May 20, 2013

Define Your Own Success by Jerry Murray

On the first day of practice, we set the following goals for our little league baseball season:

• Team and parents will work together to encourage one another – in essence to build a healthy community.
• Players will improve incrementally each time we are together.
• No one will get hit by a bat.

The coaches’ belief was that regardless of initial athleticism and skill set, the greatest likelihood of success for our players and team will come from feeling that we are rooting for each other, and from improving our skills bit by bit as the season progresses.  All that, plus not getting knocked out by an errant practice swing.

Two thirds of the way through the season, I think it’s fair to say that we’re tracking towards a successful season according to each of our goals.  The problem is….you may see where this is going….our record doesn’t yet reflect a successful season.

Love it or hate it, society measures baseball success in terms of wins and losses.  By that measure, we have failed more than succeeded.  It’s tempting for me to measure success by using someone else’s standards.  Whenever I do though, it gets messy in a hurry.  I go from coach and encourager to boss and discourager.  I lose my patience and I forget my passion.  I move from positive and motivated to: When is this season going to end?  Thankfully, our coaches are good at reminding one another of our goals.

Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing an inspired player truly turn his season around.  The change in his demeanor and on-field results were hard to believe – all as a result of coaches living out our first goal.  It was a clear reminder to stay focused on OUR goals.  They are OUR goals for a reason.  We believe that these goals best define success for OUR team.

So…I have to ask: How have you defined success for your life and the life of your organization?  Be honest. What does success look like?  What behaviors lead to that “success”?  Be clear for your own good and the good of the people who count on you.  Work hard not to fall into the temptation to take on someone else’s definition of success as your own.  It will get messy for you and for others if you do.

I smile as I consider how our team is improving over the course of the season.  As our players and baseball families live up to the goals that we’ve set, we celebrate them.  When we do, the team is motivated to work even harder.  After losing 4 out of 5 to start the season, we’ve won the last 3 games.  I’d like to think that OUR team’s measures of success are starting to impact the scoreboard as well.