Opinion: What football can teach us about business

A crisis can often galvanize people and serve as a quick reminder of what matters.

Unexpectedly, we saw this on display during the first Monday Night Football broadcast of the new year. When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after a tackle, tens of millions of Americans stared at their screens watching medical staff rush the field, tearful players shielding their teammate from view, coaches and officials questioning next steps, and commentators recounting events with no information.

We now know that Hamlin’s heart stopped. The latest news as of press time says he remains in critical condition but is showing signs of improvement.

The highly anticipated game stopped being about a game. The night became about people.

NFL officials made the unprecedented decision to suspend the game and, at the time, planned to reschedule. We don’t know what happened behind the scenes before that call was made, but I suspect that was in conjunction with fierce advocacy from coaches and union reps.

This certainly wasn’t the first time tragedy struck an NFL game or its players. Injury-inducing hits are common. Players often run onto the field wrestling known and unknown demons. But this moment was different and required a different response.

It was a reminder that the football fields that entertain our country are workplaces for these players, coaches and staff. This was one of those moments that defines workplace culture: What are our values and what are our priorities?

In this moment, the NFL had a choice. At first, teams had five minutes to get ready to play again. But on a second pass, the NFL chose people. Like most of our organizations, it’s not perfect. But when a decision needed to be made, people won.

In moments of crisis or when faced with a challenge in our businesses, what or who do we choose?

I doubt most, if any, of us will be required to make a game-time decision with quite so many spectators. But every day, each leader makes both big and little decisions that have real impacts on our teams.

Preparing for every situation you may be faced with is impossible. Policies, procedures and strategic planning are important foundations, but we don’t know all that lies ahead in our business forecast or in the lives of our teammates.

A challenge could be personal, like supporting an employee battling a mental health diagnosis. Maybe it’s balancing a tight budget and determining what to prioritize. It could be launching an expansive initiative that requires much from the team. Or it may be dealing with correcting an error made by a new staffer. The list goes on.

These are defining moments. If we want to shine and not stumble when they arise, I believe we must create people-first workplaces.

National talent firm Salo developed a thought-provoking guide for how businesses can achieve this. It’s centered around purpose and the persuasive reason why the organization and each person’s work make a difference in the world. It also outlines talent drivers like empowerment, vision, engagement, optimism, recognition and safety. The full guide can be accessed at HelloSalo.com/people-first-workplace, and I encourage you to take a look.

I also am drawn to the simplicity of author Jacob Morgan’s take on putting people first. It boils down to five points (with more information on his LinkedIn page):

1. Understand what it means to be a leader.
2. Know your people.
3. Focus on employee experience.
4. Measure human factors.
5. Focus on purpose and meaning.

These guides bring clarity to decision-making by defining why we exist and what matters most in our businesses. When everyone is watching and much is at stake, I believe we’ll make the winning call if we put people first.

Springfield Business Journal Executive Editor Christine Temple can be reached at ctemple@sbj.net.