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Allowed

I’m allowed to make mistakes (sometimes).

I watched the World Cup semi-final between Wales and South Africa on Sunday morning with great interest to see who would be playing England last week.

There were a couple of incidences in that match which were of particular interest to me when two South African players dropped the ball for what seemed (at least for them) to be easy catches.

Both players dropped the ball and the ball went into touch and therefor England gained possession.

So what do you do with that and what do you do with that player after the event when the dust settles?

As an individual you put your hand up (one of the players did that literally and immediately in the game) and you say I am sorry I dropped the ball. Afterwards I guess you practice, practice, practice to improve it after you have reflected on what went wrong.

I am not close enough to Rugby to watch the team selection to see whether these guys get dropped for dropping the ball but I doubt it.

In the end the job got done and they won and they’re into the final. They will have a chance to go again.

Drop the ball too many times and you won’t be good enough to be in the team but let’s remember these guys are at the very peak of their powers and at the very top of their profession and at the moment in one of the two best teams in the world.

So how does that reflect back to us and how does that reflect back to me.

Creating a system around me, where it is less likely for me to drop the ball (because I am a human) is essential and it is an essential part of the work.

That is a support system, a support structure which mitigates my personality feelings and enhances my personality advantages (if there are any of those).

Being brutally honest with yourself about where you are lacking and trying to fix that is probably one of the best ways to move forwards but in the meantime, I am allowed to drop the ball sometimes and that should not mean that I am executed.

By Colin Campbell on 05/11/19 18:00