Let’s Learn the Difference Between Good Evaluation and Piling Unrealistic and Unhelpful Expectations On Ourselves and On Other Leaders
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Although we’re still in a pandemic, and although there are still some pretty scary outbreaks globally, more and more we’re seeing signs of hope as vaccinations spread quickly across the U.S. and more states begin to lift restrictions as people take cautious steps back towards normal.
Cue the “Monday morning quarterbacking.”
With as deadly and disruptive as this last year+ was, there will no doubt be some much-needed analysis on preparedness, response, and some more sober-minded looking at data as more distance from media and politics allows. We’ll learn a lot.
But there will also be a lot of less helpful, hyper-critical, hindsight-is-20-20 Monday morning quarterbacking (MMQB’ing).
MMQB’ing: A Definition
MMQB’ing is talking about what should have been done confidently and after the fact in a way that fails to recognize the limitations of real-time uncertainty and ambiguity.
More simply put?
MMQB’s are the know-it-alls that sat on the sideline until the outcome was decided, who were not faced with navigating and leading through uncertainty, and then who criticize those who did for their “failed” efforts. And they’ll do so from their privileged position of knowing how it all worked out—
With little to no recognition that they are privileged with hindsight that the objects of their criticism did not have.
MMQB’s make their living on the “You should have knowns.”
MMQB’ing is talking about what should have been done confidently and after the fact in a way that fails to recognize the limitations of real-time uncertainty and ambiguity. Click To TweetGood Evaluation vs. MMQB’ing
You’ll learn a lot from ruthlessly and objectively evaluating as a leader. You’ll learn a lot from looking back on what you did and didn’t do. You’ll learn a lot from the “post-mortem” conversations.
But you won’t learn anything from MMQB’s.
What’s the difference between good evaluation and MMQB’ing? Let’s highlight two:
- Good evaluation will take into account what could have been known vs. what couldn’t have (or should/shouldn’t have).
This is so critical for helpful evaluation. Nobody but God is omniscient. The pressures of leadership are so great already; piling on the unrealistic and prideful expectation that you should’ve known what couldn’t have been known is salt on the wound. - Good evaluation has a goal of practical improvement whereas MMQB’ing has a goal of appearing to be in the right.
Leaders—people playing in the game in real time—know the truth in the Mike Tyson adage of “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.” You can know that you’re gonna get punched and even some things on how to take a punch, but you kinda have to take it to really know. Good plans become good plans only after they are tested. You learn as you execute, as you practice, as you actually lead. Because the reality is this: some things you just can’t learn until you do them; until you experience them.
MMQB’s think that you should be able to be a concert pianist simply by anticipating how to be one. And then after your first recital falls short of Beethoven, they are quick to highlight all of your missed notes.
Meanwhile, leaders will watch the video, focus on where they need to get better, and keep practicing and playing. Why? Because it’s not about appearing to be right; it’s about actually getting better. And that. Takes. Practice.
The Key: Real-Time Action
A recent WSJ article entitled “A Deadly Coronavirus Was Inevitable. Why Was No One Ready?” captured this difference between great evaluation and MMQB’ing really well. After going back several years to WHO and other scientific findings that accurately predicted not only the likelihood but even the nature and origination of what came to be Covid-19, here’s a quote:
“They said we need strategies for ‘Disease X’ and gave it a cool name,” said Peter Daszak, a disease ecologist and virus hunter in New York who was at the 2018 WHO meeting. “The problem is, we never did anything about it.”
- Great leaders don’t just talk about potential problems; they actually do whatever they’re able to in real time with the best data and resources available.
- Great leaders accept the responsibility for failing to do that.
- Great leaders learn from their mistakes through great evaluation and they keep on leading, knowing that they’ll learn best as they make better mistakes.
- Great leaders know the difference between great evaluation and MMQB’ing, embracing the former while brushing aside the latter.
There’s a lot we can and will learn from this past year. Let’s just make sure we’re not learning to be leaders that are something other than the limited, human, in-process people that all leaders actually are.
