Name:
Institution:
Date:
Joe Torre: Leadership Synthesis and Comparison
Joe Torre is an executive of the American Major League Baseball and is a former baseball player and manager. As a player, Torre featured as a baseman and catcher for three different teams namely St.LouiseCardinals, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. Following his retirement, Torre went on to manage all three teams including the New York Yankees. He is a good example of a winner; one who holds leadership attributes. Anyone who loves baseball can relate to the premise that Torre possesses leadership skills (Dreher, 2009). He was able to handle his players efficiently while conforming to the demands of his employers. With three world championships in four years, this achievement most certainly hails him as a successful leader.
Joe Torre can be described as an affiliative leader who works to satisfy his employees and establish a harmonious environment for his players. A leader of this caliber works by building a strong relationship with parties involved with an incentive of creating a sense of loyalty from their followers. In this case, he was notably good at fostering good relationships. This leadership style particularly works when mending distressing feelings within the group and may as well function by motivating the team in times of stress or heavy workload (Dreher, 2009).
Joe Torre managed successfully four baseball teams that boasted many talented personalities. With these kinds of players, it was an inevitable fact that he had to deal with a number of egocentric personalities. According to Verducci (2006), this setting perhaps highlights Torre as one of the greatest leaders, and he achieved it by establishing a harmonious sense among the players as well as keeping the team together. This is a leadership style that he successfully mastered and executed. Additionally, Torre was fast at recognizing the contribution and effort of individual players. He also expressed gratitude to his players regardless of whether they had won or lost the match.
One example of his leadership skills can be seen by his choice to change Paul O’Neil, a left sided hitter, into a right sided one. It was only a matter of time before Paul became a superior hitter against any pitcher. This showed that he possessed an uncanny eye for talent (Verducci, 2006). Another example of Torre’s leadership comes through his decision-making in a title deciding game against the Atlanta Braves. In this game, Joe uncharacteristically opted to substitute the left-handed hitter Tino Martinez with right hitter Cecil Fielder. This game ended a one nil win for the Yankees with Fielder responsible for hitting the only run (Dreher, 2009). The third example of good leadership exhibited by Joe Torre comes through his own words. In this case, he states that good leadership is facilitated by a good sense of communication timing. He believes that players have a knack of responding well to straight communication rather than public criticism. He opts to lead with a velvet glove instead of an iron fist.
Personally, it is my belief that I also possess excellent leadership qualities. I consider personal values as a fundamental checkpoint for self-evaluation. One of my leadership qualities suggests influencing my followers by teaching, disciplining, coaching and setting a commendable example. Additionally as a leader, I value bringing out the best out of my followers. For example, if I have done my best to get one of my followers to perform at his or her best, but they still fail to meet my set standards; my only remaining choice requires that I drop that person from my plans. In comparison, I feel that my leadership qualities are at par with those of Joe Torre. He always worked to get the best out of his team and never selected his players based on merit, but on performance and talent. I believe that my qualities are based on the same.
Reference
Dreher, H. (2009). Joe Torre’s ground rules for winners: 12 keys to managing team players, tough bosses, setbacks, and success. New York: Hyperion.
Verducci, T. (2006). Regular Joe – Behind the scenes as Joe Torre prepares for his dream games. Sports Illustrated, 85, 18, 36.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]