Image: The Breakers, a luxury hotel in Miami, where the WBC championship game will be held on March 17
The WBC has finally reached the quarterfinals, with the final eight teams competing for a place in the next round!
If you follow sports news in the United States, you may have heard Shohei Ohtani described as someone who:
“Sets the tone for the team.”
Ohtani is highly regarded not only for his extraordinary ability as a player, but also for the positive energy he brings to his team.
The same principle applies in American workplaces.
In the U.S., people who can create a positive atmosphere for those around them are highly valued.
And as a manager, the person at the center of creating that atmosphere is you!
You Set the Tone in Your Workplace
One concept we introduce in our leadership training is the FISH! Philosophy.
Originating from Seattle’s famous fish market, the philosophy can be summarized in four simple principles:
- Choose your attitude.
- Make someone’s day.
- Be fully present with others.
- Bring positive energy and a sense of fun to your work and workplace.
These are not complicated management theories.
But behind them is an important message:
A positive workplace atmosphere does not simply happen on its own.
Managers create it.
A Tip for Japanese Managers
Whether you are an expatriate manager or a Japanese professional who has lived in the United States for many years, managing people in an American workplace can sometimes be challenging.
But it can help to return to the basics and start with simple actions:
- Give employees your full attention when speaking with them.
- Express your appreciation when someone does good work.
- Make a conscious effort to keep the atmosphere within your team positive.
These may seem like small actions, but they can have a significant impact on your leadership.
The Influence of a Manager
In both Japan and the United States, we often hear that 70% of the reasons employees leave their companies are related to their relationship with their manager.
Whether or not we focus on a particular statistic, the underlying point is important: managers have an enormous influence on the employee experience.
A respected manager in the United States is not necessarily the strictest manager.
More often, it is someone who can create a positive atmosphere within the team.
Just as Shohei Ohtani is admired and appreciated by his teammates, strong organizations are built by managers who make people think:
“I want to work on this person’s team.”
There are probably people around you who already feel that way about you.
So, what is it about you and your leadership that makes your employees think, “I want to work for you”?
Take a moment to think about it—and have some fun with the question!
One editorial change I made deliberately: I softened the “70% of employees leave because of their manager” statement. That statistic is often repeated in management content, but as written it makes a fairly strong factual claim. The English version keeps the intended leadership point without presenting the 70% figure as an established universal statistic.