The Texas Rangers start the 2019 baseball season with new manager Chris Woodward, who has an innovative approach to team psychology. He wants players to “embrace their insecurities” in order to fight through the downturns inherent in playing baseball. This philosophy is something business leaders and employers could develop within their own organizations too, says Dallas lawyer and baseball historian Talmage Boston, a partner at Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP.

Creating self-awareness so that individuals gain an understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses helps free them to focus on their strengths, he says.

“Once there is this awareness, Woodward believes the next step is to get players to talk about it with teammates,” says Mr. Boston. “This is followed with constant communication in the form of short, daily meetings where everyone is encouraged to speak up. When you say something out loud to a group, you tend to back it up. You become accountable to your words.

“It is an approach that could strike a chord with business leaders who recognize that baseball strategies aimed at calming anxiety, elevating optimism, mentoring effectively, and creating accountability may have crossover potential for the professional work environment.”

Mr. Boston is the author of two baseball history books and a Media Member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. He recently wrote “In Pursuit of Peak Performance and Better Team Chemistry: The 2019 Texas Rangers’ Possible Crossover Human Relations Lessons for Legal and Business Organizations” for the legal news website Texas Lawbook.

For more information, contact Rhonda Reddick at rhonda@androvett.com or 800-559-4534.