Hope You Get Fired

“Know thyself.” —Socrates

Before Coach Pete Carroll was winning NCAA Championships and Super Bowls, he was fired from his first head coaching job with the New England Patriots.

For some, this outcome would have been the end of a career. For Carroll, this experience sparked a year-long journey of reflection: “The process of self-discovery that was necessary to formulate my vision, and the power of having a philosophy has given me a confidence I didn’t have before.”

In order to be your best self, you must discover who you are, who you are not, what is most important to you, and the values that will guide you. The default path for most leaders overemphasizes the external and ignores the internal. So, you’ve got to find the space to pull back from the external game society plays and start focusing on the inner game—to build a secure sense of self.

People struggle to create the necessary space in their busy, day-to-day lives, which unfortunately means that for most, this essential reflection only comes after they are fired from a position or hit rock bottom.
There are no shortcuts. Creating your personal philosophy is not accomplished in one activity; it is a process. Carroll describes his process in Win Forever: “It was long and difficult, but the more I wrote, the more powerful the experience became. By December, I finally had a clear, organized template of my core values, my philosophy, and—most important—my overarching vision for what I wanted to stand for as a person, a coach, and a competitor.”

The process never truly ends—it is a continuous, lifelong process. Over time, the more clarity you gain, the better you know who you are at your best. And the better you know who you are at your best, the more confidently you can be that person, regardless of what life throws your way.

As Carroll teaches, “One of the keys to success lies in knowing and believing in yourself. When you are confident and you trust in who you are, you can perform to the best of your ability.”

We all want that confidence, self-belief, and a strong sense of self. So we must either make time and space for it—or maybe we should hope we get fired.

Don’t get fired! There is a much more enjoyable way to gain clarity about yourself and build confidence in your leadership—the TOC Leadership Retreat. Join me for a four-day leadership retreat this April at one of the most peaceful beaches in America as we create space and time to pause, reflect, grow in awareness, and build confidence together on this leadership journey.