My Eight-Year-Old Son Reminded Me of Something About Leadership This Weekend.

I had a proud dad moment on the weekend.

I was coaching my eight-year-old son Isaac’s footy team when, early in the game, he dropped the ball coming out of his own half.

You could see he was disappointed.

Then he looked straight at his teammates, put his hand up and simply said,

“My bad.”

That was it.

No excuses.

No blaming anyone else.

Then he got back to work.

He defended hard.

He attacked with confidence.

He kept encouraging the boys.

And when the game was on the line, he dug deep and scored a try.

Driving home afterwards, I realised the try wasn’t what made me proud.

It was his character.

He took responsibility.

He didn’t let one mistake define his game.

He owned it, moved on and kept showing up for his team.

It reminded me why I’ve always tried to lead the way I do.

Whether it’s in business, the community or on the footy field, I’ve always tried to create an environment where people bring out the best in themselves.

An environment where people feel confident enough to take accountability because they know one mistake won’t define them.

Where they’re challenged, supported and encouraged to keep moving forward.

I’ve found the best teams aren’t the ones that never make mistakes.

They’re the ones where people own them, learn from them and back each other.

As a dad, I couldn’t have been prouder.

Because football comes and goes.

Character stays with you for life.