July 07, 2022 | Read Online

The People in Our Corner

We all have people in our corner advising us on what strategies we should apply. But when their visions and goals aren’t perfectly aligned with ours, friction inevitably arises.

It was supposed to be a celebration, a star player receiving his championship ring after more than a decade with the franchise.

But when Freddie Freeman was handed his 2021 World Series ring in Atlanta recently, he wasn’t wearing a Braves jersey. Instead, he had on the uniform of his new team: the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Freeman, by all accounts, wishes he were still in Atlanta. In the offseason, the team reportedly made him a contract offer that was rejected by his agents, who then set a very tight deadline on their counter offer. When Atlanta put forward its next deal not close to what the agents asked, they chose to look elsewhere, according to ESPN.

Freeman recently fired those representatives and reportedly “expressed shocked” the negotiations played out the way they did, but the entire episode has an important leadership lesson.

We all have people in our corner advising us on what strategies we should apply, what jobs we should pursue, what our true value is in the marketplace.

But when their visions and goals aren’t perfectly aligned with ours, friction inevitably arises, and the ultimate outcome can be far from what we desire.

This isn’t to fault the strategies of Freeman’s agents or suddenly make us skeptical of people whose opinions we value, but it’s crucial to remember that advisors rarely have to live with repercussions the same way we do.

Before we take advice, we need to make sure the people in our corner:

1. Understand what our desired outcome really is
2. Are competent and sensible enough to offer actionable strategies
3. Do not have ulterior motives with their ideas and suggestions
4. Are acting on our behalf and will unconditionally support us regardless of our decision

Freeman will likely be an All-Star this season, and Los Angeles has one of the best records in baseball. In many ways, his situation could be worse.

But when the end result isn’t what we really desired, we might be wise to re-evaluate our process.

It's the only way to prevent a swing and a miss the next time.