Everything you do is measured by stats and it is difficult to keep your identity as a person out of the game. It can swallow you whole if you let yourself be engulfed by your statistics. ~Ben Zobrist (Chicago Cubs World Series MVP)

I’m not, or at least wasn’t, a baseball fan. Then the iconic Chicago Cubs made it into the World Series. I love my city so I was quickly swept up in the excitement and drama. I watched all seven games (more baseball games than I’ve watched in my lifetime). After that many hours of watching the same team over the course of two weeks, I discovered that I was actually learning their names and becoming curious about who they are, as people, not just athletes.

Clearly, Ben Zobrist stood out as an amazing player, after all he was selected MVP, but then I started to dig deeper, what was his character. I came across this quote and was especially drawn to the last sentence: “It can swallow you whole if you let yourself be engulfed by your statistics.”

I immediately thought of leaders who’ve been swallowed whole and haven’t kept their identity as a person “out of the game.” How much money they made, how much the company/organization grew under their leadership, how many other organizations they acquired, etc., etc. The list of stats can be staggering.

However, a leader’s identity has nothing to do with “statistics.” A leader’s identity comes down to the combination of four primary factors.

Behaviors. Do your behaviors reflect assertiveness, decisiveness, confidence, or insecurity, self-centeredness, unpredictability, etc.?

Responses. What is your level of emotional intelligence when handling workplace situations? Patient, compassionate, empathetic, or harsh, merciless, agitated?

Presence. How well do you organize your thoughts and articulate yourself?

Habits. What are your small actions, the day in and day out sort of things, like follow-through, confidentiality, being a person of your word (returning a phone call when you said you would)?

Notice that personal identity has nothing to do with stats and everything to do with who you are becoming, your character. Leaders should take advice from Ben Zobrist, and not become engulfed by their statistics. Instead, leaders should keep a careful eye on who they are becoming: their behavior, responses, presence, and habits.