love of sports prompted me to look more closely at what made me enjoy playing them so much. Maybe I could gain an insight or two that could help turn work into a much more positive experience. Take basketball, for example. When I ask people what the most fun thing to do is in basketball, a few say “passing the ball.” Most say “shooting the ball.”
“When is it most fun to shoot the ball?” I ask.
“In a game,” is the response.
“When during the game?”
“When there are two seconds left and my team is 1 or 2 points behind or the score is tied.”
“What kind of basketball game?”
“In the championship game, in the NBA finals.”
Most people experience game settings as “fun,” “exciting,” and “rewarding” when they are playing for something important and have a key role in deciding the outcome of the contest. Similarly, while young children enjoy card and board games that rely on chance, adults prefer games that require skill, strategy, or memory. In other words, the more challenging the better. While such analogies are not perfect, sports and games can help us understand what brings joy to the workplace.
In the Virginia Independent School Championship football game, my son, Dennis Jr., was the quarterback for one of the teams. His team was a touchdown behind with six minutes remaining in the game. They had the ball on their own 20-yard line. It was third down and 10 yards to go for a first down. The team needed to advance 80 yards to tie the game. I was a nervous wreck. I was pacing on the top level of the bleachers, almost afraid to watch. From a distance, however, Dennis seemed cool and confident. He calmly broke the huddle and began calling signals. He dropped back to pass and threw a perfect spiral to a streaking wide receiver for an 80-yard touchdown.
Why was I nervous and my son calm? That’s simple: He was in control and I was not. He had the ball. The outcome of the play turned on his skills, his actions, and his decisions. My experiences as a manager, coach, parent, and player are similar in this respect. The person in control of the moment has more fun than people who are less likely to affect the outcome.
Related to this point is the complaint I often hear from people dissatisfied with their work because “it is so stressful.” I don’t believe that stress determines whether a workplace is fun. Was Dennis’s championship game stressful? Sure. Did it lessen the joy of playing? No, quite the contrary. As in most cases in which the outcome is on the line, stress enhances the experience, as long as a person has a certain amount of control over what happens. Debilitating stress stems from lack of control. The people who are probably most affected by this type of stress are middle managers caught between top executives, who won’t give them the power to make decisions, and subordinates, who are constantly pressing them for answers and direction.
Stress enhances the experience, as long as a person has a certain amount of control over what happens. Debilitating stress stems from lack of control.
Similarly, I hear people complain about their work because “it is so hard” and “takes so much time.” I doubt that hard work is the root of dissatisfaction. Again, I return to Dennis’s athletic experience for some insight. For eight weeks in the summer before his senior year in high school, he spent three to four hours a day at school running, throwing, lifting weights, and studying film. He worked extremely hard. He was not paid a cent for this work. He wasn’t even doing it to earn a scholarship to college; he had already concluded he had little chance of playing major college football. Why, then, would he work so hard? I believe it was for the opportunity that might come his way to run for a first down when it mattered or to throw a winning touchdown pass.
In basketball, football, and other games, another factor plays an important role: the scoreboard. Keeping score is a central part of the competitive experience, and it plays a crucial role in making games enjoyable. It doesn’t seem to matter if the game is Hopscotch, Four Square, Horseshoes, Hearts, Boggle, or the World Cup, we keep score and care about the results. We may lose as often as we win, but at least we can measure our performance.
“How am I doing?” former New York Mayor Ed Koch used to ask his constituents. In his flamboyant way, Koch was articulating a need that all of us feel. Feedback is essential to a joyful work experience.
Failure … teaches us humility. Failure is nearly as important as success in creating a great workplace.
Success obviously adds to our enjoyment of games and work. However, contrary to the rhetoric of coaches and inspirational leaders, this does not mean that we have to “win” all the time. A few years ago, there was an advertisement on television featuring basketball player Michael Jordan. In the ad, Jordan explained that from elementary school through his career in the NBA, he had played in 4,900 games. Thirty-nine times he had been in a position to win the game with the last shot—and missed. Was basketball fun for him even though he missed those shots and his team lost those games? I have no doubt that it is more fun to win the game than to lose. However, I believe the biggest source of joy to Jordan and other athletes—as well as to people in the workplace—is the opportunity to use their abilities when it really counts. From the perspective of the individual working person, the key to a great workplace is feeling wanted and important.
Failure and mistakes are also part of what makes games and work fun. In My Losing Season, an account of his high school and college basketball career, Pat Conroy says that failure is inevitable. It is also an essential element of learning and eventual success. Failure, in turn, teaches us humility, and because the experience is often painful, we learn indelible lessons. Indeed, failure is nearly as important as success in creating a great workplace.
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