Blog #414: How San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Demonstrates to Neurodivergents the Impo
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Feb 15, 2024
- 3 min read
Continuing my post Super Bowl blogs, I want to shift gears from the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl runner up San Francisco 49ers because there is something I found that could be used as an example to neurodivergents about the importance of accepting responsibility in the workplace.
I am, of course, talking about San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan who is somewhat of the Charlie Brown of NFL Head Coaches on account that he always tends to take something positive and make it into a problem. Not in the sense of what you are thinking of, of course, but when he is calling questionable plays at the big moments such as what happened during the overtime period of Super Bowl 58. Do I think that he should have ran the ball with Running Back Christian McCaffery at the end?
Well, yes.
But the important factor is that Kyle Shanahan accepted responsibility for his actions like any other respectable leader. There are some businesses who have leaders that refuse to accept responsibility for their actions in the sense that it is either my way or the highway.
A lot of neurodivergent individuals will often try and paint themselves in the right when they do something foolish or stupid, justifying their actions. This is especially true when it comes to neurodivergent entrepreneurs or business owners.
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Now, let’s put ourselves in Kyle’s shoes for example. Were there things he could have done differently in the Super Bowl that would have changed the outcome? Yes, even though some of those changes may not have made much of a difference, but at least he accepts responsibility in the end. Many businesses will often make very bad decisions and there are two options you can go…stand by them or admit you were wrong.
In Kyle’s case, being a head coach is like being a supervisor where you answer to the owner of all your actions. I’ve actually worked with some people in the retail industry that refused to admit to their mistakes and they ended up paying the consequences. When we make mistakes, we owe up to them, end of story.
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There are also plenty of neurodivergent individuals who also refuse to admit they made mistakes either professionally or personally and I will admit that I have made plenty of social mistakes as a neurodivergent myself that for some time I had trouble admitting. Part of it was because I was not as self-aware of myself many years ago as I am now. Had I refused to admit responsibility, who knows what could have happened to me both professionally and personally?
The more times we admit responsibility for our actions, the more respect we get back depending on the damages.
Do I still think Kyle Shanahan is a good coach? Yes.
Does he still need to improve himself to become a great coach in the future? Of course!!
Can Kyle still serve as a reminder to admit our workplace mistakes that can result from our actions? Absolutely!!
But it’s up to us to admit something when we did wrong, whether its in education, employment or in everyday life!! Never forget that!! Plus, it’s not a good idea to judge someone who has had such success in life and yet, has a hard time hitting the ultimate goal when it’s right in front of you.
Sometimes, you can’t win them all and a lot of people need to understand that. Sometimes, you can be like Charlie Brown and get nothing but rocks at trick or treating or a small Christmas tree that is not exactly the best of the bunch. It’s just how things are sometimes and Kyle is living proof of that.
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Catch you all later!!
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