In 2004, the film Miracle was released, starring Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks, and directed by Gavin O’Connor. The film told the story of the USA Hockey team that triumphed over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics.

I love this movie. It’s packed with leadership lessons. However, in this article, I’m only going to focus on one of them. For those of you unfamiliar with the film or the events that inspired it, I’ll provide a little background.

Herb Brooks was a competitor. He knew his opponent, and he was going to do everything in his power to compete. Well into training his team, Herb got into a disagreement with his assistant coach, Craig Patrick. Craig was concerned that Herb was working his team too hard. Herb picked up on the misalignment and addressed it head-on:

Herb: Something on your mind, Craig? Or is that just too far off my radar?

Craig: I don’t think you can push them this hard for six months. It’s too long.

Herb: They’re doing all right.

Craig: They’re tired.

Herb: I know how hard to push them, Craig.

Craig: You sure about that?

Herb: You know why I had them take that test? To make sure I could push them this hard. I’ll see you Monday.

The “test” he was talking about was a bizarre psych evaluation that seemed to have nothing to do “with stopping a puck,” according to his starting goalie.

Shortly after this, Herb demonstrated exactly how hard he was willing to push in the most famous scene of the movie, which I’ll entitle, “Again.” If it’s been a while, watch an abbreviated version of it here:

The leadership lesson

As leaders, we have so many responsibilities. We need to select the right talent for our team. That’s important, but it’s not enough. Per Herb Brooks, “Think you can win on talent alone? You don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone. Again!”

It’s true. Talent isn’t enough. Leaders need to push. I need to push. You need to push. Over the years, I’ve learned how to do this. I push my team very hard. Ask any one of them. They’ll tell you. I’ve had team members think they could work themselves out of job. They had no idea how wrong they could be.

We have our work cut out for us. Most of us don’t push hard enough. There’s unrealized potential everywhere. Leaders are supposed to unlock it. That’s our job.

Is it possible to push too hard? Yes

First, let me state that pushing hard has absolutely nothing to do with working endless hours without breaks or vacations. That’s just madness. Pushing means expecting higher levels of performance, growth, and excellence. Occasionally, that will require long hours, but it will also require good amounts of rest. Excellence without rest isn’t sustainable. We are humans. Not machines.

How do I know when I’ve pushed too hard? There’s a curve where more pushing produces more excellence, and then there’s a point where pushing just causes stuff to fall apart. I watch closely for those signs. When I see them, I know that I’ve temporarily reached someone’s capacity. That’s not a permanent state, but a point in time.

I’ll monitor the situation to see when more capacity is available, then I’ll resume pushing, “again!” If you’d like to learn more about this concept of “capacity,” I’ve written an entire article on it. Check it out.

Growth

I’m fascinated by human potential. I love watching hidden talent blossom under my leadership. It’s the closest thing to a superpower that I have to offer.

I don’t do sports analogies often, so for the sports fans out there, this one is for you. I work in the IT department of a large corporation that’s been around a long time. We face the competitive landscape of digital disruption. I don’t know about you, but I intend to win. Mature companies are underdogs in this contest. We’ve got the talent and we will push as hard as necessary to win.

Just like USA Hockey Team facing the Soviets, “Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.”

I’ll end this article with one final Herb Brooks quote: “If you give 99 percent, you will make my job very, very easy.”

If you’ve seen how pushing your team can unlock new levels of performance with your team, please drop me a note in the comments.

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