Dear Friends,
The story of David Ross, a mostly a backup
catcher for 8 different baseball teams over 15 seasons, is an interesting one.
Halfway through his career, he was cut by
the Cincinnati Reds because it was said he was a bad teammate who never made
others better. He eventually became the catcher for the Chicago Cubs helping
them to win a World Series in 2016, and later managing them from 2000-2023.
After the experience of being cut by the
Reds, one of the things he learned was how he could make other people better.
He knew if he could learn how to be a better
teammate, he might have a greater future in the game of baseball.
Following being let go by the Reds, Ross
committed to improving himself. He went to the Atlanta Braves,
opened a whiteboard, and started asking everybody who came through the locker
room doors about the greatest teammate they ever had. He asked them to give him
three words to describe that teammate, and he then proceeded to build a list of
what it meant to be a great teammate. And every day he took the
field, whether he played or not, he checked the boxes while determining to be
the kind of teammate that would make others better. And what he learned was
that one can become invaluable without ever being most valuable.
You can become special in any organization
if you commit to making others on your team better. Using that check list every
day over the next few years, Ross not only became a better teammate, he became
a great teammate and one of the team’s most valuable players.
Other teams now wanted him, not
so much because of his playing ability for he wasn’t the greatest
of players, but because he made the locker room better. He made the
environment better.
After the Cubs won game 7 in the 2016 World
Series against Cleveland, the players carried him off the field on their
shoulders and named him the team's most valuable player. Why? Because he made
other people better.
What was the leadership quality that David
possessed? It was his ability to acknowledge his character blind spot and then
do something about it. He was willing to admit he was a bad teammate and
address it. Instead of saying, It’s the coaches fault or the managers fault or
it’s someone else’s fault, he actually owned his character issue. He
said, “I know what I need to improve; and it’s myself, and I am going to do
something about it.” He took ownership of his blind spot and addressed it, and
in doing so he made a better future for himself.
When was the last time you learned something
for the first time and what was it?
It's hard for a leader at the top of his or
her game to take time to learn those things about themselves they don’t see,
but which are so obvious to others.
The reason that most leaders don’t see their
blind spot(s) is because most leaders don’t like to admit they possess them. We
all have blind spots, and it takes a strong leader to acknowledge them, and
make the necessary changes to address them.
Good leaders are willing to ask others to
help reveal to them their blind spot(s) and then do something to address them
before they lead to one’s downfall. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a
traumatic moment, like losing your job as David did, to realize what needs to
be repaired within.
There are many potential blind spots a
leader may be unable to recognize-ignoring feedback, communication style,
favoritism, micromanaging, neglecting work/life balance, avoiding conflict,
anger issues…and only a secure leader is willing to ask others for ‘blind
spot feedback’ like David did, but sometimes doing so can make the difference
between success and failure.
I close with the wise words of Beth Moore,
who said, “If you and I can’t think of the last time we we’re wrong than we’re
losing our grip on reality.”
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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