Leadership Lessons from the World Series

Have you ever had to coach yourself through a stressful moment and conquer the doubts and fears attacking your mind? Believing in yourself is always important, so let’s pause, reflect, and do some self-coaching on this point.

2021 World Series Revisited

The recent Baseball World Series gave us a couple of good examples of how important it is to believe in yourself. At the All-Star Break last summer, the Atlanta Braves’ win-loss record was 44-44. It was a team not likely to make it to the National League playoffs, let alone the World Series. But they did not quit, they bounced back, and from watching those six games in the series, it was clear they believed in themselves and each other.

Game 6 of the 2021 World Series was crucial. The Braves had won three games in the best of seven series. If they win, they are world champs for the first time in 26 years.

Here's my coaching clip on this important topic of leadership doubts and fears. Please watch and then continue reading below:

Max Fried’s Self-Coaching Story

In Game 6 Max Fried is chosen to pitch for the braves. In Game 2 of the Series, he didn’t do well and was the losing pitcher, so clearly his manager believed in him. But he got off to a bad start. In the first inning he makes an error and gets his ankle crushed by the runner when Max was covering first base on a ground ball. What a way to start the game. It had to be devastating, yet Max gathered himself, believed in himself and pitched a fantastic game, giving up no runs and only four hits in the six innings he pitched. It was a stellar performance and with that win, the Braves became the World Champions.

After the game Max Fried shared the wisdom that we all need to remember: “I just told myself that I was going to go out there and be 100 percent me and just try to pitch and win a ballgame.”

Now let’s take a different perspective–from the batter’s box.

Dansby Swanson’s Self-Coaching Story

Baseball is an unusual sport. The batter is battling nine opponents and one of them is throwing pitches between 90-100 miles an hour. (Can you imagine 9 on 1 in another sport?) His challenge is to hit the ball to a location where his opponents can’t get it.

Braves shortstop, Dansby Swanson, is standing at the plate of the World Series with 14 million people watching, with two strikes, knowing if he misses, he’s out. One can imagine the stress he was facing. He had struck out before in the World Series and in the previous game he had made an error that opened the door for the Astros to win.

But Dansby shows us how to bounce back from mistakes. In the second inning, he made a spectacular bare-handed scoop of a ground ball to throw out the runner. Now batting in the fifth inning, here comes the ball at 95 miles an hour; the decision to swing or not to swing is a decision that must be made in a tenth of a second. With all that weight on his shoulders, Dansby hits the next pitch over the fence for a two-run home run—giving the Braves an extra cushion for the win.

The Battlefield of the Mind

I share these two examples because I want us all to remember these scenarios of very experienced professionals facing challenging, crucial situations. Yet by believing in themselves, they came through to achieve success. Batters (and pitchers) go into unavoidable slumps, and even emotionally healthy people battle self-doubt, fears, shame, and times of low self-worth.

Yes, we all struggle with some layer of self-doubt and encounter these battles, so let’s examine some healthy ways to break free and hit that home run.

Here are four practical steps that will get you to move in the right direction, literally and figuratively:

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1.Remember that doubts and fears are normal. Managed wisely, they help keep us on our toes; a little doubt can keep us humble. But if they take over, they will undermine our success. When you feel them start to have a negative impact that is truly undermining your confidence, push back and reflect on your true self.

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2. Believe in Yourself. You are a capable person with strong values. You have fought battles before to keep your commitments, to own your responsibilities, to stand for what you believe in and to do the right thing. Talk to yourself and listen.

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"Whether you believe you can, or you can’t, you are probably right." - Henry Ford [Tweet This]

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3. Reflect on how you will respond in a wise and healthy way. Gather yourself and clarify what is the right, honorable, and appropriate response for the situation. If you think your emotions might push you toward unhealthy responses, seek counsel from a wise mentor, friend, or teammate. This reflection step is critical so that you can respond as a secure, healthy person, even though the situation may be a scary one.

I always like to remember the wisdom shared by Shakespeare in Polonius’ farewell speech to his son Laertes as he was about to sail off to Paris.[1]

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!

4. Respond. Go do it, but make sure it’s done with confidence and a positive attitude that is respectful of others. Your response may be a yes for one person—that makes them happy, or a no for another person—that makes them unhappy. That’s okay. You have evaluated your response and made a choice that is based on love and respect for yourself and others.

When self-doubt creeps in, remember, the advice above: To thine oneself be true and go out there and be 100 percent you. You can do it.

LE [Tweet This Article]

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[1] Farewell speech by Polonius to his son Laertes as he was departing for France. Hamlet?Act 1, Scene 3

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