Lessons from Leicester City FC

Little By Little Creative Solutions Ltd

Is this the biggest surprise in Premier League and British domestic football history?

Probably. Though I'm sure there will be those that may disagree.

In Sport? 

Could be. But again, I'm sure there will be those that may disagree. 

So how did this happen?

How did a team posted at 5000:1 win the most coveted title in World domestic football?

How did a manager, with the shortest odds of losing his job first at the start of the season, guide his team to ultimate glory? 

And what lessons can be learned from this and applied to your business for greater success? 

The first one and probably most important one is skill sets coupled with belief in those skill sets. This is a fundamental prerequisite. All those involved in this huge momentous achievement needed to have the ability to do what they were supposed to do from the players to the manager, from the club staff to the owners and even the fans used their skills (of hope, optimism and belief against all odds, literally) to drive their team over the finish line. Coupled alongside that was the self-belief in those abilities and what could be achieved if applied correctly. And finally they needed to be able to deliver, in small steps, which they most certainly did. This can be applied to your business in the same way. Ensure that your team(s) and you, yourself, have the skill sets to do what is required within the business. This can be done through careful recruitment, training, good constructive communication, motivational courses and business coaching. Armed with such knowledge and practices self-belief is nurtured to the extent that anything seems possible. 

The second one is team work. Once the skill sets and belief are there it is time to apply them in the most efficient and opportune way possible. Football is a team sport just like running or working in a business. It requires several individuals to work as a unit for the greater good or to achieve certain outcomes. Each team member needs to; believe they can do it, know exactly what is they have to do, how to do it and what the outcome should be if they do it. Each has to deliver as part of the team. It was not necessary that they had to go beyond the call of duty though but simply do what was required within the unit. Leicester City FC had a mind-set, a game plan and awareness of how these plans were to be implemented capitalising on real time feedback which allowed for constant assessment in order to make changes if required. This had to be done on the field of play. These are all elements that go to running your business efficiently and with the best chance of major success. Having monthly, quarterly and 3, 5 and maybe 10 year targets, steps of how to reach the target all helps you and your team focus, measure, assess and buy into the team spirit. It makes team members feel part of the process, valued and major contributors to the success of achieving.

The third one is management. Ranieri has proved that you don’t need to spend huge amounts of money, in comparison to the other clubs, to be successful, that you don’t have to be arrogant to get the best from your team, that you can be a likeable person working with honour, spirit and integrity and simply believe in your team and their abilities to achieve the ultimate. He has even said that he ‘does not want to buy big name players but players who have spirit’. This goes to create a motivated environment with a communal vision that continues to grow with every win and success. And success breeds more success. It also helps cushion the blow of any failures on the way making it easier to bounce back. 

He has also reined in the objectives creating small achievable and stepped targets as we all as praising his team in both success and failure. He showed passion and loyalty at all the right times especially pitch side and in front of the cameras. He took it all in his stride. And even in his moment of ultimate glory he did not let it go to his head keeping his feet on the ground and realism firmly at the forefront of his expectations for next season by saying finishing above tenth is his goal and not winning the title again. The lesson here for any business is to set realistic targets, ones that are achievable, ones that do not add undue pressure onto your team, but rather encourages them to achieve because they know they can do it. Also praise and working with your team in demonstrable ways adds to the motivation and loyalty and shows you too are part of the team and pulling in the same direction.

And finally and certainly not least is financial incentive. As business owners you may instinctively shy away from rewarding your team with bonuses. I know of some environments where ‘the powers that be’ try to squirm out of rewarding staff for achievements by moving the goalposts or by setting unachievable ones. What better way to completely demotivate your team and make success even harder to attain. Teams need to be financially rewarded for their efforts and especially for their successes and, obviously, so do you.  Everyone needs to feel valued and appreciated. You need to motivate them when things are not going so well and show them the carrot of bonuses and money in their pocket. Even as gracious as Ranieri is, he stands to net at least a ￡5M bonus for winning the title. That carrot started to look closer and closer as the season progressed. Plus further bonuses for Champions League qualification where he says “the music is fantastic”. There are also untold bonuses for the players for winning, goal scoring, goal saving, assists, tackles made, shots blocked, clean sheets and passes completed. These are all elements that comprise their teamwork yet they are being further rewarded for doing, what some may describe as, their job. They are all little motivators. The financial rewards for the owners are far from what they will have been used to in this context. They now how have the enviable task of how to spend it. 

All these elements have been thrown into the Leicester cooking pot and a dish so tasty, memorable and ground-breaking has been served up for us all to savour and perhaps learn from.