Written by
Jahda Swanborough, World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow
Amidst all the drama, goals, and penalty shouts, if you’ve
been paying attention, this remarkable season in the English Premier
League just might have made you a better leader.
As a Global Leadership Fellow with the World Economic
Forum*, I learn a lot about leadership in all facets of life. For me,
like millions of others, this includes my weekly fix of the
English Premier League.
Here are six ways this season has taught us to be better leaders –
whether of sporting teams, in workplaces, or even within our families.
1. Don't shift the goal posts
By now, most people know the Leicester City story – from
bottom of the table with 9 games to go last season to champions this
season. When Claudio Ranieri was appointed manager in the off-season, he
set one goal for his players – avoid relegation.
By the middle of this season, his team were top of the
table. Fans and pundits alike starting asking ‘could they actually win
the league’? After all, they’d lost just once all season. Ranieri
refused to
buy into the hype:
"I told the players we need another five points (to stay
up)… I put a target of 40 points at the beginning of the season and
when we achieve this we change the target.”
Only once that first goal had been reached – and
properly celebrated - did he set a new goal for his players.
Ranieri wasn’t lacking ambition; he was providing
consistency and predictability. By sticking with the original goal he
took the pressure of his players. They knew what was expected of them
and what ‘success’ looked like.
2. Leadership is a role, not a status
Club captains play important leadership roles, but often they are not the best player or even the most important one.
This season, the 100 most-used players in the premier
league averaged around 30% more playing time than the 20 club captains.
Only 8 of the 20 club captains even played enough to be in that top 100.
Whether through injury, age, or tactical fit, the group of
club captains played less than many other players. They had to lead
wherever they found themselves – on the field, on the bench, in the
dressing room, or on the training ground.
A formal ‘leadership’ position doesn’t make you the ‘best’
or ‘most important’ person and it certainly isn’t a determinant of your
worth as a person, player, or employee. It’s a role.
3. Cultural ‘fit’ matters
Leadership happens in a broader context or ‘ecosystem’ that
usually exists before the leader comes along. In the premier league, it
includes the fans, the players, the owners, the sponsors, the staff,
the history of the club, and even the city. Together these things form
the fabric of the team’s culture.
Successful leaders both understand the culture and are aligned with it.
Think back to Manchester United over the last two decades
(Liverpool and City fans, bear with me). It had a history of arrogance
on and off the pitch and it was often matched by results. Fans, staff,
sponsors, and players bought into that swagger and began to embody it.
Sir Alex Ferguson revelled in this culture. Few would say the same about
his successors in David Moyes (an understated, no-frills style) and
Louis van Gaal (a defence-first, technical tactician). It’s no wonder
the club now seems to at odds with itself.
Each season we see a steady stream of player transfers and
managerial changes at clubs – most of which go through a rigorous
scouting and recruitment process – yet while some are successful, others
are ‘flops’.
As a leader, don’t expect to excel everywhere. Find your
niche. Some teams and projects will just gel. Others won’t. When you
find a culture that fits, you’re more likely to give it your all, be
successful, and enjoy the journey.
4. Leadership is about people - and people need trust to perform consistently
Chelsea won the league last year and they were unplayable
at times. This year – with mostly the same players – they will finish
9th at best. Several factors contributed to their demise, but at the
heart of it all was the fact their manager, Jose Mourinho, (who once
proclaimed himself ‘the special one’) lost the trust of his players.
In one incident early in the season he publicly criticised
the team doctor for being too quick to run on the field to treat one of
their most valuable and important players. Sceptics say Mourinho was
just diverting attention away from a poor on-field performance.
Regardless, it didn’t go down well in the dressing room. Many players
had formed good relationships with their doctor, to the point some
attended her wedding even after she was no longer working for the club. A
few months later the team was in disarray and performing terribly.
Mourinho – one of the most successful managers in the modern game – was
fired less than a year after his team won the league.
No matter how good you are or how much success you’ve had -
trust matters. In an interview with Harvard Business Review, Gianpeiro
Petriglieri, Associate Professor at INSEAD, put it like this:
“When you’re in a powerful position, there are lots of
ways you can get things done. You can coerce, manipulate, deceive,
threat, force. But unless you have the trust of people who are supposed
to follow you, you’re not actually leading.”
5. Good leaders know how to manage both themselves and others
Managing one’s own emotions and biases is essential as a
leader - it fosters an open mind and the ability to see opportunities
where others cannot. It also helps you avoid common mistakes.
Consider this familiar scenario: a new manager comes in to a
team and observes the players, usually forming an initial opinion based
on ‘intuition’ or just a couple of interactions. From then on, the
manager only seems to see things that reinforce their early judgement
(in behavioural economics this is called ‘confirmation bias’). If that
judgement was negative, the manager will start treating the player
differently (usually subconsciously. Often that treatment will actually
push the player into more of the behaviour/mindset the manager doesn’t
like. Very soon the player is ‘out of form’ and the team has lost a
previously valuable asset.
This pattern has been called the ‘
set up to fail syndrome’.
It is found in relationships in sporting teams, workplaces, families,
and social groups the world over. Overcoming it requires managers who
are self-aware enough to catch themselves from perpetuating a dynamic
for failure and changing the conditions so the other person can thrive.
6. It’s not about you. Leaders are never bigger than the team
From time to time, leaders will get the glory. But most of
the time leadership is a slog. It’s tough. And it’s often thankless.
Good leaders understand that they are stewards of the resources, time,
and talents of those they lead. They are not the ‘top dog’, but rather
the one responsible for ensuring everyone else thrives while moving
toward a common goal. They make everyone else better.
Even if the leader happens to be the smartest or most
skilled person in the room (or in the stadium), they are rarely the only
smart person in the room. Good leaders know this. They draw on the
experience, skills, and ideas of the whole team. This is their true
skill.
Managers don’t win premier league games, players do.
In the cut-throat world of the premier league, leaders come
and go rapidly. This season, 9 premier league managers have been fired
or resigned and at least 2 more will change in the off season. Last
season it was 11 and the year before that 13. This is out of just 20
teams.
In the world outside of football, our leadership roles may
last longer, but none last forever. As another season comes to an end,
perhaps it’s a timely moment to consider what we are doing with the
leadership roles currently entrusted to us.
