Jack Hughes shows that pain is inevitable, but resilience is voluntary.

Jack Hughes scored the men’s hockey gold medal-winning goal against Canada after losing three teeth taking a high stick to the mouth in the third period. It’s tempting to say the leadership lesson is about grit and playing through pain.

Did you recall that Hughes committed a penalty afterward that gave Canada a late-game power play? In a championship game, that is the kind of mistake that can haunt a player and rattle a team. Canada did not score. The game went to overtime.

Hughes then scored the winning goal.

It would be easy to tell this as a simple grit story. Play through pain. Deliver in the clutch. I think there’s a more interesting lesson: leaders bouncing forward after mistakes instead of dwelling on them. Here’s how to do that.

1. Stay Focused on the Goal, Not on Beating Up Yourself (or Others) After a Mistake

Giving Canada a late power play could have triggered blame or overcorrection. There was no finger-pointing on the US bench. Instead, Hughes returned to the ice in overtime, focused on the objective to win the game.

In business, leaders make errors, too. A rushed hire. A flawed forecast. A strategic decision that goes awry. The real danger is rarely the mistake itself. It is the emotional spiral that follows. When leaders keep the mission larger than their misstep, they steady the organization. Focus restores confidence.

2. Make Contribution Bigger Than Ego

After the win, Hughes redirected praise toward teammates and spoke about representing something larger than himself. He did not frame the moment as personal redemption. He framed it as a collective achievement. That wasn’t performative. It’s the way he is.

That posture builds trust. Leaders may be tempted to center themselves, especially after overcoming errors or injuries, but doing so degrades the team’s contributions. After all, people maintained faith in you despite the setbacks. Hughes’s presence on the ice after that mistake showed the team’s faith, as did the brilliant pass to Hughes that led to the goal. Eisenhower was famous for always passing the credit; Hughes followed that tradition.

3. Pain Is Inevitable, Bouncing Forward Is Voluntary

Hughes absorbed the consequences of the penalty and loss of teeth. He recalibrated and continued performing under high pressure. Resilience is about bouncing forward. Whenever you are engaged in something challenging, mistakes and setbacks are inevitable.

If you react by pointing fingers and evading accountability, you wind up repeating the errors like you’re in a hamster wheel. Why change your actions when it’s someone else’s fault?

If you respond by learning and trying new things, you will bounce forward to new heights. Hughes kept his eyes on the windshield and not the rearview mirror, putting himself and his team in a position to win. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed; I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Then, he found the one that did and changed history.

Many executives confuse resilience with endurance. Just push harder. Just grind through it. Sustainable resilience asks a better question. What has changed, and how must I respond now, especially when I helped create the challenge?

Mission anchors you. Contribution binds the team. Accountability sharpens resilience. The gold medal makes the story memorable. The penalty makes it instructive. Because leadership is not about avoiding mistakes. It is about how you lead after you make one.