The World-Class Leadership Culture of the Toronto Blue Jays with Steve Rassel

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This week, we sat down with Steve Rassel, Assistant Director of High Performance with the Toronto Blue Jays. We recently got a tour of their world-class training facility in Tampa Bay, FL, and were blown away by their team values, culture, approach to leadership development, and the mindset they use to train professional athletes at an elite level. So even if you’re not in the outfield, but you’re in the boardroom, classroom, or any other environment — the topics we cover today translate in surprising and inspiring ways. And you know PQ is a baseball fanatic!

To make things a little easier to navigate, check out the timestamps below that serve as chapter titles to this episode:

CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Introduction
2:21 - PQ's Scouting Report
3:22 - The Blue Jays Development Philosophy
5:11 - Bouncing Back from Failure
6:23 - PQ's Hall of Fame Case
7:07 - Creating "Artificial Failure Scenarios"
11:12 - Get Better Every Day (You vs. You)
13:30 - The Game of Adjustments
15:07 - How To Lead Elite Talent: "The Journey"
18:50 - Growth Mindset
20:56 - The Importance of a Values-Driven Culture
23:00 - Collaboration & Avoiding Silos
25:58 - The Pursuit of Learning
27:05 - Empowering Others: Sustainability & Scalability
28:44 - After-Action Reviews
31:46 - Setting High Standards
33:51 - Managing Expectations
37:28 - Leading To Others' Capacity
40:47 - The Anchor of Respect
42:00 - Customized Team Development & Competing Together
44:31 - The Messy Side of Collaboration
47:46 - The Separator Mindset & Today's Professionalism
51:50 - A Player Slides Into 3rd Base, And His Phone Falls Out Of His Pocket
53:45 - The #1 Draining Thing In Player Development
55:10 - What Fires You Up About Leadership Development?
57:00 - Drawing Healthy Boundaries in a Demanding Job
59:50 - Final Challenge

RESOURCES THAT INFLUENCED THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS CULTURE:

Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal Belonging by Owen Eastwood Give and Take by Adam Grant The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool Legacy by James Kerr The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey Jr Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

STEVE RASSEL’S TOOLBOX:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell The 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey Garden City by John Mark Comer The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer Humility by Andrew Murray
Essentialism by Greg McKeown Start with Why by Simon Sinek The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White Think Again by Adam Grant Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy Atomic Habits by James Clear

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The World-Class Leadership Culture of the Toronto Blue Jays with Steve Rassel

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