Take a Mulligan
I’ve invented a new way to score my golf game. During a recent game I took mulligans liberally. When I hit a bad shot and thought I could improve the result with better technique I took a do over. At the end of the round I counted my score plus my mulligans. I shot 93 plus 6 mulligans. The benefit, I think, is that by focusing to improve on the errant swing immediately when the mistake wass fresh in my mind, I learned solidly. I only took a mulligan when I could definitely think of a way to do it better physically with conscious competence.
This has an application to business in team productivity. I think productivity could be enhanced if people on teams allow each other mulligans as an element of their organizational culture. Some people already take mulligans naturally. I’m suggesting that teams develop mulligan scripts. Here are some ideas.
Language: For example, “I could have said that more clearly. Let me take a mulligan please.” Or: “That didn’t sound the way I wanted. Maybe it will be clearer this way . . . .”
Intent: I’ve found that the biggest inhibition to assertive language is the fear of hurting others’ feelings. This happens in performance reviews which get watered down instead making the point the employee needs to hear. People need to be able to speak the truth without fear of offending others. So, for example, a mulligan script might be, “I’m going to be straight with you because my interest is that you getting it right with the least painful journey to get there. By starting out bumpy we’ll get to smooth sooner.”
Manner. People on teams ought to speak with respect for themselves and others. So when they say something that is inadvertently disrespectful they can take a mulligan and try again with different words or a different tone. A mulligan script might be, “that didn’t come out with the tone I wanted, let me try again”.
Listening. You can ask others to take a mulligan. You might say, “I didn’t get your meaning. Could you say that another way please.”
