Fri, June 04, 2010 - 10:24:26

The Call Heard Round the World: What Managers Can Learn from Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce

It was the call heard round the world, when Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied his chance at a perfect game after umpire Jim Joyce made what most sports fans have deemed a bad ruling. Not just a bad one, but according to New York Times sports writer Tyler Kepner, “easily the most egregious blown call in baseball over the last 25 years.” Immediately after Joyce’s ill-fated decision not to call out Cleveland Indians’ shortstop Jason Donald as he ran to first base, the public unleashed a tirade of mean-spirited remarks, Twitter insults, and even Wikipedia page edits. But, even as he missed out on a career-making dream, Galarraga came out a winner for one surprising reason: he was nice. And so, it turns out, was the “ump.”

General Motors director of Social Media, Chris Barger writes on his blog, Socially Speaking:

But a funny thing happened on the way to ignominy. Class shined through.
Joyce looked at the replays when he got to the locker room, realized with horror his mistake… and then called the Tigers locker room seeking out Galarraga, wanting only to apologize to him. Galarraga heard that Joyce wanted to talk to him… and met the ump, hugging him and accepting his apology. Tigers manager Leyland, who’d furiously berated Joyce at game’s end, reminded reporters that no one involved felt worse than Joyce did. Tigers players spent the rest of the night talking about how respected Joyce is by players as a good umpire, and how they knew the man had just made a mistake.

As Barger points out, athletes and officials aren’t the only ones who can learn from Galarraga and Joyce’s example—business people can, too.  As we write in our book, THE POWER OF NICE: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness, one of the marks of a truly great leader is a willingness to listen to what others have to say—even if it’s hard—admit when you are wrong, and apologize.
Contrary to what you might assume, it’s not a sign of weakness; it’s an indication of character.

Being NICE enough to face the facts, accept responsibility, and say you’re sorry doesn’t just encourage your employees and coworkers to model your behavior, however.  It actually builds trust and fosters communication on an organizational level.  And, as we’ve witnessed firsthand, increased communication and trust between coworkers leads to heightened productivity—which can mean a better bottom line for your company.

But, in order to encourage others to be open and honest—even with the tough stuff—there’s another important element that Armando Galarraga illustrates so well: forgiveness.  Sure, there are times when an employee might take an action that is, to borrow a word from Tylor Kepner, so egregious that it cannot be absolved, but most of the time mistakes are simply well-intentioned missteps that occur on the way to a greater goal.  Certainly, they shouldn’t be overlooked, but once constructive feedback is given, letting go and moving on is just as important. That way, others can learn from their errors and grow, instead of living in fear of their next one.

Posted by Linda and Robin