Leadership from the Kings of Manchester

Introduction

Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in British football history, prepared for the 2012-2013 season - his record-setting twenty-sixth as manager of one of the world's most decorated professional football clubs and one of sport's biggest franchises. Over the years Ferguson has overcome several major challengers to United. The newest rival can be found closer to home: since Manchester City, United's "noisy neighbours," has switched owners, the club has invested unprecedented amounts of money in new players, resulting in its first league title in decades. In 2013 Sir Alex (‘Fergie’) led his team to another league title, bringing the next chapter in United's illustrious history to a successful end. He retired from the manager’s position at the end of that season.

During that final season Harvard University one of the top global business schools, commissioned a research study of Fergie’s career, achievements and leadership principles.

In 2023 Pep Guardiola inspired and guided Manchester City to a unique treble – the English Premier League title, winning the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. The club won the Premier League for the fifth time under his leadership. In July 2023 Sir John Timpson, chair of Timpsons and a life-long City supporter wrote an appreciation of Pep’s leadership qualities.

Although managing a football or sports team is different from running a business, there are enough similarities for ambitious executives to learn lots of lessons from the two legendary managers. On analysis surprisingly similar - taken together - the lessons learned from both legendary managers represent real insight into leadership that may be applied to businesses, public sector and not-for profit organisations and represent ‘game changing’ opportunities for any executive leader.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Managing Manchester United

During his 26-year reign at the helm of Manchester United Sir Alex (or Fergie) won 2 UEFA Champions League Titles, 13 Premier League titles, 25 other domestic and international trophies - double that of his nearest competitor manager, anywhere. Prior to his appointment in 1986 he managed Aberdeen FC for 8 seasons during which the club won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (defeating Real Madrid in the 1983 final in Gothenburg, Sweden), 3 Scottish League Titles and 4 Scottish Cups.

In 2012 Harvard Business School undertook a research project to identify the leadership characteristics that they believed set ‘Fergie’ apart from his peers. Listed below are the 8 leadership lessons identified by the Harvard researchers.:

#1 Start with the Foundation -?building a team and building a club brings stability and consistency. Over time the players build a bond together, creating a spirit. Sir Alex supports players and staff to be better. Players always remember the manager that gave them the first opportunity.

#2 Dare to rebuild your Team - always look to the future. He consistently sold stars and also kept a few oldies to lend continuity and carry the culture forward. His team cycles typically ?lasted 4 years

#3 Set high standards and hold everyone to them - Sir Alex instilled strong values and made the players winners - never give in. He lifted players’ expectations individually and as a member of the team. At the heart of his approach was a passion for hard work. Working hard all your life is a talent; being a top player is not an easy job.?

#4 Never, ever cede Control - he was never be controlled by the players. His personality had to be bigger and he realised he had to earn players’ respect.

#5 Match the message to the Moment - Sir Alex is quoted as saying to his players - ?‘I might be making a mistake here but I think this is the best team.’ Consequently the players would trust him and one another, not to let team-mates down and build the character of the team. His United teams were built with superb athletes who were smart tactically. He recognised that simply being a good coach or manager was not enough. Sometimes you have to be a teacher, doctor, father and even confessor.

#6 Prepare to Win - focus practices on skills and tactics to learn and improve. He expected to win every time - be positive, adventurous and take risks.

#7 Rely on the Power of Observation - observation is critical to management. ?He always watched, even though an assistant took training sessions.

#8 Never stop Adapting - Introduce variety and other perspectives - optometrist, yoga, ballet, medical facility at the ground.

Source: Sir Alex Ferguson, Managing Manchester United; ?Harvard Business Review Case Collection , 2012

To be a successful manager, be more like Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola sets a fine example. He leads a life seldom faced by business leaders. His every move is followed by an army of fans, who see themselves as shareholders, while every week the press publishes his results and pundits analyse the performance.

The club’s performance over the last few years proves that Pep Guardiola has a magic touch and bookmakers already make Manchester City favourites to win all trophies again in 2023-2024. The hat trick of wins in 2023 added to 3 other titles?under his leadership since joining in 2016.

Cynical observers may say that Pep has had the benefit of the big budget provided by City’s owner Sheikh Mansour from Abu Dhabi, but other Premiership clubs including Arsenal and Newcastle United also have enough cash to pay more than ￡100m for a player – so Pep’s success is not just down to money. Guardiola came to Manchester City with a great CV: 47 games as a player for Spain and 263 for Barcelona, winning La Liga 6 times plus a European Cup. He won more La Liga titles 3 more times and 2 Champions Leagues as a manager of Barcelona; then went to Bayern Munich, where he won the Bundesliga 3 years in succession. He qualifies as a serial entrepreneur in football. So, Pep has a lot of experience, without a hint of complacency – he is focused on winning the next game and claiming another trophy.

Here are the 7 lessons we can learn from his success:

#1 Concentrate on the Future -treat the next year as the most important of your life. He has developed his own style of football, with a high percentage of possession and quick passing. His style has influenced the tactics of other Premiership teams.

#2 Be an Innovator - success often comes to those who produce a better product or find a new process. Despite having so much money to buy players he has been more careful with cash than many competing managers. In season 2022-2023 8 clubs spent more than Manchester City and 7 have been bigger buyers over the last 5 seasons. He has never splashed the Sheikh’s cash in quantities to match Chelsea who spent nearly ￡600m during the last 2 transfer windows. Fans expect club owners to permanently put their hands in their pockets, but no one can fund an unlimited budget.

#3 Watch your Bank Balance - cash flow is a permanentl key performance indicator. He has bought some great players picked with the purpose of building a team according to his plan. One of his earliest moves, buying Everson, the goalkeeper, was a clear signal that City would aim to keep possession, with Ederson venturing out of the penalty area to become part of the passing game. Up to Pep’s arrival City’s fragile defence gave loyal supporters anxious times on the terraces so Pep bought key defenders including John Stones and Kyle Walker to strengthen the team. Perhaps his most dramatic signing has been Erlang Haaland, whose arrival turned City into a more direct, attaching team.

#4 Always Pick the right Players - they have the right ambition, attitude and personality to build your dream team. He also has the ability to help talented players raise their game. Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Greenish are 2 of the many top-class players who have become even better under Pep’s guidance, and he has carefully guided Phil Foden from a junior academy player to become an England international. Off the pitch Pep taught his craft and trade to assistant coach Mikel Arteta who was appointed head coach at Arsenal and used his experience to give Arsenal one of their best seasons in 20 years in 2022-2023.

#5 Help Players become the Best They can Be - he is a tough taskmaster who is quick to say ‘goodbye’ to players who are unhappy at the club or no longer fit into the team of the future. Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres all left the club in the past year for transfer fees between ￡45m and ￡55m but the club they left won the treble.

#6 Don’t Hang on to Colleagues; Decide who do not Fit the Future Team - as well as helping players to become their best individually, he makes the most of the team. He gains respect by motivating the team so well that his half-time talks can snatch a win from a probable defeat.

#7 A Respected, Positive Leader - he possesses a positive personality, can show the route to a vision of success and be inspirational.

Source: Daily Telegraph, 17 July 2023. Article by Sir John Timpson, chair of the high-street services provider, Timpson and a life-long Manchester City supporter.

Together as One

Between the 7 features of Pep’s leadership and Sir Alex’s 8 lessons we surely have more than sufficient input to develop our own framework for leadership in business or sport.

Comparing and contrasting their respective principles and leadership features suggests there are more similarities than differences between the two leaders. It is relatively easy to create a 4 point framework for developing leadership capability and capacity.

It is open to all of us, or at least those with the ambition to make a difference to ourselves and our teams in the pursuit of higher levels of performance. Here it is:

1.????Be a respected, positive leader

• ?Inspire your people with a vision of success for the future and your commitment to fulfil the potential of your people.
• Provide performance insight – focus development of team members through insight into the knowledge and skills most critical to success.

2.????Set challenging goals and high standards, and hold everyone to them

• Creating a positive tension between current performance and future potential
• Give responsibility to grow individual self-leadership through effective coaching which encourages them to think for themselves
• Recognise successes and progress; acknowledge potential to build confidence.

3.????Be an Innovator

• Never stop adapting and match the message to the moment
• Balance the books – like an entrepreneur
• Over-invest - time and resources in critical areas of capability.

4.????Facilitate learning

• Create a hunger for feedback based on ambition to achieve potential and personal confidence in that potential
• Ensure frequent relevant feedback to drive learning (also helps maintain focus)
• Provide coaching and mentoring support to support individuals in applying the learning
• Maximise performance by encouraging intelligent teamwork
• Ensure individuals see their role in supporting the performance of others in the team/organisation.

So as the new corporate season emerges post vacation why not take the opportunity to change you leadership game and prepare for a new beginning, using the framework from Fergie and Pep. Set some goals for the end of the season or the corporate year and you may be pleasantly surprise surprised with the outcome and the resulting performance.

Alistair Gray,

Glasgow, July 2023