete his job and get distracted on the sidelines at the same time.

The player forgot he was part of a new team. He needed to adjust his expectations. When asked about the situation later, the coach said, “I told him (the athlete) “˜it’s a role you’re going to play. It’s my job to keep you guys happy. It’s also my job to win games’.” He went on to tell the player, “How much you play you can’t control. But how well you play is up to you.”

I have been caught up in this at times when I had expectations when connecting with a group. That what I had to offer would make such a big difference. I was not on the team. And I could get stuck in that perspective. But I could make a shift and look at the big picture, the overall scheme. If the one leading the crowd had a plan, I listened. Then filled in where I could, playing my part as well as I could. If it wasn’t a fit, probably time to move on to another game.

Do you get stuck, thinking you are not utilizing your talents or knowledge in the best way you can in a group? Or in life? One way to get unstuck is to listen to the leader of the pack. Offer to bring your talents where they would shine and help the team. Enjoying the company of others in the group is probably the reason you joined in the first place. Change your expectations. Live unstuck.

Coming together is a beginning;

Keeping together is progress;

Working together is success.

—Henry Ford