“There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens.” ~ Tommy Lasordo

Everything in our world is performance and results driven.  Leadership is no different.  You will find yourself on the outside looking in if you are unable to perform or produce the right results when it comes to your leadership.

How are you performing as a leader?  Are you getting your desired results?

I am a lover of most sports, so I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to check out some of the recent World Series.  It was no coincidence that the Chicago Cubs recently won the World Series.  Before you stop reading if you are not a baseball fan, please understand that this blog isn’t about just baseball or the Chicago Cubs.  I’m not even a Cubs fan.  However, I do find it impressive that they haven’t won a World Series Championship since 1908 and that they are only one of five teams in World Series history that has come back to win a World Series from a 3-1 deficit.

How did they accomplish this remarkable feat?  They did whatever was necessary to win and made it happen.  You may not be playing for a World Series Championship.  But you may be looking for growth, better margins, the right relationships, better productivity, more confidence, promotions, better health, and/or financial freedom.

Are you doing what it takes to win in the areas of your life that needs it the most?

As the leader of your life, you and only you can make it happen.  No one else will hit the home run for you.  So here are a few tips to help you hit a home run with your leadership.

1.    Don’t be afraid to swing and strike out.  Do you know how many times professional baseball players strike out as compared to how many times they get a hit?  Players batting .300 or above over the course of a season are considered to be very good batters, which means these players will strike out seven out of ten times when they step up to the plate.

In other words, you will hear the word no many times in your search for success.  But you cannot be afraid to swing and strike out.  What is it you need to start trying a little harder to achieve?   What life goals have you given up on? I have one word for you — SWING!

2.    Learn from striking out.  All professional athletes have an uncanny ability to fail and learn quickly from their mistakes.  Are you learning from your mistakes?  Your ability to learn from your mistakes is difference in you being a good leader versus a great leader.  Great leaders don’t let a string of the same unsuccessful things happen to them.  They learn from their mistakes and change.

3.    Step up to the plate and swing again.  First, let me state the obvious that you can’t hit a home run if don’t swing.  But many people stop swinging after striking out.  Just remember you only need to hit three of the ten balls thrown your way.  Your confidence is a big key to your success and confidence starts with your attitude.

What is your attitude towards failing?

American Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail”.  All of the greats fail to success.  Author of the worldwide acclaimed Harry Potter J.K. Rowling stated, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default”.  Both of these individuals experienced tremendous adversity, but still were able to hit home runs in their respective careers.

The stories you heard aren’t unique when it comes to those who are successful.  What have you failed at as a leader?  How are you using your failure to catapult you to your next level of success?

No one in this life gets it right every time.  So let me leave you with this thought.  You can be as successful as you want to be as long as you are not afraid to fail, which is why one of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill said, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”.

What would you like to hit a home run with in your life?  Please leave a comment below, send me a tweet on Twitter, or leave a comment on Facebook.

Bryant