Learning to Fall
One of the first – and most important – lessons you learn in rugby is how to fall.
Yes – you also need to learn how to run plays, pass, and kick.
But none of that matters if you can’t get back up after a hit.
My freshman year of college, I spent literal hours with my fellow rookie and tackling partner, Diana, practicing how to take a hit safely and fall well.
Why is this skill so essential?
Because falls aren’t avoidable – they are inevitable.
No matter how fast or skilled you are, falling or getting tackled is a given of the game.
So, if you want to get back up, knowing how to fall as safely and strategically as possible matters.
If you’re a nonprofit executive or people manager, the same is true for your teams.
Falls are going to happen.
It could be a major funder shifting priorities, a virtual conference beleaguered with tech issues, or an everyday screw up.
It’s your job to ensure your team members have the ability to fall safely, get back up, and keep going.
Not sure where to start? I wouldn't recommend tackling drills - but you can try this exercise with your team.
Choose an upcoming event or milestone that folks are working toward and dedicate 30 minutes to discussing these questions as a group:
What’s the best that could happen – what’s our ideal outcome?
What’s the worst that could happen – what could really prevent us from reaching that outcome?
Are there things we can do right now to prevent the “worst”?
Knowing we can’t prevent everything, what will we do when something goes wrong? How can we plan to recover well?
Working through exercises like this with your team builds resiliency by showing them that:
→ falls are inevitable, and
→ we may not be able to prevent the fall, but we can control how we handle it.
In the nonprofit sector, that resiliency is a core skill we all can benefit from, no matter where in the organization we sit.
Need help figuring out how to teach your team to fall? We’ve got you covered - jsut send us a note to get started.
How are you teaching your team to fall? Join the conversation on LinkedIn.