The vast majority of the Washington Nationals players are 28-and-under making them part of Gen Z. New manager, Blake Butera, was near the end of the millennial era. The outgoing upper management group was made up of mostly “baby boomers” with a few Gen X people. Some of these players have grandparents who were born in the baby boom era. Times have changed. Get with the program they say — and don’t throw shade.
For an undisclosed reason, Butera was not available to do an introductory ZOOM call. He just had his first child last week. You hope everything is okay. Instead, PoBO Paul Toboni stepped in and spent nearly 25 minutes with the media. He kept repeating the words leadership/leader and accountability over and over. Some of it wasn’t Toboni’s fault as the same questions seemed to get asked in different ways. Good on Toboni to stay that long seated in the corner of a room.
From Toboni’s ZOOM call on Butera, the words were extremely complimentary. Here are a few snippets: ❝Shaping and reinforcing the culture in the clubhouse. … I feel good about betting on Blake. … Someone who can create a winning culture in the clubhouse. … Getting the most out of the player group. … Accountability. … Being a really good in-game strategist from the get-go. … Really smart and a great leader. … A thoughtful motivated individual who will get better as time goes on.❞
After listening to the ZOOM a few times, my takeaway is that Butera will be taking on the role of a leader. Something you just hadn’t heard about previous managers. You assumed they were leaders, but baseball always seems to want to label the leaders as those grizzled veteran star players with the extroverted big personalities as well as gaudy statistics to lead by example too. Even Toboni said at his introductory presser that he wants that leader in his clubhouse, and said that the Red Sox had him in Alex Bregman. Well, if it helps, The Athletic projects Bregman will only receive a contract of about $171-to-$174 million for 6-years. The math: $29 million a year. That sounds light — but what do I know.
Then a millennial/GenZ sort of thing sent my head spinning when Toboni said he envisioned that he and Butera would become “really close friends.” I hear that some millennial parents want to be friends with their children which as a boomer always seemed strange to me given that my father, a military man, smacked me across the mouth, with restraint, once when I didn’t address him properly, and his reply went something like, “You don’t talk to me like you do to your friends.” Then came my A Few Good Men moment when Lieutenant Kaffee (Tom Cruise) was cross-examining Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson) and stops him from leaving the witness stand. Colonel Jessup says, “I would appreciate it if you would address me as ‘Colonel’ or ‘Sir.’ I believe I’ve earned it”. My father was to be addressed as father or sir, and on a good day, it could be dad — but never, “Hey there.” Again, different times for sure. More stories for another day.
❝… I envision [Blake Butera] becoming one of my really close friends just because he’s so easy to talk to. He’s such a great person. … The values that he has and believes in we’re very much aligned on too.❞
— Paul Toboni said in a ZOOM call on Tuesday
In 2016, TIME Magazine had an article just on this subject. Nearly 10 years removed from that, would Kristin Van Ogtrop rewrite that article in TIME? She seemed very certain that it was taboo for bosses to be friends with their employees. Her findings were that millennial bosses often wanted a collaborative and friendly relationship with their employees, but not necessarily a “close friend” relationship, as the professional boundaries could get muddled. While they value open communication and approachability, they also recognize the potential risks of a personal friendship, such as perceived favoritism, and prioritization of keeping a professional line.
To me, that seems like the way it had evolved even for baby boomers in management as they were trying to become better and more effective at their jobs.
In a Gallup poll at that time, it revealed that millennials wanted a “holistic relationship” with their managers with open communication as well as a collaborative leadership and transparent leadership.
What millennial bosses generally want in a work relationship:
- Collaborative and transparent leadership: They prefer a less hierarchical, more collaborative management style where they are seen as approachable and authentic.
- Open communication: They value open communication and feedback, but this is different from being personal friends.
- A “holistic” relationship: They want managers to show interest in their lives outside of work to build trust and a stronger connection, but this doesn’t mean they have to be best friends.
The role of boundaries:
- Maintaining professionalism: The key for millennial bosses is to have a friendly demeanor while ensuring the professional relationship is not compromised.
- Avoiding favoritism: A personal friendship can lead to perceptions of favoritism, which can damage morale, so it’s crucial to maintain a clear line.
- Avoiding awkwardness: Some millennials are hesitant to be friends with their boss, especially on social media, to avoid putting themselves in a difficult position.
- Focusing on the relationship, not friendship: While a friendly, relationship-based approach is valued, they are more likely to prioritize a professional, respectful, and supportive connection over a deep personal friendship.
So you have a 35 year old President of Baseball Operations with a dugout manager aged 33, and they clearly hit it off. Both of them are very accomplished and seem like great people. You’ve read some of the comments we sourced about them. Honestly, I haven’t heard a bad word about either. But remember that even the perfect marriage can end in a divorce. That’s not being negative, just a touch of realism. Has Toboni ever fired someone? How do you fire a friend?
You’ve all heard the quote that “managers are hired to be fired.” This quote about baseball managers comes from former Cubs’ manager, Leo Durocher, “If you don’t win, you’re going to be fired. If you do win, you’ve only put off the day you’re going to be fired.”
There are more humane ways that teams are using to say a manager wasn’t fired like “he retired” or “he moved to a front office position.” Ask Mike Shildt, Bruce Bochy, and Brian Snitker. The best way is to go out on top like Tony La Russa after a World Series win.
The hope is that Toboni will get this to work with Butera. No reason to think it will fail before it starts. Butera will be judged when the real games start. Some would say you’re only as good as the roster they give you.
Even before this ZOOM call, we wrote an article about the danger of groupthink. Processes often fail when everyone thinks alike because it leads to groupthink, stifles innovation, and prevents the identification of blind spots. A lack of diverse perspectives means no one challenges flawed decisions, so the group cannot self-correct, and in sports where the smallest decisions can change a game — you need that collaboration with different thinking. Hopefully the plan is to hire coaches to foster that.
Oftentimes, you hire people as the opposite of what was there before. Matt Williams was brought in as the Drill Sergeant. It didn’t work. Dusty Baker was the guy who knew how to win regular season games. Dave Martinez was brought in to win a World Series, and he did that. Butera has been a winner most of his life. Get ready, because he might have to adjust to the opposite if you look at the latest projections. Again, he can only work with the hand he is dealt.
This Toboni ZOOM call was loaded with updated information like MLB experience is not a requirement to be on Butera’s coaching staff. Toboni said that there are no immediate plans to hire a GM. He explained the roles of new front office hires, Justin Horowitz and Devin Pearson (DP), and what former Nats’ interim-GM, Mike DeBartolo, would be doing in Toboni’s front office. The role that Horowitz has is huge in scope. Toboni wasn’t asked about the hire of Andrew Wright. Usually in these interviews, you answer what you were asked. Sometimes you answer too little, won’t answer, or give too much information.
Maybe Toboni had a bout of TMI as the Gen Z like to say. You hope the relationship between Toboni and Butera is built around mutual respect with lots of winning where they can bring a title back to D.C.
