http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jackross/2010/01/new_manager_new_methods.html
Jack Ross plays in the Scottish Premier League with St Mirren, after the disappointment of being released as a teenager from the top flight he battled through the junior leagues and 4 years at University to bounce back into the big time and has developed tremendous insight from a player’s perspective into the sometimes crazy world of professional football. The link above will take you to a unique perspective from a players point of view on the Managerial merry go round.
http://new.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3115098.stm
This link will take you to the profile of Adam Crozier, my former boss at the Football Association, is week named as the new Chief Executive of ITV and currently CEO of the Royal Mail. As the article says, he seems to have a habit of taking on difficult jobs.
So what is the connection you say? Well Rossie’s blog talks about the response of players to the appointment of a new ‘gaffer’ and of course the expectations related to Adam Crozier’s appointment will be high and his ability to facilitate change and take the staff with him will make a major contribution to him delivering on those expectations. The similarities between managing a football team and managing a company could not be more apparent than at the moment of change.
As Ross points out “The test of a successful gaffer, is to impress their methods upon their new players and try to improve on what their predecessor has achieved”
The first team briefing and the first coaching session is usually the moment of truth, reputation and track record count for nothing when you start the balls rolling for the first time, get over this hurdle and you have made a good start but then comes the big test, the first game. It is not so much the result that matters but the way you handle it. Players ( and fans) will judge you on how you manage the performance from game planning, preparation and team selection to how well you adapt and deal with the unexpected events that the 90 minute trial throws up.
When Adam addresses his management team for the first time they will be aware of his track record, clearly described in the BBC profile linked above. They will possess some gossip from contacts in the industry from all of his previous posts. They will have a picture of him in their heads before he enters the room. They will have a much clearer picture when he leaves and it is critical that he has delivered his message successfully at that first encounter, I know he will, I have been there.
When Graham Taylor took over at Watford in the old fourth Division he had come from Lincoln City where he had won the league with record points and was manager of the year at that level, that’s why Elton john chose him to lead his club to the First division. After his first meeting with the players there were no doubts about where Elton, the club and certainly Graham were going, the question was who was going on the journey to glory with them? The choice for the players was clear; jump on board the rollercoaster and join us or head for the exit. There were no mixed messages, no confusion, the goal was set, the timeframe laid out, the methods clear and roles and responsibilities agreed. The culture would change from small time, lower league club that survived to ground breaking, forward thinking ambitious club that would become an exemplar for high performance. With exception of a few, who were duly rewarded for their previous contribution and ‘excused duties’ the squad and the staff duly obliged and in four years Taylor took Watford to within a whisker of a first Division title and an FA Cup final.
I suspect Adam Crozier’s first address will bear the hallmarks of Taylors first impression on the players at Watford. This first encounter is the new manager’s opportunity to show he is more than a manager, he is a leader. This is not about Churchillian speeches and drum banging, I can assure ITV staff that this is not Adam’s style. This is about clearly mapping out where the company is going, what it will take to get there and how each member of the ‘squad’ can contribute. This how a good leader turns a ‘competent group ‘of people into a high ‘performing team’.
Adam Crozier will achieve what every football manger craves, I am sure.
• He will create a positive working environment
• A unity of purpose toward common Goals and Objectives
• Commitment and mutual accountability
He will make people his highest priority and create a team that takes control of the outcomes and reaps the rewards of its endeavours. He shares a philosophy with Herbert Chapman, legendary manager of Arsenal in the 1930s.
“Employ without exception, the very best type of player to represent the club and reward him well…………….. he must be a clever player who can think out attractive, constructive tactics and he must be wholeheartedly enthusiastic and keen to make progress in the game”
I often use examples of good practice in business to highlight factors of good leadership and management in football in my presentations to coaches and managers. Business would do well to examine the good practice that exists in the pressure cooker of football management.
Watch this space for more on leadership, motivation and team building from the ‘dugout’
The Path to Peak Performance
