It’s often been said that leaders are simply those who go first. I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of that at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown over the weekend. For example, when baseball was invented no one wore a glove to catch the ball. It was considered “unmanly” to even consider wearing something on one’s hands when catching the ball. Over time someone decided to where fingerless gloves to pad the palms of both hands, while not limiting the dexterity required to throw the ball after it was caught. This was the first of many leadership innovations regarding the equipment used to play the game. As we know, gloves have evolved a great deal since those days when it was unmanly to wear any kind of glove. Now, we have catchers mitts, and first baseman’s gloves, as well as individualized gloves for infielders and outfielders.
Each of those innovations required someone to go first. That player was undoubtedly laughed at and ridiculed for being soft, or for cheating, or for any number of infractions of the purity or intention of the game. Yet, as with all lasting leadership innovations, over time people came to recognize that different wasn’t wrong, or ridiculous, but in the particular case in question it was better. Imagine the first catcher who put on a chest protector, or the first outfielder who put cleats or spikes in his shoes to get better traction. You can hear the shouts of “Cheater!” or “Look at that idiot!” And yet, eventually all baseball players were wearing cleats and every catcher wears a chest protector.
Whatever your field of leadership, you will find yourself in the position of needing to go first at times. It will take courage. It may take innovation. Sometimes you will be ridiculed for jumping on the bandwagon with others who are using an innovation that few have yet adopted. Relatively few leaders are true innovators, but nearly every leader has been an “early adopter” at times. That means we have seen an innovation for what it is: an improvement to an old process, system, or tool of our trade. When personal computers came out in the early 1980’s, I saw at once that such a tool could revolutionize the way I prepared papers or sermons or anything I wrote. That’s no different than a baseball player recognizing that a webbed glove would do a better job of catching a baseball than a fingerless glove that covered just the palm, or a five fingered glove that provided protection for the fingers, but no good place for the ball to rest.
Thirty-seven years ago, I needed a new softball glove. I had switched from baseball to modified pitch softball, and my old glove was worn and it’s web was designed for the smaller baseball, rather than the much larger softball. I went to a sporting goods store and discovered that a new glove was on display. It was a softball glove and it had a “super monster” web designed specifically for use with softballs. The glove was fully one-third larger than my old glove. The price tag on the glove was $50, which was a high price to pay for any kind of glove in 1979. My brother Tom was with me and he knew the owner. He told the man I had just been married and I didn’t have that much money. Then he said, “Why don’t you sell it to him for $25?”
The guy responded, “That wouldn’t even cover my cost. I’d have to get at least $35.”
I said, “I’ll take it.” I had been a better than average center fielder before wearing that glove. Now, I could get to balls a few inches farther away than before, and with that “bushel basket” far more of them stayed in my glove than ever before. As you would expect, some of my teammates laughed at me when they saw the size of the glove. They told me I was cheating. The interesting thing is within the next season or two everyone was wearing gloves like that. I led the way on our team, because I’ve always been an early adopter. I don’t think I’ve ever had more than a couple original ideas, but I’ve been willing to step out and go “first” when it comes to adopting new equipment, ideas, and strategies when I could see they were an improvement. (I took good care of that glove, and used it for 34 years, before “retiring” from playing a few years ago. I still have the glove, and could use it if I came out of retirement. While this is a post for another day, it showed me that sometimes it’s better to pay more up front for a better product that will last, than to buy the “bargain,” and end up replacing it regularly.)
So where do you need to go first today? Is it in buying a household item, or tool for your work? Is it in implementing a new idea that you’ve been reading about for a while that seems to be helping others in your field excel in their efforts? Remember, sometimes you’ll go first and find out that you were wrong. That’s the topic of tomorrow’s post. What do you do then? (Spoiler alert: Be the first one to recognize you made a mistake and abandon the new way until you find a better one.) Whatever it is that you need to do differently in order to demonstrate your leadership, remember that baseball was once played without gloves. Thankfully, someone decided to go first and change that!
Here’s to leading better by going first–today!