I don’t know who’s going to win the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Believe me, I’ll be rooting for my beloved Red Sox with all the passion I can muster!
Before I continue…please allow me to quickly poke my New York Yankee fan friends…
What’s the difference between a Fenway frank and a Yankee hot dog?
They’ll be selling Fenway franks Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Sorry Yankee fans…I couldn’t help myself.
Ah but I digress…
Whether a diehard Dodger or Red Sox fan, quietly lurking behind the scenes of this fall classic is a fascinating leadership case study.
Alex Cora is in his first year as manager of the Boston Red Sox. In November, 2017, when Cora was introduced as the new Red Sox manager, he outlined some basic precepts of his managing philosophy. The first one he mentioned, and his most important, had nothing to do baseball. It had everything to do with leadership.
Cora does not think a manager can be too close to his players.
Alex Cora said that he was going to connect with the players.
Responding to a reporter’s inquiry warning Cora about the dangers of being too close to players, Cora responded, “Too close to players? That doesn’t exist”.
Cora, for one, does not think a manager can be too close to his players.
Cora continued, “The whole thing about drawing the line — the players understand that, but at the same time they’re human beings. You’ve got to talk to them, you’ve got to see how they feel.
“We’re going to connect with players, be genuine and be accessible. Having a good relationship with players is not bad. Doing that, you’re going to get the best out of them. People might think that crossing that line is not helpful, but I see it the other way around.”
The same words could have been uttered from the lips of a successful US Navy SEAL team leader, corporate executive, leader of a non-profit, or university president.
More importantly, these were not empty words. Cora did connect with his players.
Cora is quick to escape the confines of his office in favor of interacting with his players.
A few weeks after that press conference, Alex Cora flew from his Puerto Rico home to the Dominican Republic to visit with one of his young stars, 21-year-old Rafael Devers. That meeting took place on December 26.
Why did Cora fly to another country on the day after Christmas to spend a few hours with one of his players? He wanted to connect with him.
Midway through the season, a Red Sox player responded to a reporter’s inquiry about Cora’s style by saying, “He makes it a thing of his to come see how we’re doing every day, to come check in our families”.
Another reporter notes that Cora is quick to escape the confines of his office in favor of interacting with his players.
Has Cora’s philosophy of connecting with his players worked? The 42-year-old ex-player, with no prior experience as a big-league manager, has taken largely the same group of Red Sox players that flamed out in the first round of the postseason the prior two years. This year, Cora has guided the Red Sox to the winningest regular season in its 117-year franchise history. The Red Sox were dominant in the postseason series victories over the 100-win New York Yankees and the 103-win Houston Astros.
…the most important work for leaders is done off the field.
Decision making for baseball managers in 2018, like leaders in most organizations in 2018, has become a largely paint-by-numbers affair where advanced statistics and data are in ample supply. Today more than ever, the most important work for leaders is done off the field. Regardless of whether in the club house, boardroom, college campus or onboard a Navy warship, connecting with the people who work for you is essential to creating a culture of trust, a culture conducive to extracting the most from their talents.
The Red Sox player’s collectively have a new club house mantra. It’s “In Alex we trust”. It doesn’t get much better than that for a leader.
Alex Cora gets it. He proactively connects with his players. They trust him. More importantly, his players are delivering for him.
Be a great leader. Get to know your people. Spend time with them. Connect with them.
Oh yes…enjoy the World Series…and go Red Sox!