Good Defeat vs. Bad Defeat: Leading with Courage and Commitment

There is such a thing as a good defeat and a bad defeat – part of your role as a leader is being able to discern the difference.

A good defeat is where you play to your strengths, you’re bold and you give it everything you’ve got.

A bad defeat is when you fail to do any one of those three things.

In the third game of their one-day series against New Zealand in 2015, England batted first and were bowled out for 302 in 45.2 overs.

England lost the game and the pundits trundled out the same criticisms about how England “wasted 28 deliveries”.

When asked about it after the match, the England captain – Eoin Morgan – far from being apologetic, stood firmly by his team: “I’m proud of my team and the way we are totally committed to a change of mindset.”

“We got 300 on the board – we were aiming for a lot more, which is the important part. As long as we set the standards really high, we’ll win more games than we lose playing in this manner.”

After that game, England went on to win almost 80% of its one day matches under Morgan.

In business as in sport, defeat is inevitable. Stand by your team when they back themselves to do something big but fail.