“What About the Ground Rule Triple Off the Ladder?”

Many years ago, I took my son on a tour of historic Fenway Park in Boston.  My dad was a HUGE Red Sox fan, and the love for the SAWKS had spread to the next generation.  It was a glorious time, filled with idyllic stories from our guide about Pesky’s Pole, The Red Seat, and, of course, The Green Monster (Fenway’s extraordinary left field wall)!

For the longest time, there was a 23-foot net placed on top of the Green Monster to protect local businesses from the home run bombs soaring over the wall.  And a ladder was permanently installed on the wall so that team employees could climb to the netting to retrieve all those balls.  But in 2003, they renovated Fenway, and installed permanent seats on top of the wall.

As we gazed toward the wall, our guide explained that there was no more use for the ladder, but team officials decided to keep it in place to preserve the mystique of the ballpark.  And then our guide lit up with excitement.

“Does anyone know what else is special about that ladder?”

Everyone shrugged.

“No?  Okay, if a ball hits that ladder on the fly, it is the ONLY ground rule TRIPLE in major league baseball!”

Whoa.  I had heard of ground rule doubles, of course.  But a ground rule TRIPLE?  Incredible!  That is something I would not soon forget.

Fast forward five years, and I was running a sales team out of Boston.  I was admittedly in over my head and desperate to overcome my insecurity and prove I belonged.  For a team bonding exercise, I organized (what else!) a tour of Fenway Park!  As the tour reached its conclusion, I waited patiently for the story behind the ladder.  There was no mention of the ground rule triple and the tour was coming to a conclusion.  The guide asked if there were any last questions before we left.

This was my chance.  An opportunity to prove I knew more than anyone else.  An opportunity to impress my team!

“Did you forget something?”

The guide just gave me a blank stare.  He didn’t think so.

“What about the ground rule triple off the ladder?  I’m happy to tell the story if you don’t know it!”

The guide immediately smiled and shook his head.  Clearly, I scooped him!

“Oh that.  Yeah, we used to randomly work that in to select tours back in the day.  We made it up just to add some mythology to the Green Monster. 

Hmmm.  He continued.  

“We didn’t think anyone would actually believe it.  There is no such thing as a ground rule triple in baseball!”

Doh!

I was so desperate to prove how smart I was, I ended up looking foolish.  And don’t we all have to guard against that in our everyday lives.

It’s Not About Us

Everyone has some level of insecurity in a position, but we can’t let that dictate our actions.  As entrepreneurs, we don’t always have to prove our infallibility.  It is okay to have uncertainty and be vulnerable in front of your employees.  As managers, we don’t always have to be the smartest person in the room.  We just need to listen, and guide and make suggestions based on our experience.  As salespeople, we don’t always need to have all the answers.   Admitting we don’t know and finding the true answer serves our customers better than a wild guess.

The “smartest person in the room” is usually trying too hard to compensate for a perceived shortcoming.  We need to embrace our imperfection.  When we are in a leadership position, we need to leave our ego at the door.  It’s about maximizing the performance of our team and achieving results.  It’s not about proving how much we know.  And the same is true outside the workplace.  In parenting.  In relationships.  In our everyday interactions in society.  We can’t focus on validating our own skills. We have to focus on helping those in our care reach new levels of success!

We Have Nothing to Prove

And in down times, it is even more important not to pretend that we have everything figured out.  We need to admit when we are in over our heads.  We need to accept the help of loved ones.  We need to be transparent with those in our inner circle.  That is the only way we can get better.  That is the only way we can make an impact on our corner of the world.  We must make sure we are okay before we can help others maximize their potential.

We all have unique talents to offer this world.  We belong.  We don’t need to go out of our way to prove our acumen and accomplishments.   We must be honest with ourselves.  And that starts with admitting we don’t always have the right answers.  Resilience only thrives in a genuine environment.  So let’s not waste anyone’s time pontificating about that ground rule triple off the ladder!