What does it mean to push the tarp?
We all show up, we push & we keep pushing
When I was in college and a member of the baseball program at Hofstra University, one of my roommates, teammates and my closest friend was named Jim Hansen. He and I remain close and I am blessed to have crossed paths with him in college.
One afternoon as the rain rolled in, Jim and I found ourselves with many of our teammates on the left field line of our on campus baseball field trying to roll the tarp onto the field. In Jim’s lovingly sarcastic tone and south jersey accent, he belted out, “It’s ok, I got it. Just put your hands on it! It’ll roll itself.”
That moment struck me then and has stayed with me ever since as a simple way to talk about great leaders and teams. We all have to get to the tarp, we all have to push once we get there (and not only lay our hands on it) and then we have to keep pushing until the task is complete. Finally, once that tarp is rolled onto the field or rolled back onto the metal cylinder that holds it, it is time to prepare for the next time we will (get to) push the tarp.
Push the Tarp is a metaphor, a mantra, or a motto that can be used by teams or by leaders to explain how groups bring together the important elements of service, teamwork and persistence. It has been a way for me to talk about leadership and teams through the symbol of the synthetic tarp and the metal cylinder it is rolled up on the side of baseball or softball fields. And more than the symbol, it is a way for me to take what I learned from Jim, one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around, and bring my version of leadership and teamwork forward with me in my own authentic way.
In the book Push the Tarp, I detail more from each pillar in the form of a basic hero’s journey. The guide (Rusty) teaches his student (Jimmy). I share that showing up is about doing so with love, humility and a mission-driven purpose. That pushing, really pushing with both hands, is about connecting to your teammates, being vulnerable with them and executing your given role at that moment on that team. And, that when we keep pushing, we are embodying what I call the Three P’s of Persistence: staying present to be your best, bringing your most passionate energy and connecting to why you are where you are and to keep practicing to pursue excellence.
This is what it means to Push the Tarp. The three elements of Service, Teamwork and Persistence fuse together and that is where the magic happens. The cocktail that these three produce is one that teams and leaders can shape in their own way.
How are you as a leader serving your teammates?
How are you connecting to your colleagues?
What are daily rituals, strategies and practices that help you develop your capacity to persist and be your best? And, as you push the tarp in life, how are you seeking mentors who you can learn from and simultaneously look for ways in which you can mentor others?