“Fans”

Last week, I posted about my neighbor–a fan of Illinois, but a bigger fan of his son.

Unfortunately, I came upon his antithesis recently.

I was watching my nephew’s high school baseball game–a regional final.  In the late innings of a close game, one of my nephew’s teammates had advanced to third base, but made a base running error and was picked off.  It was a big mistake; one that shouldn’t have happened; one that put the team’s chances of winning in jeopardy.

I didn’t see the reactions of his teammates, but his coach threw his hat on the ground in disgust and glared at the player upon his return to the dugout.

Strike one for his confidence, I thought.

Unfortunately, though, it didn’t end there.  His father was pacing the sidelines, cursing aloud and deriding his son’s mistake.  When the boy’s mother tried to intervene, saying, “he’s just a kid; he already feels bad enough,” her husband responded with, “this isn’t little league anymore, and he’s going to feel even worse when I talk to him about it.”

Strike two.

The player came up later in the game and got a crucial hit.  His team won, but it was clear his father hadn’t forgotten the incident.  The good play he made hadn’t made up for the error he committed earlier.

Strike three.

These scene, or one very much like it, plays out altogether too regularly at our parks, in our homes, and in our organizations.  

When I think about the two examples of fans I’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, I certainly know which leader I’d rather play for.  But the leadership question is, “What kind of leader am I?”

Do people want to play for you or not?  How do you know?

~ by stoshdwalsh on June 11, 2009.