Can we all just take a moment and collectively say “FINALLY”? Yesterday we received an email from Mr. Krafts announcing that yes, the NFL lockdown is officially over. For someone like me who has the Patriots schedule on my bulletin board it came as a definite relief that my beloved past time will be happening this year, and with pre-season games scheduled to start in August, the prior lack of resolution certainly had me feeling stressed out.
This is how I’m going to break it down: the players = the talent, the ball is the product, the fans the customers and the game is the organization. You can’t have one without the others to make a successful organization. I mean, would they try playing the game without the ball next time? That would be interesting. Without getting too into the inner workings of what happened and why there was unhappiness all around, the negotiations etc… Let’s look at this from a purely talent management perspective.
Recently I was told by a Talent Acquisition guru that you never want to give employees a chance to pause and reflect. You have to keep them busy and happy, because if you don’t it gives them a chance to think about what they *could* be doing or where they could be doing it – as in not with you. The biggest reason why people do stop and think? Their boss. Whether they feel undermined or underappreciated leadership has the difficult task of not only keeping the game going and competitive but their players engaged and retained. How do you keep your talent focused on your mission and happy? This is truly a daunting task in itself since it’s really a trickledown effect. There’s no point in playing the game if you don’t have fans right?
In the before-mentioned letter The Krafts wrote: Fortunately, the process of the last few months has ended in an agreement that…..in the long term, (this new agreement) creates a fair and balanced partnership between the players and the teams that will allow for the continued growth and success of professional football. We are confident that this new system creates a true partnership between players and teams, focuses on a new series of rules that increase player safety and maintains the competitive balance that makes NFL football so compelling.
Sad that it had to come to this – But… Are you as a leader listening to your players? Especially the ones that are high performing and love what they do? If your beloved talent does leave you, where are you going to find your next star?
photo by jonathan_moreau