Managing people is “Like Coaching Baseball!”

By Al Schickel, Manager Ogden Office

Managing Tips – You can manage your staff similar to a coach managing his ball club.

Managing Tips –  there are so many different answers.  Players on a baseball team are motivated by success, so are your employees.  When a ball player has a successful at bat, makes a great defensive play, or strikes out that tuff batter, an adrenalin rush of confidence flows through his mind.  “I was successful!!”  Now he is motivated to try again and even attempt to try harder.  That can be said for your employees.  You lead them through a task and they become successful with that task, they are motivated to try another and give you their best efforts.

Managing Tips – Yes we have a Game Today!!  Insert “Work” for “a Game” ?

The enjoyment, the wanting to come to work every day, depends on the environment that you and your supervisory team offer.  Players respond to the attitude of the coach, team captains, other players, and fans.  Keep your employment team excited to do their jobs.  Smile with your workers, make them laugh, and help them understand you are on their side.  When they have the confidence, the trust in you as a leader they will do about anything for their coach.

Managing Tips –  Respect or Disrespect?  Respect from my players is not going to happen automatically.  Managing People is “Like Coaching Baseball.  Respect for the game, their home field, their parents, and of themselves is mandatory and expected.  I will tell them, where I come from and my experience of the game. This helps them understand that my knowledge and know how is based on my playing time, coaching ability, and love of the game.    This relates to your company as well.  You cannot expect automatic respect.  You have to let the employees know that you care about them; expect them to respect the company, equipment, processes and their safety.   Let them know where you come from, how you got where you are today, and always let them know what is required of your job as well as their job.   You can even ask them, what they expect out of you as a boss.  Respect will surprisingly come quickly when they believe, you do what you say and follow through with them.

I instruct players that everyone is going to make errors.  The true test it is how you overcome those mistakes.  Physical mistakes are going to happen in the game and that is fine.  It is how they adjust or demand better of themselves; this will be their true success or failure.  Yelling, berating, and downright being mean will not make them work harder.  Initially it may, and then they’ll get tired of hearing you rant and rave about mistakes, give up on pleasing, and not want to be around you.  Managing Tips –  Take the player off to the side, talk to them about what happened and ask them what they can do better to prevent this from happening again.  This is not saying that you do not want them to know you are frustrated, confused, or even upset.  The one feeling that a player doesn’t want, is that sense of disappointing the team, coaches, or even their parents.

Mental errors are another story.  When an employee doesn’t use safety equipment or takes short cuts to try and save time.  This puts everyone in harm’s way.  Workers need to know each and every day’s success is not based on numbers, but first and foremost, that each and every one goes home safely to their loved ones, and then we worry about the final reports.   Baseball mental errors can cost you the win.  No one wants to be that guy!   Catching a fly ball in the outfield for the 2^nd out and you were thinking it was the 3^rd out.  Then you mistakenly throw the ball to the crowd allowing 2 runs to score and you lose 2 to 1.  Ouch!   This is where the true Coaching or Managing comes into play.  The coach has to teach the players to keep their mind in the game, know the situation, and by all means know what you are going to do when you get the ball.

Help coach your team to success, which leads to the motivation to perform, which you will gain the respect, the worker/player to want to go all out for you, and especially make you and your employees wanting to be at the game.

PLAY BALL!!!