Hal McRae may have been fiery and hard-nosed as a player, but he is less so as a manager. Yes, he expects all-out effort. No, he is not overbearing. What my father did the last two years in Kansas City was try to instill a calm, confident aura around the team. You couldn't tell if we had won five in a row or lost five in a row because he acted the same.
Players feed off the manager's personality.
They know if a manager is worried or stressing out. You can be fiery and all that, but your players need to feel everything is under control and that you know what you're doing. Players are not dumb. They watch how a manager relates to them at different times. A player wants to know a manager will stick with him.