On Saturday Scotland will play Italy in the Six Nations Rugby tournament. In the previous game  a couple of  weeks ago they lost the game against Wales – which they had been leading right up to the last few minutes – because of a couple of bad decisions. There is a lot of  national pride invested in these rugby games and it has to be said that the comments about “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” – a phrase often used about Scottish sporting outcomes – were understandable. So I was impressed by the reports of Scotland Captain Chris Cusiter’s comments on the defeat and what they learned.  On the official website he says

 ”In the debrief we looked at the decisions that were made. We have to learn from that, and become better players and better leaders because of that.”

Now let’s be clear here – decisions made in a game of rugby do not compare with decisions that some leaders have to make.

But I found it refreshing to hear Chris describe what he should have done .

And – as a couple of the players sustained what could have been serious injuries – how this had put things into perspective.

It  is rare for a leader in any area nowadays to hold up their hand and say “I got that wrong” – yet to me that is a real sign of strength. Leaders are human beings and – like it or not – they have capacity to make mistakes. 

And another strength of a good leader is their concern for others in their team.

I met Chris a few years ago when I won the chance to train with the Scotland rugby team at that time ( that’s another story which – if you have time – you can read here).  To be honest – I had been entered in the competition by my husband and although I watched rugby on TV I did not know many of the players. At that time Chris was injured and was at the sidelines. I “opted” not to go into tackle practice and joined him to stand and watch . He introduced himself as Chris – and I introduced myself back. It was clear I had no idea who he was – and you know something – to his credit he gave no indication that I should have.