Audibles

The quarterback comes to the line of scrimmage, looks at the opposing defense, and has to make an instant decision: whether to call an audible. If, in his judgment, the play that was called in the huddle isn’t right for the conditions that he sees, then he makes this last minute change in plans. How much does the metaphor of football audibles influences your leadership? Do you find yourself constantly reading situations and making adjustment? Is this a good way to lead? My answer is “yes” and “no.” Consider the football team further. The play that they run after the audible isn’t a brand new play. It’s one that they’ve practiced many times. It just isn’t the one that was originally called in the huddle. Furthermore, the entire team has a philosophy about when audibles should be called and they’ve practiced how to respond. When the quarterback changes the play, none of the other 10 players on the field are surprised. It’s also worth noting that it’s only 10 other players that are required to respond to this new signal. So how well does the metaphor apply in your organization? Kudos to the leader who constantly surveys the horizon, looking for changing circumstances that may require a response. A wise (and often courageous) leader is willing to say, “The original plan isn’t working. We need to make a change.” But beyond this, the audible metaphor breaks down. While you may need to change plans, this rarely needs to happen in the blink of an eye. The new direction is probably not one that you (and your team) have anticipated and practiced. And even if the alternative course has been considered, the change affects far more than the core leadership group. I am not saying that the audible metaphor is always wrong. A Spirit-led nudge should prompt a worship leader to call an audible. And I’m not saying that leaders should never change directions. If small groups have become inward-focused social clubs rather than the disciple-making groups that they were intended to be, it’s time to make a change. But in this latter example, don’t call an audible by suddenly announcing that the small group ministry is broken and is being restructured. This scenario calls for a thoughtful approach that involves the key constituents. It’s the difference between changing one play at the line of scrimmage (a decision that is made in the moment by the quarterback) and rethinking the entire offensive game plan (a decision that is made over several days by the coaching staff). So how is your play calling? Are there too many audibles? Do you call audibles when more planning is needed? Or perhaps you stick with the game plan for too long. Think about this the next time you watch a football game. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>