3 Leadership Lessons from Fernando Tatis Jr.’s Suspension for Steroids

ATTENTION: Sports Fans and Leaders of All Types

Fernando Tatis Jr.'s suspension last week was a blow to sports fans (especially long suffering Padres fans), ardent lovers of baseball, and parents whose kids idolized Tatis for his on-field prowess, bat flipping flair, and love for the game of baseball.

CAVEAT: For the sake of this post, let’s assume 2 things (I realize this is highly debatable)
1- He did in fact intentionally take a performance enhancing drug. Was it for ringworm? Who knows.
2- He took the drug to speed healing, not to gain a performance edge. He’s never tested positive before, so this feels like a safe assumption.

So now the point. When I read this story, it was a painful reminder of 3 leadership principles.

Leadership Lesson 1: Patience is Key

Despite society’s focus on finding “hacks”, sometimes there are no shortcuts. Tatis broke his wrist while riding a motorcycle (which is prohibited in his contract) during the offseason. Healing was slow and I can imagine he was frustrated. But once again, practicing patience would have been key and focusing on the rehab and work needed to heal should have been the focus, not solely the outcome of being back on the field. That led him (allegedly) to look for a fast path back on the field. It’s hard, but flexing the patience muscle is critical for long-term success.

Leadership Lesson 2: Check Your Ego at the Door

Let’s be honest. While we all root for our teammates, colleagues, and friends to succeed, it can be hard on the ego to see them win again and again. For Tatis, seeing his Padres team win games, reading about teammate Manny Machado as an MVP candidate, and landing generational talent Juan Soto must have been a shot to his ego. His ego was bruised as he’s always been the top dog. The best leaders can put their ego aside while cheering on their teammates and focusing on how they can win as a team and organization. It’s not easy, that’s for sure.

Leadership Lesson 3: It Turns Out There’s Still No “I” in “Team”

It’s cliché, but the best teams focus on the collective group, not on any one person. Tatis cheating put the focus on himself, his ego, and his lack of patience. And that hurt his team. Chasing their first championship, the Padres face the daunting task of doing so without one of their best players and one of the brightest lights in all of pro sports.

Tatis’ suspension is a loss to the Padres, to Major League Baseball, to sports fans, and to the kids who idolize(d) him. It’s also a reminder of 3 key leadership principles to those of us who lead teams and companies as well as those who are stewards in our own lives and families.

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