Leaders blow it—sometimes to the point of embarrassing themselves. Some examples of leadership “fails” I’ve either witnessed or heard about:
• A CEO loses his temper and shouts at a colleague in the middle of a nice dinner at an upscale restaurant with spouses at the table.
• A Sales VP, embarrassed by poor quarterly sales results, disappears during an executive retreat and later fails to show for a scheduled presentation.
• A CMO presents a proposed branding campaign to the CEO, with two obvious typos in the opening slides of the presentation deck.
These moments of extreme “how-could-I-do-that?” embarrassment are ones that leaders wish they could go back and do over. But they can’t go back. They have to go forward.
Here’s the reality:

Every leader will fail. It’s how they handle the failure that matters.

Jordan Spieth is probably still thinking about his failure at Augusta 10 days ago. Some have referred to it as his “Masters Meltdown”. Spieth had been in control of the leaderboard for the entire tournament. His quadruple bogey on the twelfth hole – that’s seven strokes on a par three hole — surprised everyone.
But, that Sunday performance doesn’t change the reality that Jordan Spieth continues to be a leader in his sport. In fact, his behavior and presence immediately after blowing the lead cement his status as leader.
Consider these takeaways from the 22-year-old’s response to his meltdown:
1) He didn’t give up after his quadruple bogey. In fact, he hit birdie or par on 5 of the last 6 holes at Augusta. That feat takes great composure and maturity.
2) He politely set boundaries. Spieth’s self-control was evident throughout that afternoon, specifically around the media. He never lost his cool. When walking off the course, he asked one cameraman who got too close, “Just not in the face, if you guys don’t mind, please.”
3) He faced the consequences. Soon after Spieth finished his round of golf, he presented the green jacket to winner Danny Willett on national television—not once, but twice. In both ceremonies, Spieth was gracious. He later reflected, “I can’t think of anybody else who may have had a tougher ceremony to experience…I felt that I stood up there and smiled like I should.”
4) He spoke about his caddy and himself as a team. In post-tournament interviews, he said, “When we’re on, I believe that we are the best in the world.” When asked about how he felt after blowing his lead, he said, “There’s no give-up in us.” There was a lot of “we” as Jordan discussed the positive aspects of his game.
5) He owned his mistakes. Spieth showed a clear understanding of what went wrong very quickly after leaving the golf course: “I had my B-minus game tee to green, and I made up for it around the greens with my putter.” He used a lot of “I” to talk about mistakes he made.
6) He acknowledged that it hurt. He could have minimized his disappointment. He could have fallen back on past successes. Instead, Spieth told interviewers, “Big picture — this one is going to hurt”, “It’s a tough one” and “Wouldn’t you be disappointed?” It takes courage to admit the emotional toll of a significant setback.
7) He quickly saw the bigger picture. In congratulating the victor, Spieth highlighted Willett’s new son, saying, “More important than golf, [Willett has] had a lot of really cool things happen in his life.” Leaders must have this wider perspective — the whole of life, not just their work life.
A leader’s preparation for moments of failure goes beyond physical athleticism, head smarts or staying in control of emotions. Trials and difficulty reveal your character — that deeper, foundational part of you that gets exposed when all the outer layers are suddenly blasted away.
Spieth appears to be aware of his past and continuing character development in this article, written when people were first taking notice of him. Here’s what he says about his sister with special needs: “Ellie certainly is the best thing that’s happened in our family. It helps put things in perspective that I’m lucky to play on tour and to compete with these guys.” And, much has been made of the rest of “Team Spieth” — his family and close friends who help him stay grounded.
Take some time this week to contemplate your own character development. What matters most to you? How do you determine your self-worth? Who is in your inner circle that keeps you grounded?
Coach John Wooden says it well: “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” Your epic failure may not be televised for millions to watch, but your response still matters. It will reflect who you really are. Start preparing now.