Your Bracket and Workplace Lessons

Oh, March Madness. Why do you do this to us every year? Yes, the NCAA basketball tournament is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year, but so frustrating for us fans. In my world, a small group of family and friends have been playing the bracket challenge for over 15 years. I haven’t done too bad. I’ve won four times. Who hasn’t won in our group? My son, who could give you an in-depth analysis of every team and stats on most the players. He’s an adult now and can (sort of) handle these things, but as a ten-year-old it was devastating.

He wasn’t alone then and he isn’t alone now. Every year by the final weekend, most of our brackets are in tatters. But while a busted bracket can be disappointing for basketball fans, it can actually teach us some valuable lessons about the workplace.

Embrace Your Status

Wall Street Journal writer, Ben Cohen, posed this question in a recent article, “What can you learn from the biggest upsets in college basketball?” All the chaos of upsets and early round losses? Coen says these are all opportunities that we can learn from and apply to our work life.  Start, he says, by embracing your status. Feel like an underdog in rural health? Use it and look for opportunities that you can exploit over the big guys.

Five Lessons You Can Use

Lesson 1: Embrace Failure

No one likes to fail, but it's an inevitable part of life. In basketball, even the best teams and players make mistakes and lose games. Similarly, in the workplace, we all make mistakes and face setbacks. The key is to embrace failure as a learning opportunity and use it to improve. Instead of dwelling on your busted bracket or a failed project at work, focus on what you can learn from the experience and how you can do better next time.

Lesson 2: Manage Your Expectations

When filling out a March Madness bracket, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and make unrealistic predictions. Similarly, in the workplace, it's important to manage your expectations and set realistic goals for yourself and your team. This means understanding your strengths and limitations and setting achievable targets that will help you move forward. By managing your expectations, you can avoid disappointment and stay motivated, even when things don't go as planned.

Lesson 3: Collaborate and Communicate

Basketball is a team sport, and winning requires collaboration and communication between players. The same is true in the workplace. To be successful, teams need to work together, share ideas, and communicate effectively. This means listening to others, being open to feedback, and working together to solve problems. By collaborating and communicating effectively, teams can achieve great things and overcome even the toughest challenges.

Lesson 4: Embrace Diversity

The NCAA basketball tournament is known for its diversity, with teams from all over the country and players from different backgrounds and cultures. Similarly, the workplace is becoming increasingly diverse, with people from different ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds working together. To be successful in this environment, it's important to embrace diversity and respect everyone's unique perspectives and experiences. This means being open-minded, empathetic, and inclusive, and recognizing the value that each person brings to the table.

Lesson 5: Stay Positive

Finally, when your bracket gets busted, it's important to stay positive and keep a good attitude. The same is true in the workplace, where positivity and optimism can be powerful tools for overcoming challenges and achieving success. By staying positive, you can inspire your team, build resilience, and maintain your focus on your goals.

Good Luck to the Final Teams

Your busted basketball bracket may seem like a disappointment, but it can actually teach valuable lessons. By embracing failure, managing our expectations, collaborating and communicating effectively, embracing diversity, and staying positive, we can achieve great things, both on the court and in the office. That’s how I see it from where I sit this week (and go Iowa! Go UConn!).