Managers Learn Leadership Lessons from Billy Martin at AMA’s Current Issues Briefing

Michael DeMarco presented “Leadership Lessons from—Guess Who?—Billy Martin? to an enthusiastic audience on October 8 at AMA’s Executive Conference Center in New York. DeMarco, a Pricewaterhouse Coopers management consultant, is the author of “Dugout Days, Untold Tales & Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Career of Billy Martin ”(AMACOM books).

Because Billy Martin was often more famous for his battles than for his batting, most managers today may be loath to embrace Martin as their role model. Perhaps the world just wasn’t ready for Billy Martin’s management style during his lifetime. In the introduction to his perceptive and insightful book, DeMarco writes, “Right about the same time Billy managed his last baseball game, corporate America was embracing his values. To win in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, American business leaders had to get tough and face facts—fast. In 1987, General Electric’s now legendary former chief executive officer, Jack Welch, told a group of his company’s managers, ‘The world of the 1990s and beyond…will belong to passionate, driven leaders—people who not only have enormous amounts of energy but who can energize those whom they lead.’” So today’s business leaders probably have a lot more in common with Billy Martin than they realize.

In his AMA presentation, DeMarco focused on 11 leadership lessons that today’s executives can learn from Martin::

• Clearly state the goal for the team and the individuals you’re leading
• Approach each person differently
• Use mistakes constructively
• Prepare your team
• Prepare yourself
• Approach each team differently
• Have the courage of your convictions
• Inject some excitement
• Leverage your staff
• Be loyal
• If you do something you love with your life you will make an impact.

DeMarco concluded, “Billy Martin followed a classic blueprint for leadership development: throughout his long varied career, he sought out and learned from many mentors. He in turn loved to work with young players, teaching them and helping them live up to their potential. He analyzed every situation, planned his best strategy and set out to win. If he made a mistake, he learned from it. All told, we can learn a lot from him.”