May 8, 2007
‘Will I risk my career by joining my company’s cricket team?’
My boss, who is a competitive sort, and not a little frightening, has sent round an email asking people if they want to represent the company in a game of cricket. He has rather darkly suggested that people should send a cricketing CV to ensure that he can pick "a strong team".
I love playing cricket, though am not exactly county standard. I know that were I to star in a victory it may bring me to my boss’s attention - all sweaty lads together etc - and it could help my career . At the moment I am so far beneath the radar I don’t think my boss even knows who I am. But my problem is that what happens if I play badly, or worse, if I run my boss out.
Should I apply, and if the worst were to happen, how should I cope with the sight of him trudging back to the pavilion, pausing only to glower back at me. I’m in a spin.
Any advice appreciated.
You sound young. And ambitious. This whole issue is avoidable - simply, you can ignore the email. Instead it precipitates a dream of rising from beneath the radar, to, despite yourself, running the boss out. Face up to yourself and have a go in the team, but think through these pros and cons of near-job competitiveness. Or don’t bother and find friends outside work, where the impact of actions is so much simpler.
Posted by: Exec, Male, 43 | May 8th, 2007 at 9:46 pm | Report this commentDear hesitant cricketer, Sounds like you have little to lose by responding enthusiastically, even if you’re out for a duck. This cricket team is a great opportunity to raise your profile and show some flair - why not ask your boss if you can help organise this cricket venture. Running your boss out could be a problem, but if you’re involved in team organisation you can propose your boss as an opening batsman, your more senior colleagues near the top, and yourself somewhere near the end of the batting order. That way your office comrades will be squirming with the run-out issue. Incidentally the batting order should be published as early as possible to maximise the sweating time!
Posted by: John Bird | May 9th, 2007 at 2:37 am | Report this commentJohn Bird
East Fremantle
Western Australia
Do it!
Being invisible is going to hurt you more than if you are visible and a bad cricket player. At the minimum it is a chance for your boss to learn your name. If your team loses, everyone on the team lost too, thus no one will be the favourite. Winning will only be a bonus.
Posted by: Julia, 23, Product Demand Forecasting | May 9th, 2007 at 3:16 am | Report this commentCFO, female, 30’s
I am not sure how old you are, but by now you should have worked out that being afraid of your boss is equivalent to being afraid of the school bully; pointless. Your suggestion that he would be impressed if you bought yourself to his attention through a sporting achievement says more about you than it does about him….So, if you want to play cricket, put your name forward. If your boss does not select you on the basis that you do not match his expectations of strength, then then I suspect that your boss is indeed not a team player himself and possibly the sort of person who relies on other’s achievements to better themselves. Oh and ps, should you not be included in the final team, do ask your boss “if there was any reason why you were not selected”.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 9th, 2007 at 5:32 am | Report this commentGo, play the game and be the star. It is better to experience occasional misfortune than a life of missed opportunity.
Consulting Actuary, male, 42
Posted by: Anonymous | May 9th, 2007 at 7:08 am | Report this commentSales, male, 24 - Play and play badly, and become the company mascot. Play and play well, become the most unliked person on your floor. Brits don’t like winners, they prefer glorious or at least amusing loosers.
Posted by: Sportsmanship | May 9th, 2007 at 9:10 am | Report this commentIf one would have a crystal ball…
Since you would like to join the team mostly because of career reasons, your performance, enjoyment and judgement during the game; might be affected by your continuous doubts about your boss’s thoughts.
Join, since you are off your boss’s radar at the moment, he’ll at least learn about your existence. As for the rest, make decisions by taking situations one at a time; and do not obsessively worry about what your boss might think. Try to be yourself and relax.
Posted by: Consulant, 32, female | May 9th, 2007 at 10:05 am | Report this commentI think you should avoid playing. It sounds like he just wants to show off his own sporting ability. You’re lucky to be asked, though. I once worked for a company in the west of Scotland, where people are very cliquey. I was there for 6 years and, although there were always sporting activities of one sort or amother going on, I never seemed to hear about them. That is until my last few weeks there, when the departmental football team needed a body. As a sometime player I was keen; too keen it turns out because I pulled a muscle in my training and couldn’t turn out after all.
Posted by: John Bilsland | May 9th, 2007 at 12:42 pm | Report this commentAll publicity is good publicity - you should take the opportunity to become better known. The key thing to do is to relax and enjoy the day. If on an average day you would expect to do fairly well in a match then there is no reason to think you are going to do badly on this day. Do not however turn this into a big deal - the cricket is irrelevant, sharing a beer in the pub afterwards is the most important aspect of the day - your boss will remember your name and say hello in the corridor if you score a hundred or if you drop every catch.
Posted by: Richard Walker | May 9th, 2007 at 12:44 pm | Report this commentYou won’t risk your career, but you might want to leave your job if the boss is so small minded as to determine your success or otherwise in the job conditionally on your cricket prowess.
Posted by: Male 44 Director | May 9th, 2007 at 1:03 pm | Report this commentYou might want to submit a cricket CV and underestimate your ability, if he picks you he can only be pleased, if he doesn’t select you, then at least you’ve shown interest.
By the way I didn’t ask, I assume you don’t work for the ECB ICC or the MCC?
Your real problem is not that you may play badly. What could sink your career is playing too well. Imagine him going for a third-ball duck and you hanging on to score a century. It doesn’t bear thinking about, does it? You should only put your name forward if your skills are complementary to his. You don’t say how old your boss is, but if he is over 45, I’d guess he fancies himself as a batsman, if only because his back is unlikely to be up to a sustained spell of bowling. If you are a potential wicket taker, this might work well for you. If you get a respectable haul and your team wins, it doesn’t really matter how well you bat, although you should probably arrange to accumulate fewer runs than your boss. But then he could could post a respectable score and you could ruin it all by sending down a succession of wides. Cricket is a cruel game, as Freddie Flintoff could tell you. And whatever you decide, go easy on the post-game drinks.
Posted by: male pr consultant 58 | May 9th, 2007 at 4:30 pm | Report this commentLucy Kellaway: I find myself out of sympathy with this. I hate all ball games and really can’t imagine why one would want to play them at all. And even if I liked them I can’t imagine why one would want to play with colleagues. I cancelled my gym membership because I found the sight of my workmates in shorts too upsetting.
Still if I have to advise you, I’d say that you should play, on the grounds that one should do the things one enjoys. However you should also do that typically British thing of managing expectations. Say that you would be happy to be on the team, but it’s been a while, and not sure you can remember which end of the bat you’re supposed to hold. I believe David Gower said that once, and I suspect he did know which end to hold. Still, if you can convince everyone you are bad and then play badly they won’t be surprised. If you play well, then you can enjoy the sweaty changing room scene you seem to be hankering after.
Posted by: Lucy Kellaway | May 9th, 2007 at 4:44 pm | Report this commentYou obviously know which way up to hold the bat and in my experience of company teams you will be at a significant advantage to at least 50% of the rest of the team.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 9th, 2007 at 4:53 pm | Report this commentThis is an ideal situation to get yourself noticed. Stop being a wimp and go for it.
You should play, if a run-out involving your boss materialises, simply try to get back in but slip, thereby allowing your boss to remain at the crease.
A few funny cricketing stories goes down well in any company. In particular you could tell the tale of Dr WG Grace who was on his way to the ground when a lady stopped him and said “Dr. Grace, come quickly, I think my twins have the measles ” to which the good doctor replied “Call me at Lords this afternoon if their temperature reaches 210 for 2″
male, accountant, 48
Posted by: Anonymous | May 9th, 2007 at 6:00 pm | Report this commentYou risk your career more through indecision than decision.
Decide now whether you’re a risk-taker (willing and able to accept cricketing embarrassment) or a risk-minimiser (not willing).
And then don’t look back.
Posted by: Banker, male, 34 | May 9th, 2007 at 11:05 pm | Report this commentI’ve found that sports have invariably helped my career; in fact I’d go as far as saying that my competence at sport has by far outweighed my general incompetence in the office. You get to mix in a social setting with senior people you otherwise wouldn’t get to know. The only times it worked against me was the time I hit my boss’s backside really hard with a squash ball (he squealed like a scalded cat) and losing to another boss who stomped off saying “I thought you were supposed to be good”. Morals of those stories; try not to hit your boss with the cricket ball and don’t over-sell your cricketing abilities.
Marketing Director, Male, 44
Posted by: Anonymous | May 10th, 2007 at 4:46 pm | Report this commentReply that you’d really like to play but that you haven’t played since the start of last season as you have only recently recovered from ligament damage/a knee injury/a torn ankle and need to get some practice before playing for the company team. Explain that you spent the whole of last season umpiring for your club and offer to ease the difficulty of persuading the team’s players to share umpiring duties.
If you are unlucky enough to be standing at the bowler’s end when your boss is adjudged “out” as a result, for instance, of the ball having clattered the stumps or his having departed smartly for the pavilion for some other cause, signal him out with rueful sympathy and loudly congratulate the bowler on delivering an unplayable ball. After the match you will be the only member of the party that can converse knowledgably on everyone else’s achievements. If anyone should question his own dismissal, admit that you might have been mistaken in believing that he had say, touched the ball with his bat, but explain that a clean catch at third slip is strong circumstantial evidence and you were unaware of the exceptionally sharp resonance of the sound of a ball hitting his particular brand of pads.
With luck your performance should get you some contacts and goodwill throughout the organisation but you can only wimp out from actually playing once. If you try it a second time, you might gain a reputation for only being willing to judge and comment on everyone else’s labours which would be unfortunate if you are not already an accountant.
Posted by: Ironybrew | May 10th, 2007 at 9:13 pm | Report this commentWinning (or not losing) a game of cricket won’t help your career. Your boss knowing who you are is more likely to help with that, so grab this opportunity and send in your ‘cricketing CV’. It’s up to him to choose who the players are so just be totally honest. Don’t worry about the game. If you do then you’ll most probably play badly. I assume that as a team you’ll practise together in advance, and if he realises then that you are not as good as he hoped, he can replace you without losing a match and at least you had a go. But off the pitch, he is more likely to be impressed by someone who is not frightened by him, so you need to develop some confidence in yourself and your abilities in the office. What have you achieved while you’ve been working for him? Ultimately only you can help your career by being good at what you do, and if you are confident in that then playing badly in the cricket will not harm that (and if it does, he’s the wrong boss!).
Final point: your presence may make the difference between having enough or not enough players for a team - sometimes it’s better to have a bad player than no team at all.
Posted by: A. Anderson | May 11th, 2007 at 1:53 pm | Report this commentUnbelievable!
Posted by: 44, Finance manager, Male | May 11th, 2007 at 5:47 pm | Report this commentNo wonder your boss does not notice you.
either he is so completely domineering that its impossible to win, except if you agree with him, or you are a total wimp.
Either way you can’t win.
Chill man, it’s only a game of cricket. You’re not applying to play for the England squad. Enjoy the game, and get noticed for your all round enthusiasm and good humour. And remember we girlies always end up being expected to make the sarnies, so there’s always someone worse off than you …
Posted by: 39, consultant, female | May 30th, 2007 at 1:13 pm | Report this commentTell him you can’t play cricket for the company team as you’ve got an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout that day. Maybe even suggest a company tag team.
Posted by: 38, Director, male | June 6th, 2007 at 12:17 pm | Report this commentStop being a Pussy! excuse the French. Your Boss will respect you if you show some backbone. Let him know you arent the worlds greatest but that you would like to contribute any way. Work hard, with a positive attitude and youll get noticed.
Posted by: 40, MD, Male | June 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm | Report this commentPlease go ahead and join the cricket team because it will be a great chance to network, even if you do badly you will make a few excellent contacts and may end up getting a promotion or a positive role change. I have been through and got my current job through displaying great cricketing ability….
Posted by: Tariq Ali from FPS and DHA | June 19th, 2007 at 11:54 pm | Report this comment