Have you ever just lost your team? Been on a completely different page? I mean gone! Out of here. On another planet. They are not with you…not even a little bit. And it seems the harder you try to get them back on the same page with you, the further away they get. Well, we had one of those nights this week at t-ball or what I affectionately call my “Leadership Incubator.”

If I was an experienced coach I guess I would have seen the tell tale signs prior to the game. But I am not and I did not. The kids were struggling with everything. Ground balls, sitting on the bench, throwing, sitting on the bench, hitting, sitting on the bench and sitting on the bench. You wonder why I emphasize sitting on the bench? Well, all they have to do is sit on the large piece of tape with their name written on it in four inch letters. It should have been the easiest thing they did all night.

As the game began things didn’t go much better. Even our stronger players were somewhere else. It was like their bodies were there, but their minds were elsewhere. I wish I could tell you that between all four coaches we were able to get their attention and get them into the game. We couldn’t! It was the longest ninety-four minutes I have experienced in a long while.

Don’t get me wrong…we tried a few things. An impromptu team meeting. A team huddle and chant. One on one coaching. I even offered up a few prayers. Nothing worked. The tide had turned. We were no longer coaching or leading…simply trying to survive and get our free post game coke.

Have you ever been on a team like that? Have you ever been a leader in that situation? Have you ever lost your team and been at a loss as to how to get them back? While we laugh at my situation on the ball field it unfortunately happens every day in offices all over the world…Leaders and teams going in divergently different directions. Teams that suddenly fall apart.

The sad truth is that it is all too common. Why? Why do teams just fall apart? Is it leadership? Is it bad hiring? Is it a lack of vision? Is it corrupt systems? Is it an unmotivated team? I think it is probably a little of everything above. But one factor that, after evaluating our horrible performance on the field, sticks out to me is that of momentum. As a team we had been loosing momentum. Kids were bored, tired and unmotivated. It was getting cold, late and past their bed times. This breakdown probably began a few games prior but didn’t manifest itself until this past game.

Jim Collins in Good to Great writes about the “Flywheel Effect.” He said that Good to Great companies understood a simple truth: “Tremendous power exists in the fact of continued improvement and the delivery of results. Point to tangible accomplishments-however incremental at first-and show how these steps fit into the context of an overall concept that will work. When you do this in such a way that people see and feel the buildup of momentum, they will line up with enthusiasm.”

To say that our team had lost sight of a goal is true. To say that they are tired is true. To say that they are four years old is true! But to say that they lost sight of improving and getting results may be the root cause of our problem. Our team was not lining up with enthusiasm.

Or, I could just be reading too much into it and the bottom line is, “They are four years old!” Who knows?

However, I think Collins is on to something. I think the “Flywheel Effect” is one of those truths that can be applied universally. I don’t know? But here is what I can do…I can put it to the test with the T-Ball Mets.

Right after we walked off the field last week the head coach looked at me and said that he was going to be in Chicago next week and then asked me to take the helm for one game. To be honest, after that night I was ready to run! But I said yes and went home determined to make the most of my opportunity.

Please don’t think this guys nuts! Or these poor kids. I have not lost perspective…yet. This is a kid’s game and the priority is that this great group of four year olds has a blast on the field. Trust me…we have that one down. But what I want to do is see if we can marry the fun we already have with what I believe is a universal principal. Because I believe if we can do that, not only will we have more fun, but we can also have a great game and improve the ball team.

I am not bubbling over with confidence…it could be a train wreck. But it is going to fun to see what happens. I promise to come home Thursday night and share the results, good, bad or other with you and share how we tried to apply the “Flywheel Effect” on a bunch of four year olds. Wish me luck! Who knows? Maybe the “Flywheel Effect” can be applied in your setting.

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