The Man in the Arena…Time for Feedback (Bot9 #371)
Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech has received a lot of play from athletes and coaches over the past number of years. The section is actually an excerpt from a speech given on April 23, 1910 in Paris and has many more valuable thoughts embedded inside.
I know I’ve taken this excerpt to say, “Hey, you’re in the arena of competition. People on the outside don’t understand what it takes to be in the fight like you are. You’re trying and that’s a worthy pursuit.” In reading more of and commentary about the speech, there are more layers present to Roosevelt’s intentions. He’s outlining the duties and responsibilities of leaders as well. Our success depends on disciplined work and character, and those leaders possessing that character are called to hold everyone to the highest standards. We should recognize the importance of action and striving towards worthy goals in life over idle criticism, laziness and inaction. So, the speech is less about us focusing on being in the arena and ignoring the criticism of those on the outside or in the stands, but rather we should be calling ourselves to the highest standards, acting on our call to worthy goals. We must avoid succumbing to the ease of a life only participating in criticism, laziness and inaction.
It’s a tremendously important shift in our thinking. How can I hold myself to the highest standards in pursuit of worthy goals while not criticizing others or becoming lazy? How can I get better and help those who desire to do the same? For a follower of Jesus, it seems that these thoughts are consistent with Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” The challenge I see is how hard it is to get to this point in our lives and work. It takes next-level maturity. Most often, our faith in our abilities exist on a foundation of the shifting sand of other people’s opinions. A faith in our gifts and abilities should display confidence in our gifts and our place in the body.
What is one way we can display this confidence? Asking for feedback. If you’re interested in holding yourself to the highest standards in pursuit of worthy goals and a confidence in the execution of your gifts as well as your “seat on the bus” (to use Jim Collins language), you have to ask those you’re leading for feedback. That feedback should not threaten, but simply display a desire to improve as you pursue excellence.
I had the opportunity to receive feedback myself as an athletic administrator and as a coach this past week. The first process allowed fall coaches and our athletics team to speak into how I am doing in service to them. The second allowed the softball team who we jumped in to coach a little more than a month ago to give their feedback on me as a coach as well. This gave me the opportunity to go through the same process all of our coaches receive, while also letting the coaches assess me as their athletes assess them.
Before I share more about the feedback itself, I want to explain how I process feedback. Thinking back to the Roosevelt speech and the verse above, I want to hold myself to the highest of standards in pursuit of worthy goals and work for an audience of One. An idea I love is having a set of standards or rules like Kobe Bryant held for himself. Kobe’s rules have been popularized everywhere after his passing, and hang on athletic department walls across the country. When you create these and align them with your values, feedback simply tells you how far down the road you are in your pursuit. As you relentlessly pursue the standards you’ve set for the worthy goals to which you feel called, feedback tells you how close you’re getting to a bullseye.
So, how was the feedback on my performance? In a word, I was disappointed. I’m doing too many things to be great for any single group of people. Being too busy has prevented me from working on my weaknesses. My weaknesses have been amplified because of less time and that equals less effective leadership. I also know that having limited time has kept me from executing what I’ve practiced and what I know works. We did the right thing for the softball girls and program, but that choice has shown what we all know to be true - human beings are limited by time in a day. We have to make choices that will have the greatest effect on the larger number of people. The past month and a half has shown how important it is to make these choices in the future.
Without feedback, all of this would be a guess or a feeling. I know I’m in the arena pursuing the highest of standards of the worthy goals in front of me. I’ll learn from the wins and losses of the past season of time and know that I’m not slipping into a life of idle criticism, laziness or inaction. My hope is to invite and inspire many others into those process to stand in the arena together.