{"id":24815,"date":"2024-04-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=24815"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:11:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:11:00","slug":"the-texas-rangers-have-made-staff-development-a-priority-their-approach-raises-three-questions-all-teams-can-ask-themselves","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-texas-rangers-have-made-staff-development-a-priority-their-approach-raises-three-questions-all-teams-can-ask-themselves\/","title":{"rendered":"The Texas Rangers Have Made Staff Development a Priority \u2013 their Approach Raises Three Questions All Teams Can Ask themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 10 Apr 2024 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Texas Rangers Have Made Staff Development a Priority \u2013 their Approach Raises Three Questions All Teams Can Ask themselves<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n
Ben Baroody\u2019s department at the Texas Rangers is unique in Major League Baseball: it is focused on both player and<\/em> staff development.<\/h6>\n

As such, his job title appears to cover every base: Director of Leadership & Staff Development, Player Enrichment Programs, & Mind Health.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little fancier in title than in execution,\u201d Baroody told the Leaders Performance Podcast of his role in January. \u201cI think it comes down to a big emphasis on personal growth and development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other elements of his work have been covered elsewhere<\/a>. Below, we focus on staff development, which is too often neglected across MLB, although the league is not alone in that regard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe coined the phrase holistic human development,\u201d Baroody continued. \u201cOur business model as an organisation is to go out and win baseball games and I think helping the individual grow and develop translates to on-field success as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rangers\u2019 approach to staff development raises three questions that all teams can ask themselves.<\/p>\n

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  1. Do you have the right people in the decision-making room?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Baroody\u2019s department stands alone in several regards but it is not an island. His team collaborates with other areas of baseball ops and the Rangers front office to ensure their staff development efforts resonate. \u201cMost of the leadership on the baseball side have been players or coaches, so they understand the pressure,\u201d he said, adding that they work together to establish priorities and emphases. \u201cI collaborate with them on what kind of programmes we\u2019re developing or what type of questions we are facilitating for individuals or group discussions knowing that their perspective on being a player or a being coach is priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    1. How can you help people establish the right habits and routines?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Burning the candle at both ends is a road to nowhere. Baroody suggested focusing on the habits and routines that build in balance and self-care. \u201cBeing at the ballpark 14 hours a day probably doesn\u2019t help if you\u2019re burnt out by mid-season,\u201d he said. He vividly recalled a time when he skated close to burnout. \u201cOn paper I may have been successful but my wellbeing may have been suffering. I didn\u2019t have balance, I didn\u2019t have the security, I was compromising a lot, but when I really dedicated and focused on my wellbeing it tapped into parts of me that I never knew I had.\u201d How balance and self-care look depends on the person. \u201cEvery individual must find and determine that for themselves is when I\u2019m at my best. What does it look like? What helps me be the best version I can be or what detracts from me showing up consistently? It comes down to what\u2019s most important and how to prioritise [those things] and build a system in which you can stay consistent with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      1. Where can you help your staff to have the biggest impact?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Baroody said it is important for staff members to know the resonant and beneficial elements of their work so that they can have an \u201cexponential impact on the players\u201d. This does not happen automatically. The Rangers took their staff on a week-long development retreat in the off-season. It was, as Baroody explained, \u201cabout posing different questions and helping guys understand who they are what they do well and [then] lean into those items.\u201d Each and every staff member could probably write a long list of areas where they could improve, but Baroody told them: \u201c\u2018let\u2019s focus on the ones that are critical to the impact of your role and responsibility rather than chasing every white rabbit in every opportunity\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Ben Baroody also features in our Performance Special Report Human Flourishing: a Snapshot of Wellbeing in the High Performance Landscape<\/em><\/strong>. He is joined by the AFL<\/strong>, Australian Institute of Sport<\/strong> and Harlequins<\/strong> to discuss wellbeing as the centrepiece of their performance planning.<\/p>\n