George M. Steinbrenner -The “Power” behind the Man

George M. Steinbrenner…The “Power” behind the Man

Who was the “Boss”?

With the passing of George Steinbrenner an era has ended. Mr. Steinbrenner was more than the owner of the New York Yankees. He transformed the sport of baseball into a billion dollar business for other owners. The “Boss” as he was known, singlehandedly raised the competitive drive to levels not seen before and didn’t care what people said about his actions. Furthermore, he became a cultural icon. And perhaps most important, George Steinbrenner was a behind the scenes angel whose generous philanthropy helped many in times of need, often unknown to those very individuals whose lives he touched so profoundly.

All of these qualities exemplify certain behavioral patterns which I refer to as People Patterns™ (which comprise what I call one’s Personality Language™). In the case of Mr. Steinbrenner, the unique configuration of People Patterns™ and other typological traits, together, created a powerful, brilliant, successful, passionate and driven business man on one side, and a caring, compassionate, giving and generous humanitarian on the other side.

As a life-long Yankee fan and original New Yorker, I thought that it would be a fitting tribute to talk briefly about George Steinbrenner from a typological perspective of People Patterns™ among other things.

First, Mr. Steinbrenner personified to the core of his being what we call the ultimate power person. He exemplified what we call the Power Motive People Pattern™. A motive is what drives us to do what we do in our lives. (It corresponds to the particular stick or carrot that we use to motivate ourselves and others.) His title of the “Boss” was so fitting of his typological profile. A power person is driven to do one thing: to WIN. Winning and/or not losing is what takes center stage in the mind of a power person.

This was Mr. Steinbrenner to a tee. His never-ending drive and innate passion to win is what set him apart from other owners and not just in baseball, in all sports. And it was this same drive to win and his burning desire to have the best team in baseball is what helped catapult the New York Yankees back to dominance and to win seven World Series Championships under his tutelage.

Power people such as Mr. Steinbrenner like to be the bosses of the world. They tend to give orders and they expect obedience. They like to be in control…control of their environment, whether it be people, things or situations. I heard the “Boss” once say in an interview that he liked to do things “my way,” as in Sinatra’s song. Mr. Steinbrenner always made his presence known when it came down to motivating the players, coaches, the management, etc. to be in the right mindset to win. He had his share of clashes with managers and other people in his efforts to create the best and most powerful teams to win. Power people happen to view life as contests of will and Mr. Steinbrenner always made sure that he would come up on top whenever possible in his business dealings.

Meanwhile, the press seemed to relish their role in spotlighting his “power plays” and skirmishes. Mr. Steinbrenner didn’t seem to mind too much in the context of sports. In fact, he was a master in handling the press; and he certainly knew how to goad them and to push the right buttons to “win” his interaction with them. In stark contrast, however, in his role as philanthropist, he often preferred to remain anonymous in his charitable gift giving.

George Steinbrenner also personified what we refer to as Internal Referential People Pattern™. This means that he would base his decisions on what he knew inside to be right. He didn’t need feedback from other people about how well he was doing his job, as do External People. At the same time, he had what we call an External check in that he would listen to people who were experts on a given subject or had savvy concerning an issue or situation. However, as an Internal person, the “Boss” would evaluate people, things and situations based on his own internal criteria when making a decision. He certainly didn’t need to ask for the opinion of others.

Mr. Steinbrenner also had what we call a Difference People Pattern™. He was a successful entrepreneur and visionary who did not like the status quo. He liked to do things differently especially if doing so would help him be in control and win. He welcomed change as a way to become even stronger and to make the Yankees even more successful. After all, just think about how many times he changed managers for the team! His difference orientation is one of the reasons behind his success.

George Steinbrenner also had what we call a “Specific (Small Chunk) Information People Pattern™. This pattern deals with the amount of information as well as the specificity of information presented in a communication exchange. Mr. Steinbrenner was a Specific person in that he focused on depth of information. He was extremely detail oriented in all that he did and his love of details is what enabled him to fine tune and to refine things to increase the chance of success in a given endeavor.

There is so much more I could say about Mr. Steinbrenner’s typological profile and People Patterns™, as I am merely scratching the surface. I will simply discuss one more aspect at this time. It has to do with what many people see as an unusual combination of attributes that made him so loved and disliked at the same time by different people. I am referring to him being what we call a Venge. This type of person is totally power oriented and wants always to be in a superior position in relation to others. They view interactions with others as a battle of weak versus strong. At the same, they are quite protective of those they care about. That is why Mr. Steinbrenner “took care” of his players so well.

Because of his Venge personality, he would respect those who were daring enough to stand up to him. That is one of the reasons that Billy Martin and he had the relationship that they did, at times quite contentious as we all know. And yet the “Boss” cared a great deal for Mr. Martin.

In addition, a Venge is one who will usually make his or her opinion known no matter what others may think particularly in the face of what they perceive to be injustices in all contexts of life, whether in society, on the field, in the boardroom, etc. And beware if a Venge thinks that someone or a situation is unfair to him/her or to someone in their circle of loyal friends (or within his team, i.e. the Yankee players). That is why Mr. Steinbrenner gave Darryl Strawberry a second chance after his bout with substance abuse.

Fairness is a big issue for Venge. This is the reason why they also champion the underdog and those who are less privileged or downtrodden. His Venge typology is why George Steinbrenner was such an amazing and dedicated philanthropist who genuinely wanted to help those who were less fortunate, or those who were of ill health or those who found themselves in dire situations of some sort.

Last but not least, George Steinbrenner changed the way in which people perceived winning. He made winning an art in itself. His contributions to the sport of baseball and his countless contributions to improve the lives of those less fortunate will remain as his amazing legacy to all of us. Our world is certainly a better place thanks to the visionary who will always be known as the “Boss.”

Marilyne Woodsmall