W ofercie naszych zajęć wspominamy o tym, że grając w brydża łączymy przyjemne z pożytecznym, ponieważ podnosimy zdolności analityczne, ćwiczymy wyobraźnię i myślenie nieszablonowe, uczymy się cierpliwości i zaufania do partnera. Czy tak jest? O tym świadczą rekomendacje naszego kursu takie jak ta, którą w postaci artykułu opublikowała uczestniczka naszych zajęć – Kasia. Zachęcam do lektury!
What I’ve learnt about leadership while playing bridge
I have been thinking for some time of learning to play any cards game. One day based on recommendation I decided that this would be bridge. I would have never thought that this could be the way to get insights about collaboration ground rules. They work for the game. They work for the business.
Communicate clearly. You don’t play alone. In bridge what makes it a bit more challenging 😉 is that you don’t see the cards of your mate and you have to agree on the contract. How to do this? You can communicate during an auction by deals. Each message is rich in information and may lead to many outcomes. Observe well the entire conversation, be clear and bold, so your partner can understand, and you will get there. Trust your partner. The more far we go, the clearer the message.
Balance first. Understanding strength of your cards and cards of your partner is critical. While you exchange some deals proposals in the contract part, you also need to understand points and where are the wicknesses and what makes you strong as a Team – and then set up common goal – sounds familiar, right? But in reality – how often do we think this way? We all have organizational targets and strategic missions, but what we execute and strive for are our individual plans.. What we expect from leaders is to see bigger picture, see connections and make the best use of them. Remember, even very weak cards on your hand, may be useful if your partner’s cards fit to them and create the strength all together. What’s more – sometimes „winning strategy” is to have face cards on one side of the table and spots – on your partners hands. If you see bigger picture, you do balancing well, you see differently, which gives you an advantage. Isn’t that what we need to succeed?
Plan to win. Don’t underestimate this! Make plan your habit and don’t give up on this even (or especially!) when your career is progressing. One of my friends, who is definitely an advanced player, is the best example – she is the one, who needs the most time on the beginning of the game, but at the end… has the highest success and 'satisfaction’ scores. Normally probably we would say about such behaviours – especially in fast pacing corporate world – that they indicate lack of experience, not enough confidence, but be careful with this. These few minutes of silence and focus make her incredibly strong, ready for any challenge, which may appear suddenly. Needless to say, she always wins.
We all have the same chances. I play (well, learn to play) sport bridge. The rules are clear: all the teams get the same sets of cards, play and then we compare results table by table, team by team. The winner makes the most of given chances.
It’s only up to us if we win or lose. What seems for me to be proven after several months of my journey with bridge classes, there is a 'magic formula’ which leads to the victory: communicate, balance and plan. Success will come as a result.
Kudos to Łukasz and the entire Team of Nauka Brydża in Warsaw. #talents
Katarzyna Ogórek
Customer Advocate, Customer Experience & Training Head, SVP at Citi Handlowy