3 Things We Can Learn from Little League

My 10 year old son is playing Pony League baseball right now. It’s the fifth season in a row that I have coached his team. Having watched a ton of games, I’ve picked up on three lessons that translate from the field to our places of work.

1) Have fun.
The last thing I tell the kids before every game is to ‘have fun.’ Baseball is supposed to be fun, especially at this age. The kids that are having fun usually perform the best on the field. I don’t mean everyday at the office should be a party, but an atmosphere that encourages smiling and laughter often generates good results.

2) Use two hands.
We teach the kids that two hands are better than one when it comes to catching a fly ball or pop up. At work, we are prone to taking the easy way out sometimes. But to get the best results, you should use all of the resources at your disposal.

3) Don’t be afraid to sacrifice for the good of the team.
Kids have a hard time with this one. We tell them making an out that brings home a run or moves up a baserunner is a good thing. In the real world, we may have to do something we don’t like to create a better result for whole organization.

                                                                                                                                                              

I’ll bet you can think of a few more. It’s a long season, so keep the conversation going by adding what you’ve picked up on that can benefit all of us.