Mar. 6—Minda Zetlin wrote a post for Inc.com about Serena Williams’ press conference after the tennis legend’s recent loss to Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open.
Zetlin titled it, “In Nine Words, Serena Williams Just Taught A Major Lesson In Emotional Intelligence.”
Williams has dominated the sport and influenced a generation of tennis players. She’s been a successful brand ambassador who’s earned millions from endorsements.
Williams loss to Osaka prevented her from tying Margaret Court for the most singles Grand Slam titles by any player.
Williams is 39 and was playing with an ankle injury. Osaka is 23 and was playing her idol from growing up.
Williams’ post-match press conference showed her emotional intelligence and character. She didn’t make excuses, she kept referencing that she made errors, she wasn’t able to play as well as she needed to play, that she made mistakes, and she said it was on her, no one or nothing else.
Reporters kept asking questions and Williams kept referencing her play.
Those nine words had more significance than simply describing how a tennis match unfolded for one of the game’s all-time greats.
“It was a big error day for me today,” Williams said.
As Zetlin noted in her post, “We can all learn from Williams and those nine words: “It was a big error day for me today.”
Think about it. “It was a big error day,” says it was about you personally taking responsibility for the mistakes.
You are identifying yourself, today, and are being specific.
Those are all important points, because just saying things didn’t go well doesn’t have as big of an impact. It doesn’t reveal as much vulnerability and emotional intelligence as to say, “It was a big error day for me today.”
Own up to your failures and learn from them. We all have them. How we respond to our setbacks in both words and actions defines who we are both in the business world and in life.
Williams is a winner and an all-time great. And she understands that taking personal responsibility and learning from her setbacks is part of why she’s been able to achieve all that she’s achieved.
Her emotional intelligence is as impressive as her on and off court abilities. She’ll make a positive impact long after she’s done playing tennis.
You and I can also make more of a positive impact if we’re vulnerable; if we take responsibility; if we admit where we could have done better and then develop a plan and commit to it, to find ways to actually get better in those areas where we’ve had weaknesses or setbacks.
