Rigor or fun? Both have their advantages in the game of leadership, but which prevails? Which one accomplishes our objective to better others and the worlds that we live in?
“Play ball” is the traditional phrase yelled out by announcers to kick off America’s past time. The problem is that we have done a pretty good job of taking the “play” out of baseball. Baseball has and always will struggle with balance in its rich tradition and its need to adapt to its current and future audiences.
Banana Ball
This past weekend, the Savannah Bananas took on the Party Animals at Truist Park. It was the first time I was exposed to Banana Ball. It’s a non-traditional and entertaining form of baseball that includes dancing, music, characters, and interactive fan fun. Rules include no bunting (because they say bunting sucks), if a fan catches a foul ball it counts as an out, you get total points by winning an inning, you can steal first base, and much more.
Traditional Baseball
I have to admit, I am a baseball purist. For me, minor tweaks and adjustments to the game are appreciated, but nothing too big, too quick. Adapting will help sustain the sport for future generations to enjoy.
Because of its tradition, baseball can be rigorous and at times bland. Executed with good fundamentals, baseball can be a beautiful thing.
General Eric Shinseki says it like this, “If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less.” As popular as traditional baseball is, it is susceptible to irrelevance without change that leads to a little fun.
Training Our Brains
One of the hardest parts of following Banana Ball was that the music constantly plays. Good music too! It wasn’t a necessarily a bad thing, it was just a matter of training my brain to see things differently.
In traditional baseball, when the ball is in play, the music cuts off. I’m wired to think that when the music is playing, the game is in between innings or there is a pause in the action.
In leadership, we have to train our brains to consider to see things differently. We can get in the rut of rigor and struggle to see the fun in things. In the midst of busyness, fun can take a backseat to survival.
Balancing Rules
Banana Ball has several different rules from traditional baseball. In the traditional form of the game, the team at bat needs to be in the dugout, behind the barriers. In Banana Ball, the players are outside of the dugout entertaining the crowd. At times, completely oblivious to the ball in play.
To a purest like myself, it brought me great concern. There was a minor league baseball coach struck and killed in the early 2000’s. The result, a new rule that all base coaches have to wear helmets.
Leadership requires balancing rules. Rules are rigorous, but usually have a purpose. Generally, if there is a rule, there is a reason, especially when it comes to workplace safety. Fun often comes into conflict with rules.
Rules can also place the people we lead and our organization’s aspirational goals into a box, limiting the possibilities. There should always be tension with leaders between rigor and fun.
Defining Fun
Banana Ball is fun. Coming from someone who has been around the traditional version all my life, we have done a good job of taking the fun out of the sport. I am not casting blame, I am part of the problem.
If I would have seen a player of mine fielding a ball between their legs, flipping a ball behind their back or attempting a back flip on the field, sadly I would have reprimanded them. In Banana Ball, it’s all highly encouraged! And you know what? They make very few errors free from the fear of rigor.
If you want to be successful at the traditional form of the game, it requires solid Fundamentals. Doing things over and over again to achieve quality execution. The end result is sustainable success, but not always fun.
Sometimes resisting fun IS the fun! Even players in the traditional game find ways to have fun within the rules. Bat flips, loud accessories, cool walkout songs, and bantering with other players put some fun back into a bland game.
I have always found it interesting when I conduct a Culture Checkups and people use the word “fun.” Fun can mean anything from being comfortable enough to laugh with each other to being overly silly and off task. It’s important to recognize and define what fun looks like in a culture of leadership. It too requires great balance.
Resist the Critics
The Owner/Inventor of Banana Ball is Jesse Cole, known for his yellow tuxedo and top hat. At some point or another, I am quite certain people thought he was crazy. I would imagine that most critics told him it couldn’t be done…baseball could not be fun.
Traditional baseball is full of critics, just hang out on social media for any period of time. As rigorous as traditional baseball can be, their leadership has pushed forward with changes to the game. Utilization of pitch clocks to speed up the game, restricting the number of times a pitcher can try to pick off a runner, and replay challenges. All part of the game’s efforts to be sustainable. Each initiative met with criticism.
The further we go in leadership, the more Haters we attract. When we want to push forward, You Can Count on Critics to attempt to pull us back. Dale Carnegie said, “any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain…and most do.” So true.
Rigorous resisting of critics can lead to innovative change.
Conclusion
Back to the original question…rigor or fun? The way we are wired for the workplace significantly impacts the answer.
The truth is, there isn’t a perfect answer. It’s a tension that we must wrestle with daily.
The best solution…put up guardrails. Give the people we lead some room to drift off the paved surface, yet keeping them from driving off a catastrophic a cliff. The placement of those guardrails defines our cultures. Cultures are made up of the behaviors that we tolerate.
Too much fun and no rigor can make for an undisciplined culture. Too much rigor and not enough fun can make for a suffocating culture. Finding acceptable tolerances in the balance of rigor and fun is one of the greatest leadership challenges we face.