"Show me a good loser and I'll show your a loser." So said
Graeme Souness.
Jose Mourinho muttered about high level conspiracies, Alex Ferguson
like to motivate his team by encouraging the believe that everyone
wanted them to lose. When Arsenal’s historic unbeaten run was ended by
Manchester United, at old Trafford, Cesc Fabregas notoriously through
a slice of pizza at Alex Ferguson. Bad losers are not just found in sport.
Organisations loses equal pay claims costing thousands. They lose
unfair dismissal cases that damage their reputation. Senior management
make embarrassing climb downs. It’s life you don’t have to agree with
the decision but you have to accept it. Not everyone does.
Bad losers want some one to blame. HR for not doing their job.
Employment Tribunals for putting process before common sense and the
board for talking tough and then failing to see it through. Their
instinct is not to accept the out come. But what damages an
organisation‘s reputation more losing an unfair dismissal case or
calling into question the competence of Employment Tribunals?
There is a saying in HR that an organisation gets the Trade Union it
deserves meaning if management is combative then the TU is less likely
to be cooperative and if management is churlish when they don’t get
their own way they are more likely to provoke further conflict.
Some people clearly think only losers are good losers and that
successful people are by virtue of their habitual success bad at
losing. But this is simply not true people who are gracious in their
triumphs are more likely to be magnanimous in their defeats.
Blair Mcpherson former Director, author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk