Blog

Diversity & Baseball???

The San Francisco Giants, World Series Champions 2012 surprised everyone with stunning performance! The SF Giants, a very diverse group of players, come from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and various parts of the United States. They made winning the World Series a reality for the second time in two years, an elusive goal since 1958. What made this team different? It could be the quality & character of their manager, Bruce Bochy, or maybe the players themselves who deemed that “team first” was their mantra. Perhaps it was both!  In the October 29, 2012 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle, Chester Spell, an associate professor of management at San Jose State University who has studied demographic diversity in baseball, says “Diversity is a good thing, but it is a complicated thing.” He goes on to say that a “good manager can manage division and focus on what brings them together and help them to work as a unit.” According to Byron Deeter, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, managers can learn from Bochy that “culture matters.”

Whether we are working in healthcare, education, business, non-profits or law enforcement what can “our teams” learn from this story? Here are my thoughts . . .

• We value each member of the team
• We respect our colleagues input
• We listen closely & respond in thoughtful ways
• We embrace diversity & inclusivity
• We create a welcoming environment
• We have FUN!