If you do it long enough, spotting a leader can become easy. These individuals make things happen and already have people they influence. But developing a leader into someone can mobilize people and resources to advance an organization’s mission and vision is another story.
For that matter, developing anyone in your organization so they can be successful is very hard work.
One organization which has done an incredible job of helping their people succeed is the Tampa Bay Rays. In particular, pitching coach Kyle Snyder stands out. The Rays have had a top-six in the league staff Earned Run Average since his arrival in 2018.
In this article from The Athletic, writer Chad Jennings explored why. Whether you lead a church, business, non-profit, or athletic organization, his findings have significant meaning for anyone helping others succeed.
3 Things You Must Do as a Leader to Help the People in Your Organization Succeed
The following are three things you must do to help the people in your organization succeed:
Play to People’s Strengths
Working on weaknesses is not only over-rated, it is counter-productive. Rather, smart leaders put people into positions to succeed by playing to their strengths.
Twice a week during the regular season, Snyder and his staff put together highlight reels for each of the team’s pitchers. Every player’s best pitches from the previous series are shown. Snyder said, “Our belief system is if you (execute that pitch) over and over again, the success will follow.”
What everyone reading this article should learn from this practice is to identify what you and the members of your team do well, and do it over and over and over again. Success will follow.
Give Positive and Encouraging Feedback
Obviously, you can see why the Rays’ pitchers would enjoy these film sessions. Think about it, how would you feel if your supervisor or reporting manager brought you in twice a month to show you a highlight reel of your best work and celebrate your accomplishments. How refreshing would that be??!!
Pitcher Jake Diekman said, “Every pitching coach can break down mechanics and know the same things. But the verbiage might be different. Some of it has to do with that … (But) everything is super positive here. The first or second outing, I gave up runs; (if) I threw 18 pitches, they were like ‘Well 15 of them were amazing. So don’t worry about the three. Still focus on throwing it over the plate, and that’s it.’”
The next time you meet with your direct reports, try celebrating the 15 amazing things they did well and minimize the three other items which did not succeed. Once again, how refreshing would that be??!!
Start Fast
You never have to recover from a good start. Therefore, one of the most important thing you can do to help people succeed is ensure they start well.
Snyder wants every pitcher’s first throw to be a strike. This is because a first-pitch strike results in a quality result 95% of the time. This could be a strike, foul ball, ground out or fly out.
Major league hitters also have a .266 on-base percentage when falling behind 0-1 in the count. On the other hand, the same hitters have a .380 on-base percentage when leading the count 1-0. This one pitch can be the difference between an average player and someone who is destined for the Hall of Fame.
BTW – what about the 5% of first pitches where the pitcher did not have a positive result? The Rays feel this is just the cost of doing business.
Conclusion
Every leader should want their people to succeed. To do so, play to their strengths, give encouraging and positive feedback, and help them start fast. By doing these three things, the people in your organization will likely have success.
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