One of the most important jobs of any leader is to help their people grow through their challenges and mistakes. Often times, that means showing a lot of grace and offering second (or third… or fourth…) chances. This is true in coaching, in business, and in life.

There are times where I remember as a young assistant coach thinking, “We really need to let that kid go. He (fill in the blank with “unacceptable” offense), and he shouldn’t be here.” I didn’t really understand how important my job was at the time, and I didn’t understand that sometimes kids need the sport/team/coach more than the sport/team/coach needs them. It is also important to note that at that point in time, I do not think I had found my true purpose in coaching yet. At that point, it was still all about X’s and O’s and trying to win state championships. I think that’s a huge mistake many young coaches make (that’s also why I’m a big believer in mentoring).

I’ve grown a lot since those days. One of the moments that had the greatest impact on me was when one of my mentors shared this thought with our staff after a kid messed up pretty badly, “I remember how easy it was as an assistant to just want to ‘get rid of a kid’ when they messed up.” He then said, “I didn’t really understand it until I was a head coach. My job is to help these young men grow and become great husbands, fathers, and citizens. I can’t do that if I remove them from the team the first time they mess up.” I’m paraphrasing a bit there, but that was the gist.

It made a lot of sense to me. If I was truly going to coach beyond the game, I couldn’t just get rid of the hardest kids to coach. They were the ones that needed me the most. It might make my job harder by keeping them around, but it also allows me to have a greater, more lasting impact. You also have to be prepared to take a little (or a lot of) heat for keeping them around. Bobby Bowden talks about this quite a bit in some of his books.

In my current role as an administrator, the same concept applies. I am responsible for about 20 teachers at my school. My principal and I have a lot of conversations about personnel, and when a teacher is struggling, the conversation NEVER starts off with, “how can we get rid of them” or “what do we need to do to get them to leave?” Instead, my principal always asks me, “what are you doing to help them grow” or “how can we help them get better?” That’s what it’s all about! I am so thankful for her grace and her leadership.

I could go on and on with examples of scenarios where grace and second chances are not only appropriate but absolutely necessary. Whether we are parenting, teaching, coaching or running a company, we have to remember how important it is to take advantage of the growth opportunity that is presented when mistakes, struggles, or challenges present themselves. I am not saying that there should not be accountability. Accountability is a part of growth. I’m just saying that we need to be looking through the lens of grace.

One of my friends, Jonathan Gelnar, attended the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Indianapolis this weekend. He sent me the following video clip and introduced me to the content that Stephen Mackey (@MackeySpeaks on Twitter) is putting out. This guy is a coach, speaker, podcaster and entrepreneur, and he is doing some really cool stuff. Take about 45 seconds to watch this short clip, and then go check him out. This video fit in perfectly with what I was planning on writing about, so I had to share it. I hope you enjoy!

BE A LEADER OF SECOND CHANCES! You never know what kind of impact you are making.