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 At
the end of July 2009, I had the honor of umpiring the 10
year-old bracket of the Texas East State Little League
Championships. I know, you may be thinking (as did one of
the 10 year-old participants), "I never saw a girl umpire
before." But it's really true. See, there's a picture
of me with the rest of my crew. --->
One of the things about umpiring
is you learn something new every game. In this
newsletter, I wanted to share some of the wisdom that I
learned from the coaches and managers in the loser's bracket
of the tournament. Now, this isn't going to be just about baseball,
but the wisdom and lessons that can be applied to your
leadership skills.
But first let me explain the
"loser's bracket". At Texas East State, the tournament
is run as a double elimination between four sectional
champions... that means that you have to lose twice before
you are eliminated and have to go home. If your team happens
to lose one game, you are placed in what is called the
"loser's bracket" until you lose a second time. Got it?
One of the unique aspects of
being an umpire is that you always have one of the best seats in
the house for observing the game. I take advantage of
this opportunity to see how the coaches coach and lead their
teams. Below are just a few of the "words of wisdom"
that I heard a couple of weekends ago.
"Don't
Swing at Nothin' Ugly"
Ok, in baseball, that means
don't chase any bad pitches. Have you swung at something
ugly? Have you chased any bad pitches
lately? These could be bad pitches or offers from others or
just bad ideas or expectations that you come up with on your
own. In my work, I often find folks who are chasing bad pitches
over and over again. They are either always trying to please
others or trying to be perfect. Which 'bad pitch' do you
often swing at?
 Do you try do everything
perfectly? Do you realize that perfection doesn't exist? Why
would you chase the impossible? Chasing perfection
keeps you always in the "loser's bracket". It's like swinging a
32" bat at a pitch 6 feet over your head. Take a look at
your own expectations, at the "pitches" you are delivering to
yourself. Are you swinging at something ugly?
On the flip side, let's take a
look at the people-pleaser. Do you believe that you
have to please everyone on your team? As a leader, are you
always trying to reach consensus? Sure, consensus is nice to
have, but sometimes you just have to go with your gut
instinct, take the risk of hurting feelings or messing up, and push forward
toward your goal anyway.
That reminds me of another
lesson from the loser's bracket:
"I won't tell you when to GO (steal a
base). If you hear my voice, I'm telling you to come BACK!"
In this situation, the third
base coach was talking to his player on third base who
attempted to steal home. As you can see the coach is left
it up to the player as to when he decided to try to advance.
If the runner saw the ball get past the catcher, he was free
to try to steal home. If, however, the runner hears the
coach's voice, he should immediately reverse his course and
return to third base. Isn't that cool?
In this case, the coaches are
encouraging their players to take risks. The players can
take any chance that they want. Some will try to steal on
almost every pitch. Others will stand comfortably on third
base keeping their foot on the bag until the ball is safely
hit. In either case, the player is free to do as he wishes
and the coach is his safety net. Are you that
kind of leader? Do you realize how empowering that approach
is to achievement and success? It encourages innovation and creativity.
It encourages risk taking. It encourages a team member to
test himself or herself and learn new skills.
On the flip side, what kind of
player are you? Do you stand on the base waiting for another
runner to force you to advance? Are you afraid of being
called out? Or, do you steamroll around the bases, running
over everything in your path (including your own team
members who batted in front of you)? I guess the real
question is, do you have a coach that you can trust? If not,
why not?
"Focus. See the bat hitting the ball."
Do you use mental practice to
achieve your goals? Top-notch athletes do this all the time.
They don't just use their imagination to create expectations
and envision outcomes; they envision the process. They focus
on the physical mechanics of standing in the batter's box,
swinging the bat, and hitting the ball.
 Do you know the story of Laura
Wilkinson? She was a US Olympic Athlete participating
in the ten-meter platform dive in the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney, Australia. In preparation for the games, Laura
broke three of her toes and was unable to get in the water.
However this did not deter her from "practicing". She sat on
the platform and focused on each dive over and over – every
twist, flip, and perfect entrance. When her toes healed in
time for the games, what happened? Laura came from behind
and won the Gold Medal! She focuses on the process - like
baseball players focused on hitting the ball.
What do you focus on over and
over again? Many gurus advise people to visualize themselves
reaching their goal and receiving the prize. What would have
been different if Laura had spent her time only fantasizing
about the outcome and not the process that would allow her
to achieve it? She
could have been sitting on the platform fantasizing about
the Olympic official placing the gold medal around her neck,
flowers being placed in her arms, the American flag being
raised, and the US National Anthem being played. The
mental experience could have been so real that real
tears of joy may have been streaming down her cheeks. What
would have happened when it came time to take action and
actually perform her dives? Honestly, the dives probably
wouldn't have earned her that Gold Medal. Her focus wouldn't have been on the
process and her performance, and her 'practice' of receiving
the rewards would've created pain instead of success.
Do you focus on and practice the
things that YOU control? Or, do you imagine what life would
be like if everyone would just listen to you and do things
your way? Mentally rehearse the process and envision the
actions needed to succeed. Go ahead, try it!
And, while you're at it...
"Tuck in Your Shirt!"
It may seem kind of odd that I
put this piece of advice in here, but I got to thinking
about it and you know, being prepared and looking good can
be important to your success. No one wants to follow a
sloppy leader. Sometimes we are so focused on telling others
what to do that we neglect to look in the mirror at
ourselves.
Do that right now! Look at
yourself. Do you look the part? Are you a leader you would
want to follow? Do you look like a parent that a kid would
want to listen to? Look at yourself. If you were your spouse or significant
other would you want to... well, I won't go there, but you get the
picture.
Let me encourage you to tuck in
your shirt and look the part. As an umpire, our crew wears
matching uniforms. Is it because we love wearing polyester
pants? No. It's so we look the part. It would be much easier
for a manager to argue a call and disrespect someone in shorts and a
t-shirt. But, when you are wearing a pressed uniform of
authority, you carry a little more weight.
"Watch me (the coach), not the
ball. I'll tell you when to stop."
Oh, you see it all the time when
you watch Major League Baseball or other professional
sports... the athletes who stand there admiring their work
or doing a little celebration dance
forgetting that they are in the middle of a job. Does that
ever happen to you? Ok, you probably aren't admiring your work
per se, instead maybe you are criticizing or gossiping about
someone else's work or lack thereof. Maybe you are too willing to
allow interruptions or spend time doing unnecessary tasks.
Focus on running the bases.
Filter out the interruptions and distractions. These are
unnecessary speed bumps or road blocks that slow you down
and distract you from running your bases and scoring the
run.
The Loser's Bracket
Lastly, I want to tell you what
happened at the Texas East State tournament. In three of the
age brackets, the team that
came from the "loser's bracket" ended up beating the team
from the winner's bracket twice and taking home the state
title. That sort of makes the "loser's bracket" a
misnomer, doesn't it?
Many times we allow others to
put us in a "bracket" that THEY named. I want to encourage
you to do as these kids did... don't allow minor setbacks to
deter you from your goal.
-
Keep practicing
-
Listen to your coaches
-
Focus on YOUR actions
-
Filter out interruptions and
distractions
-
For heaven's sake, tuck in
your shirt
-
And, never, ever give up on
your dreams (even if someone says you're in the loser's
bracket)! You have what it takes to be a
CHAMPION!
Plan for your
personal and professional development in 2010!!
We have stopped offering group coaching classes for 2009
(because it would run into the holidays and we wouldn't be
able to meet regularly). So, I want to encourage you to
consider group coaching for 2010. If possible, talk with
your managers and supervisors about training funds for next
year. You'll need only $1999 for this life-changing 15 week program.
(If you'd like one-on-one coaching, it's only $3299.) Be
sure that you get your personal / professional development
plan in place so that you are ready to get started in
January or February of 2010. (Remember, PMP®
certificants earn 20 PDUs upon completion.)
If you'd like more information
to present to your manager, please let me know.
Here's just some of what will you learn?
-
how to get 40% more
cooperation from others
-
how to stay focused and
accomplish more with your time and energy
-
how to think and speak more
clearly and in front of your superiors
-
how to manage expectations
-
how to find your
strengths and learn to use them!
-
plus much, much more
As always, I promise that you will
forever change your life for the better. (And I don't
just say that, I back it up with a guarantee!)
 While
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that has not been supported by the objective global standard
for content or quality.
The best way to protect your
training investment is to select a provider whose
organization and offering have been independently certified
as meeting a rigorous set of quality criteria..
If you want to improve your
project management and leadership abilities, choose Break
Free Consulting!!
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