Practical Leadership Strategies: Lessons from the World of Professional Baseball

Palestini (education, Saint Joseph's U.) draws from the world of baseball to profile ten coaches and show how leaders can apply their leadership practices. He uses Bolman and Deal's situational leadership theory and four frames of reference--structural, human resource, political, and symbolic--to examine whether the practices of Walter Aston, Sparky Anderson, Tommy Lasorda, Frank Robinson, Casey Stengel, Joe Torre, Earl Weaver, Leo Durocher, Tony La Russa, and Billy Martin conform to this theory, and if not, whether modifications need to be made to theory or practice. The book is the third in a series that relates leadership to basketball, football, and baseball coaching. There is no index. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Robert Palestini is graduate dean emeritus and professor of education at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and founding executive director of the Educational Leadership Institute and Center for Catholic Urban Education at Saint Joseph's University. He has spent almost fifty years in various leadership positions and has written more than ten books on various aspects of leadership.