Friday, March 29, 2024 Mar 29, 2024
58° F Dallas, TX
Advertisement
Publications

Texas Rangers Manager Ron Washington Shares Wisdom on Leadership

The Texas Rangers Manager has already faced his share of challenges. But you don’t need wins to find wisdom.
By Adam McGill |
WASHINGTON, TEXAS RANGER: Last November, former Oakland A’s infield coach Ron Washington became the 17th manager in Texas Rangers history and had his work cut out for him.
photography by Elizabeth Lavin

Last November, Owner Tom Hicks and General Manager Jon Daniels announced former Oakland A’s infield coach Ron Washington, 55, as the new manager of the Texas Rangers. His hiring was seen as a drastic departure from the management style of his predecessor, Buck Showalter. Whereas Showalter was seen as micromanaging and exacting, Washington is known for his enthusiasm, affability, and charisma.

Washington’s playing career began with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977. After stints with the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Indians, and the Houston Astros, Washington retired and transitioned naturally into a coaching role, first with the New York Mets, then for 11 years with the Oakland A’s.

As of presstime, the 2007 Rangers’ season, Washington’s first as a manager in the major leagues, has not yet reached the halfway mark. His success in the dugout is as yet unproven, but his reputation as a teacher preceded him. In Moneyball, author Michael Lewis documented Washington’s persistence in transforming catcher Scott Hatteberg into a reliable, defensive first baseman. Washington has impressed everyone from players to writers to front-office types.
“He has one of the most unique and contagious personalities I’ve ever been around,” Jon Daniels said of his new hire. “You can’t help being around him and feeling the positive energy. He’s sincere, he’s authentic, he’s a class act, and he’s an intelligent baseball man.”

DallasCEO sat down with Washington to discuss his leadership philosophy and management experience as the season was just beginning. (View full transcript)

ON SIMPLICITY

“I am consistent in the way I’m doing things, because I am a very simple guy. I believe in simplicity. I make things as simple as I possibly can, to a point. I look at a situation, and I eliminate. If they started with five [areas to focus on] and three of them were unnecessary, I’m just down to two. It’s easier for a guy to catch on to two different things than five. Process of elimination.”

ON INSTRUCTION

“A lot of times people say things and the direction they want to go in, [but] they don’t make it clear. So I’m very clear about what I expect and about what I want. … If there’s anything [a player] questions, then you got to convince them that what you’re saying is correct and that you’ve got the knowledge. If you can’t convince them, then you might have to do it the way they want it done. Avoid confrontation. Because I do it the way you want it done doesn’t mean you’re smarter than me, or that it belittles my reputation or my knowledge of what I’m doing. It’s just that we all can learn from everybody. As the guy that’s doing the brunt of the work, you can teach me too, but I have to let you know also that I still know more than you. … A lot of times I let the guy that I’m dealing with think it’s his idea to get done what I need to get done.”

ON CHALLENGES

“There are always bumps. You deal with it in the preparation. If the preparation is impeccable, your focus is impeccable, your commitment is impeccable, then the bumps, you’re gonna deal with ’em. Because I know through all of these bumps, when you come out on the other end, then I’m gonna have something. No. 1, you gotta know that you got a quality person, so I’m willing to deal with your bumps, as long as you’re willing to give me the effort.”

ON PERSONAL RELATIONS

“People don’t care how much you know, they only care how you make them feel after you talk to them. Everybody that I ever met, when I finished talking with you, I think I left a good impression. And that means a lot to a lot of people.”

ON FAILURE

“I know in baseball there is no perfection. There may be perfection out there in everyday living, but in baseball there is no perfection. So I have to accept the little mistakes that come with you. But I can help you master them by making sure that you’re professional. And if you’re professional in the way you go about your business, your little bitty mistakes are masked. And I know what they are, and I try not to put you in those positions.”

ON SUPPORT

“We will get there. I’m in the front of you to guide you, I’m behind you if you fall, and I’m on the side of you to let you know I’m with you.”

ON DELEGATING

“The key is to tell [coaches] how you want it done. I express how I like to have things done, and I back off and let them do their job. If I see an area where I don’t see it done the way I want, I just go out and remind them, and I get out of the way.”

ON CRITICISM
“The only people that know what’s really going on are the people that are inside [this organization]. The people outside are all going to have different opinions. A lot of it is going to be critical, and some of them will understand. But the only people in reality who know exactly what’s going on are the people on the inside. As long as we know that what we’ve got going on the inside is going to get us to where we want to be with those people negative on the outside, then we just have to deal with the negative, deal with the booing. As soon as you straighten that out, all of a sudden those same people that were beating you down start loving you.”

ON GUIDANCE

“Society is completely different today than it was 20 years ago. The kids today ask why. [In the past,] you as my boss told me something, and I didn’t question it. Today they ask why. If you can’t answer them why, then you’ve lost them. They are dying for guidance. They are dying for someone to put their arms around them and tell them they care.”

ON TOUGH DECISIONS

“I’m not a match-up man. If you’ve got good stuff and you’re a right-hander and the whole game I had you in there as a right-hander going through that same lineup, and then all of a sudden I still feel like you’ve got good stuff, then I will say that I believe in you to get [a left-handed hitter out]. I have to answer questions. How can you say that I wasn’t right? ’Cause if he would have got him out, you wouldn’t ask that question. I will stand up for what I believe. I also say if you can come in and question what I do and I can accept that, then you have to accept why I did what I did. Even if you don’t like it.”

ON EXPERIENCE

“I know what [the players are] feeling when they have a rough time out there. And I know how to help them get through that, because I’ve already been there. I’ve already done that. I’m not any more special than any manager, it’s just that I do things the way I feel like since I was a player. I think like those guys. I feel like those guys. I haven’t put myself above those guys. I don’t look at the game like I’m smarter than you—which I know I am—but like I said, I don’t have to express that.”

ON CONFIDENCE

“I’ve been in the game a long time. I have a lot of confidence in what I’m capable of bringing to the table, and I don’t question that. I don’t look over my shoulder, because when you do that, somebody passes you up. I’m focused straight ahead. … If I do something wrong, and [the front office] has something to say about it, then come and say it. If I keep doing something wrong enough and they come down here and say, ‘You’re gone,’ then I’m gone. No hard feelings.”

Related Articles

Image
Arts & Entertainment

Here’s Who Is Coming to Dallas This Weekend: March 28-31

It's going to be a gorgeous weekend. Pencil in some live music in between those egg hunts and brunches.
Image
Arts & Entertainment

Arlington Museum of Art Debuts Two Must-See Nature-Inspired Additions

The chill of the Arctic Circle and a futuristic digital archive mark the grand opening of the Arlington Museum of Art’s new location.
By Brett Grega
Image
Arts & Entertainment

An Award-Winning SXSW Short Gave a Dallas Filmmaker an Outlet for Her Grief

Sara Nimeh balances humor and poignancy in a coming-of-age drama inspired by her childhood memories.
By Todd Jorgenson
Advertisement