Fail Forward with the ‘Needs Work’ Process
It’s that time of the year when the weather starts to turn and the fate of the biggest prize in baseball is being decided, the World Series. Two great teams are currently facing off for the right to call themselves champions. Regardless of the outcome, it’s a triumph for two different teams that made it to the end in very different ways.
The Houston Astros have been a powerhouse for the last half decade, and punched their ticket to the World Series after posting the best record in the American League and sweeping both the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees on their way to the final.
It’s the Philadelphia Phillies story that I think is worth a deeper dive. Unlike the Astros, they came into the playoffs as the *last* team in from the National League, and battled past the 2021 champion Atlanta Braves. What’s even more amazing is that after a poor start to the season, the Phillies made a coaching change in June and promoted Rob Thomson as manager to manage his first team *at any level* at the age of 59. How about that?!
When I think about the story of the Philadelphia Phillies this year, it reminds me of the Major League Mindset concept of Embracing Adversity and Failing Forward. Don’t get me wrong, I know the Astros dealt with their fair share of adversity like all teams do, such as losing Michael Brantley to injury, but from the outside it’s safe to assume that the Phillies had to deal with a little bit more.
For the most part with MLM we talk about concepts and ideas to help you improve yourself as an individual both ON and OFF the field. When it comes to on the field, becoming a better and more reliable player is one of the best ways that you can help not only yourself be successful, but also have the makeup to make your team better as well.
Great teams are generally greater than the sum of their parts. It takes an entire *team* of dedicated and talented players, coaches, and all the support staff to build a championship team. Those that have overcome adversity and battled to reach the top are stronger as a result of their struggles.
Even if you’ve done the work and put in the time to build up a Major League Mindset, you’ll probably know that even the most positive and attuned of us can get discouraged at times when our team isn’t doing great. At this point, one of two things can happen on a team (and you’ve probably seen it yourself at some point):
- Either the team rallies around each other and finds a way to deal with the adversity head on. Collectively and individually each player doubles down and continues to battle OR…
- Individual players begin to quit on the team and the atmosphere and performance start to drop even further.
When it comes to failing forward, the 'Needs Work' process is great for alchemizing tough times into fuel for growth, both individually and as a team. Below is an example of how I saw the Phillies put the ‘Needs Work’ 7-step process put into action (check out the infographic below as well):
Step 1 - I’ll do something great: The Phillies surely came into the season with lofty goals
Step 2 - Sometimes things don’t go as planned: Their performance during the first two months of the season was subpar and they ended up firing the manager
Step 3 - Be aware that Step 2 happened: This really was the fork in the road for the team, but at that time they decided to accept what happened
Step 4 - Celebrate the opportunity to get better: They then vowed to rally around the manager and turn the season around
Step 5 - Picture mistakes and see a different outcome: Individually and collectively the team
began to play better baseball by reducing mistakes
Step 6 - Replay the success in your mind: They realized that there still was plenty of time left to turn the season around and that they had the talent needed to do so
Step 7 - Exhibit successful behavior: Because of this, they began to play increasingly loose and confident together, and show a true belief in themselves
Just like your individual play, there are critical moments within a season where the team can go in one direction or the other. It’s how you respond to adversity that determines your short and long term success. While the tools provided by the Major League Mindset program are meant to help you improve your individual performance, it’s always in the context of how you can improve *within the team*.
Trust me, it’s way more fun to play for a team that BELIEVES in themselves. By applying the MLM concept of Embracing Adversity and Failing Forward, you can be the player and leader who helps your team rally and achieve whatever goals you all set, ON and OFF the field.
