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The Countless Leadership Lessons From These 8 Questions I Asked A Professional Baseball Scout

on October 26, 2020 in Sports Leadership

Recently, I had the privilege of having breakfast with Kevin Burrell, a professional baseball scout for the Chicago White Sox.  I was excited about this time together for several reasons.  First, I was fascinated about how a professional scout would identify and development talent.  Was there a different way I could view leadership (identification, development, etc…) or great cultures than I had previously?  I wanted to get smarter and wiser.  I wanted to get better.

But more important, Kevin is a Godly man who is deeply devoted to the subject of discipleship (see the tweet above).  To prepare for our time together, I did the following:

  1. I wanted to have a healthy balance between questions about his spiritual walk and his baseball experiences.  You don’t want to spend time with someone who is passionate about Jesus and their family by asking countless questions about baseball.
  2. I had 12 questions prepared in advance to ask.  There would obviously be unscripted follow-up questions as well.  If you ever hear me utter the phrase “That is fascinating”, then you know at least three additional questions are coming.  Just to let you know, we ran out of time and I did not get to all 12 questions.
  3. You never want to show up for your time with a leader without being prepared to ask questions and take notes.  Always have a pen and notepad with you.  This show respect and value to the person.
  4. I was buying breakfast.  Non-negotiable.
  5. Have fun.

Bottom line – when looking at my five objectives, Mission Accomplished.  It was an amazing time and I learned more than I can write down.  But let’s give it a try.

The following are The Countless Leadership Lessons From These 8 Questions I Asked Professional Baseball Scout Kevin Burrell:

How did you handle it when you were told your career was over?

I asked Kevin this question because of so much marketplace uncertainty caused by COVID.  Because of injuries Kevin knew his career was coming to a close.  He wanted to be a professional scout and then attended Scouts School put on by Major League Baseball.  After graduating third in his class, he appeared on a list with other top finishers in Baseball America.  He was then contacted by a major team and the next phase of his career began.  The lessons I learned from his answer were the following:

  • Be realistic about transitions in your life and prepare for them.
  • Be a continual learner and work to improve yourself.
  • Continual learning prepares you for the next phase of your life.
  • You never know who is watching.  Someone is always watching and paying attention to what you are accomplishing.
  • Talent is always in demand.

How do you identify leadership qualities in a prospect?

Smart organizations are always looking for leaders but how do you find them when players are standing alone 300 feet from home plate?  Kevin talked about watching them in the dugout and off the field.  Who does he talk to?  How does he talk to them?  Is he an off-the-field leader?  Is he passive or not?

It was then Kevin dropped his biggest piece of leadership gold.  He said, “In order to get this information, you have to be at the game.”  I learned the best way to identify leaders is to enter their world and watch them in action.  It’s very difficult to find great leaders from the corner office.

What makes a great manager?

Kevin advised me the coaches do the prep work with the players.  The great managers are experts at managing personalities.  It’s all about people.

How do high-performance individuals think?

I asked Kevin this question because my experience teaches me that the difference successful and unsuccessful people is how they think.   Kevin pointed out the following thinking skills of baseball’s top performers:

  • Don’t assume anything
  • Positive attitude
  • Create action
  • Attention to detail
  • Setbacks don’t affect them negatively

What is the future of scouting and how are you adjusting?

Kevin mentioned many changes but then added, “You can’t measure the human element.”

How do you develop relationships with high school and college coaches?

Of all of Kevin’s answers I found this the most interesting.  I assumed high school and college coaches would be honored to have pro scouts around their program and roll out the red carper for them.  While that may be the case, it is the scout’s approach that is essential to identifying and securing top talent.

Kevin said, “You have to serve them to earn trust.”  He often takes bats or a dozen baseballs and gives them to the coach.  Kevin said, “Trust builds equity.”  He seeks to serve the coaches by asking, “How can I make your program better?”

Here is the leadership gold I gleaned from Kevin on this topic:

  • Kevin is a pro scout.  The coaches operate in an amateur environment.  Yet, Kevin humbles himself and takes on the role of a servant to spotlight their athletes and make their programs better.  Incredible!!!
  • Serving others builds trust… and then influence.
  • He adds value by providing items (bats and balls) that the coaches would find valuable.  It’s all about them.
  • Kevin’s primary goal is making their program’s better.  His success is found in their success.

How do great teams create a winning culture?

Kevin said, “The clubhouse culture is set by the manager and then filtered through the coaches.”  He then added there is then no fraying by the players.  He concluded by noting that for a winning culture to take place the manager and coaches must care about the players.  It’s about their success.

Follow-up question – How do great, de-centralized organizations create a winning culture?

I asked this question because I wondered about the difficulties of creating culture when an organization is spread out with a corporate office, major league squad, multiple minor league locations, and with both domestic and international scouts.  Kevin said there were four levels – owner, team, player development, and the scouting.  But culture starts with the owner.

Conclusion – The Importance Of Relationships

The main thing I took from my breakfast with Kevin was the importance of relationships.  While being highly competent, passionate, and skilled, the main thing I took from him was his superlative relational skills and its importance to leadership.

The following were relationships I noticed Kevin was actively maintaining and cultivating:

  1. His relationship with Christ.  Kevin is a minister disguised as a baseball scout.  He loves Jesus and it shows in every area of his life.
  2. His relationship with his family.  Kevin has a wonderful marriage of 27 years with his wife Valerie.
  3. His relationship with his pastor and church staff.  Kevin and I have mutual friends at his church and discussed the value they bring to others.
  4. His relationship with coaches and players.  Kevin pointed out area scouting is about relationships.  Cross-checkers are about comparative analysis.
  5. His relationship with other scouts.  Along with Mike Linch, pastor of NorthStar Church, Kevin helps lead a weekly virtual Bible scout for approximately 60 baseball scouts and coaches.  These are the most humble, nicest men I connect with on a regular basis.  There is no ego, just a group of men wanting to be Godly husbands, fathers, and employees and seeing the best in each other. If you are a baseball scout or coach and looking for Christian community, I cannot recommend this group enough.  Reach out to Kevin here or Mike here and they will tell you how to join this incredible community of Christ-followers.

I learned countless leadership lessons from Kevin.  What is one lesson you learned from our conversation which will make you a better leader?

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