Out of Position

Out of Position

By Dr. Michael Perusich

“No matter who you are, or how much talent you have, if you’re out of position you can’t get to the top.”  John Maxwell

The best teams are those who know how to play together.  They trust each other, they appreciate each other’s talents, and they are willing to sacrifice together.

But there’s one more key factor that makes the best teams great. Individually, they work toward mastering their position.  And it’s not just their position.  The great ones are in the right position.

When I was a young kid, I loved to play baseball.  The first year that T-ball was offered, I joined a team.  The coach allowed us to try each position during practice.  I just wasn’t very good at any of them and the experience was discouraging.

The next season, I wanted to give it another chance because I loved the game.  However, it was no longer a T-ball league.  All nine positions were now open at this age level.  

On the first day of practice, the coach asked who wanted to try pitcher.  Nearly everyone raised their hands, because the pitcher gets all the glory.  As we each stepped up to take a turn at throwing a few pitches, it was very apparent that I was not cut out to be a pitcher.  Again, I went home discouraged.

The next practice, we were all falling into our natural positions and I was likely going to be relegated to play outfield, which frankly at that age, was nothing more than “picking daisies time”.

Suddenly the coach realized there was one more position to be filled.  It was catcher.  He asked which of us wanted to try it out, but no one raised their hands.  Unlike the pitcher position, catcher seemed like the hardest to play, plus all that gear would be hot.

After some dead silence, I raised my hand and said I would give it a try.  And, to make a long story short, I took to it like a fish in water.  I enjoyed the position so much that I put in extra work and additional coaching to improve my skills.  That hard work paid off as I was blessed to play that position through college.

Here’s my point - lean in with me here…When you’re in the right position, you will be willing to work harder, improve your skills, build muscle memory, and dedicate the time to work toward mastery of that position.

 

These same principles hold true in business and in life. When you’re in the right position, the work is fun and rewarding, and you’re more likely to hit the sweet spot of success and passion.  

 

When was the last time you took a positional inventory of your team?  Is everyone, including you, in the right position?  Are you and your team improving your skills, training and developing, building muscle memory, and working toward mastering practice success?

 

When your practice grows, either by adding staff, an associate doctor, or even new services, the positions shift and change.  If you keep trying to lead your team when the positions are out of balance, you won’t be able to maximize your success. And, if you don’t train and develop your team, then come game time, you won’t be ready to step up to the plate.

 

When you’re in the right position, success is much easier to attain.

Dr. Michael Perusich is a solutions-focused advisor with more than 25 years of success across the healthcare and consulting industries. His broad areas of expertise include coaching, training, content development, and motivational speaking.  Dr. Perusich is the CEO for Kats Consultants, LLC. where he and his team offer a unique platform of business knowledge and tools for today's Chiropractic entrepreneur.

 

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