Tony La Russa

"You have to fight (the players) from feeling like, 'Hey, whatever happens, happens,' ... Somehow, some way, you have to find a way to make them understand that you have to take care of both the personal and the professional. There's nothing disrespectful about paying respect to the player but also paying respect to your profession."

~Tony La Russa 

Today Tony La Russa retired after 33 years of managing Major League Baseball. Some consider him one of the best managers of all time, being the only manager to ever win 3 World Series Championships in only three decades. He managed the Oakland A's, the Chicago White Sox and most recently the St. Louis Cardinals. What truly makes him an excellent leader is not just his leadership on the field during the games, but his loyalty to the clubhouse and the players throughout the season.

La Russa understands that for an organization to be successful it must work to protect and encourage those involved within it. A clear example of this would be after Game 2 of the 2011 World Series. In the ninth inning Albert Pujols called off other players in a catch which he was unable to make, sending the winning run into scoring position. After the game reporters hounded La Russa asking why Pujols was allowed to do what he did and what punishment would come of it. Instead of throwing him to the wolves, an option the reporters were clearly looking for, La Russa talked about how Pujols had "excellent judgement on the field" and how he had always been allowed to have a say on what went on during the game. Clearly not the answer the reporters were looking for, they probed harder to no avail.

La Russa's actions cleary demonstrate the idea that leadership revolves around trust and loyalty. Without it organizations would fall apart and nothing would change for the better. One thing I've learned from this is no matter how bad things are looking, throwing others under the bus is never the answer and you never know, they might just come back to save you another time. Like when Pujols hit 3 Home Runs in the following game.