Leadership Lessons from Game 7 of the 2016 World Series

After seeing the Cubs lose year after year and decade after decade since I was a kid, watching the Cubs in the World Series this year was a once in a lifetime experience. Hopefully it’s a first in a lifetime experience. While I had another article ready this week, Game 7 of the World Series inspired me to write this post to share some leadership lessons observed this week.

Though the Cubs were strong all year, they looked a little shaky in the playoffs. They looked like they were going to lose it in the World Series when they were down 3 games to 1, being one game away form losing it all. Game 7 was the most exciting baseball game I’ve seen in my life.

Game 7 of the World Series seemed to be a microcosm of life as a Cubs fan. The game had our hopes up high early with a 5-1 lead, which was followed by lost hope late in the game when the Indians tied the game in the bottom of the 8th. Most of the Cubs’ baseball seasons start of with winning games, which gives us high hope. The Cubs tend to do worse after the All-Star break and usually end up struggling to maintain a .500 record (50%) wins.

Then Game 7 ended with a pleasant surprise. After the 9^th inning, the game was interrupted by a short rain delay. The delay seemed to last forever and played havoc on our nerves. All kinds of doubt entered my mind. Once the game resumed, the Cubs scored two runs in the top of the 10^th inning. If the Cubs could keep the Indians from scoring they would break the 108-year streak of not having won a World Series and finally put the curse of the Billy Goat to rest.

The Cubs got the first two batters out and I was at the edge of my seat. The Indians got a man on base which was followed by a double and scored a run. My heart sank at that point. The Cubs had allowed many runs in the series with two outs. As fate would have it, this story would have a different ending as the Cubs got the final out to win the World Series. Finally!

There are a few leadership lessons that we can pull from this game:

3 Lessons in Leadership

• Never give up. The Indians had momentum on their side going into extra innings as they had scored the last 3 runs late in the game. The Cubs could have let the narrative of “being losers” play out, but instead they kept the fight going.

• Find value in all members of your team. Despite playing well in the outfield, Jason Heyward had a terrible batting average in the playoffs. During the World Series I wondered why the Cubs kept him on the starting roster. During Game 7, a friend and I texted each other that Heyward “needed to step up.” Heyward stepped up in a way that no one knew about until after the game. He impacted the team off the field in a way that was greater than any contribution possible on the field. During the rain delay, the team’s spirits were low. The Cubs’ pitcher, A Chapman, was in tears. Heyward pulled the team together in the weight room for a talk that not only unified the team, but also motivated them to give 100% and have fun.  Heyward is quoted as telling the team, “We play like the score is nothing-nothing[1]. We’ve got to stay positive and fight for your brothers. Stick together and we’re going to win this game.”  Each Cubs player interviewed after the game attributed Jason Heyward’s demonstration of leadership and inspirational talk as a key factor in winning Game 7.

• Develop your team. Theo Epstein, the Cubs’ President of Operations, signed on with Chicago in 2011. One of his first priorities was to create a player development program called the “Cubs Way.”[2] This program was critical to Epstein’s rebuilding of the team over the last five years and contributed to the team becoming World Series champions.

Conclusion

The Cubs won the World Series with arguably their best season in team history. They won not only because they have talented individuals, but also because they invested in their players. They didn’t quit and pulled together when the chips were down. When you combine these critical pieces, you have a recipe to winning, which can overcome a 108-year drought and even the curse of the goat.

For further reading see Michael Hyatt’s post. Funny enough, he published an article on this topic while I was writing this one, however his insights take a different approach.

Question: What leadership lessons have you observed in this year’s World Series? Leave a comment below.

[1] Verducci, Tom. “Reign Men: The storm, the speech and the inside story of the Cubs’ Game 7 triumph.” Sports Illustrated. 3 November 2016.

[2] Gregory, Sean. “How the Chicago Cubs Made World Series History.” Time. 3 November 2016.