When the Atlanta Braves hired Walt Weiss to be their on-field manager, replacing the retiring Brian Snitker, some fans found the choice to be uninspiring, while some others were upset.
Snitker’s tenure as manager was highly successful, highlighted by six consecutive division championships, seven consecutive playoff appearances, and a World Series championship in the 2021 season.
However, many fans saw his final two years as a downward trend. In 2024, the Braves barely made the playoffs, and in 2025, they won less than half of their games and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. So, despite his many years of success, many fans were glad to see him retire and were hoping the Braves would hire a new manager who was much younger than the 70-year-old Snitker and from outside the Braves organization. Those fans were disappointed when, in November, the Braves hired the 62-year-old Weiss, who had been Snitker’s top lieutenant as his bench coach for the previous eight seasons.
However, seven months later, the Weiss hire looks like a masterstroke. Entering this week, the Braves have a record of 45 wins and 21 losses, a better than 68% winning percentage, best in the major leagues. While many have commended Weiss’ acumen in setting the batting lineup and effectively using his bullpen, that is only part of the story and not very relevant to business leaders and managers. Although Snitker was well known for his handling of people and keeping his team motivated during the long baseball season, Weiss has shown that he is even better at motivating and leading his players.
I watch many of their games on television, including the post-game show, which typically includes Walt Weiss’ daily press conference about the team and the just-concluded game. I also follow the Braves through the Atlanta media and on various podcasts. Through these various information sources, here is what I have learned that Walt Weiss does that business leaders and managers could emulate:
- Communicate Directly and Individually about Roles and Decisions: One of the big differences between the Braves team this year and last year is that Weiss uses his backup or bench players more than Snitker did. Granted, the Braves have some more talented backups than they did last year, but, more importantly, they have performed extremely well because they understand their roles. Weiss regularly discusses with them what their roles are and under what situations they will likely play. He also communicates to his starting players when they will not be in the lineup and why (e.g., getting needed rest; backup player is doing well). He does the same with his starting pitchers when their turn might be skipped in the rotation and with the relief pitchers in how they are used. When players know what their roles are, how they will be utilized, and the motivation behind such decisions, they tend to perform better. The same holds true in the business world. Business leaders and managers will typically achieve higher performance from their people when they know what their roles are and why the decisions were made that impacted them. Do not let your people guess what their roles are or why you decided to make a change.
- Communicate (Praise) Indirectly: Everyone likes to be praised for their good work and efforts, but it feels even better when it is shared with others. One thing that Weiss does extremely well in his post-game press conferences is to praise his players for things that they did well. Often, he praises things that might not be noticed by the average fan, so he lets both the media and the fans know how he appreciates what the players do. While business leaders do not have press conferences, they can share such praise of their employees’ efforts with other managers and peers of the employees. Such praise always makes it back to the employees, providing pride and motivation for them to continue to do excellent work.
- Show Confidence/Provide Opportunity: One thing Walt Weiss has shown is that he is not afraid to use all his players. While his regulars/starters are his best players, he knows that he needs to make sure his backups are ready to play if a regular is hurt or otherwise unable to play. He makes sure that they are ready by playing them before they are necessarily needed. This shows confidence in their abilities and provides them with the opportunity to demonstrate their talent. Business leaders can also get the most out of their people by showing confidence in them and providing them with the opportunity to demonstrate talents they might not be able to demonstrate in their usual roles. Such confidence and opportunity will usually pay off in future performance.
- Empathize: Unlike Snitker, Weiss had a long career as a major league player. He knows that baseball at that level is very hard and players are going to periodically have rough stretches. Weiss understands this and allows players to work through these stretches or, in some cases, gives them a day or two off to take the mental pressure off. Since most business leaders have had positions similar to those of their employees, empathizing when things are not going well and helping them work through those tough times are critical to better future performance.
Walt Weiss has done a tremendous job in his first few months as the Atlanta Braves manager. It is a long season, and there is a good chance the team will be unable to maintain its current pace of winning. However, through Weiss’ astute handling of his players, they are likely to have a successful year, and we can emulate his ways to help attain organizational success.
