Are you Leading like the Ball Crew?

As I have been watching the US Open I am always fascinated by the ball crew. They are such an important part of the tournaments, but their role is to serve the actual players. It made me pose the question, "Should we be leading our teams like the ball crew?"

I want to offer 4 aspect of a leadership role that you should be leading like the ball crew.

#1. Communication during 1 on 1 meetings or team meetings - Too often as leaders we want to show our worth & remind our team of our credibility. This tends to make us feel an urge to jump in and make suggestions after our team has asked a question or commented. This would be like a ball crew person jumping onto the court before the rally was completed. If we want our team to develop their strategic communication skills we must give them opportunities to communicate instead of jumping before they have had the opportunity to finish the rally. We can learn so much more about their intent, execution, and learning style by listening. Remain present in the conversation & be available to pick the ball up and get the match (dialogue) started back up when needed.

#2 Celebrating Performance - The ball crew is an unsung hero of the match, they are making the match seamless. They are always taking obstacles & distractions out for the high performers, the players. How often do leaders try to step into the spotlight with the top performers instead of celebrating their performance by eliminating distractions. Imagine a ball crew person after Nadal served an ace on a serve saying, "I gave them that ball, that was mine." Leaders need to have confidence when their people are performing at a high level by celebrating their performance & being a catalyst for them to continue to perform.

#3 Continual Improvement - The training regime of the ball crew is tough, they have these small bursts of speed over a 2-3 hour match. They have a clear focus in their training of how they need to improve & they also recognize that as their position changes they will need to rely upon different skills. Leaders could become complacent in their position not preparing themselves for the next position. They could be focused on too many skills that they fail to focus on the skill that is needed most for the current position. Side Note: The dedication to the craft & a love for tennis is why the boys and girls become a part of the ball crew. As a leader you are setting an example for your team of what it will take to lead. If you want to earn respect, Talk is cheap but Action is valuable.

#4 Humility - Our culture doesn't reward the humble leader. We are more fascinated by the leader who owns the yacht, stock price increases, or big headlines. I believe that this has shifted leaders to wanting to prove that they are the expert, guru, trainer, or original. Imagine if we saw a ball crew boy doing backflips off the court after grabbing the ball or a ball crew girl holding a stop watch & posting her times after the match. They understand their role and their reward is by how well the match moves along.

BONUS: If leaders were more dedicated to developing their people into better storytellers, instead of feeling the need to tell them, "Just do it this way" or telling LinkedIn, "On our team I showed them that this was the way" or telling a story to your boss that, "I showed (insert high performer name) how to execute on that." Every organization is searching for storytellers at all levels, but if the leaders are dictating the story, then why would your people ever want to share an authentic story about the company or the problem your product or service solves.

LEAD MORE LIKE A BALL BOY OR BALL GIRL. GET IN THEN GET OUT. HELP YOUR TOP PERFORMERS AVOID OBSTACLES & ENCOURAGE THEM TO WIN.