Antonia Bowring ABstrategies LLC, MBA. Top Ranked Executive Coach, Speaker, and Author of ”Coach Yourself.”
I’m an executive coach, not a baseball coach, but we’re a baseball family. In fact, we’re a Dodgers family. My son was recruited to play baseball at a college in the Northeast, and we’ve been living and breathing the sport for years.
Watching the Dodgers win the 2025 World Series was deeply satisfying, not just as a fan, but as someone who studies leadership and performance. Their win wasn’t flashy. It was about discipline, adaptability and trust—and a little luck. They stayed focused when it mattered most and didn’t give up even though they trailed until the ninth inning in game 7!
Here are three leadership lessons that stood out to me from this incredible win.
Lesson 1: You Can’t Buy A Win
The Dodgers’ payroll this season was about $350 million—the biggest in baseball. But that didn’t make the Series easy. Toronto pushed them hard from the beginning and never let up. The Dodgers had to earn every run. Their advantage came not from money, but from execution.
The leadership lesson: Resources help, but culture wins. You can spend all you want on tools, talent or incentives, but without shared purpose and accountability, it doesn’t matter.
The Dodgers didn’t depend on their budget. They depended on each other. When things got tough, they adjusted, stayed composed and trusted their system and their manager. In business, the same truth applies. Big budgets don’t create performance. Clarity and follow-through do.
Lesson 2: Take Risks With Young Talent
The Dodgers trusted a mix of younger and less-tested pitchers in big moments in the World Series—and they delivered. Reliever Will Klein, for example, threw four scoreless innings in game 3, helping to shift the momentum. Rookie Nick Frasso and second-year arm Gavin Stone each stepped into pressure situations and showed poise beyond their experience. Those decisions required belief from the coaching staff and confidence from the team’s veterans, who backed them up.
The leadership lesson: Growth requires risk. Leaders have to give people real responsibility before they’re “ready.” The Dodgers did that. They gave emerging players the chance to stretch alongside their seasoned rotation, and it paid off. The same happens in organizations when you invest trust before it’s fully proven.
Lesson 3: Alignment Over Star Power
The Dodgers have stars everywhere, but what made the difference in the Series was alignment. When the bullpen faltered, the defense tightened. When the lineup needed adjustments, hitters made them. Everyone knew their role. Every decision served the same goal.
The leadership lesson: Alignment beats ego. The Dodgers didn’t win because of one hero. They won because the system worked. When teams share clarity—around goals, responsibilities and communication—they move faster and handle pressure better. That’s what operational alignment looks like.
Final Thoughts
What really defined the Dodgers this year was their discipline, trust and connection. They stayed steady when things got hard, made smart adjustments and believed in each other’s roles. That’s what real success looks like: not perfection or star power, but preparation, teamwork and staying connected when the stakes are highest.
For leaders everywhere, the takeaway is that the best teams don’t rely on brilliance alone. They rely on trust—the steady confidence that when it matters most, everyone will do their part.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?