Two Roles - Similar Lessons...

A casual sharing of lesson's from two differing leadership roles. Sharing in the hope that this article peaks interest, sparks discussion, and selfishly gives me more to learn.

Those who work closely with me know that I split my time between working at Gymshark as Head of Talent & Performance, and joint managing a non league football team at Step 5 of the football pyramid. I have always worked in football outside of commercial business, mainly for enjoyment but also because I learn so much about people, leadership, and the importance of culture building, areas of interest that I am incredibly passionate about.

While always being careful not to compare too closely, so many of my learnings on what good looks like, and of course, what it does not - come from each of the two environments I spend most of my time in, and with that, I would like to share with you some of my most recent learnings, that I feel - in humble opinion of course, soak into both the business & sporting world.

1) AGREE A GOAL / TARGET

Nothing new to see here, and complete common sense, but without setting a strategy, agreeing a goal or target, collectively with the group you are working with, you are merely making movements rather than progress. Whether it is agreeing a league position come the end of the season, our outlining your business strategy, it must be carefully & collectively assembled based on the resource you have, and reviewed together so you know whether it is still achievable, or bettered.

2) AGREE YOUR NON NEGOTIABLE BEHAVIOURS

A terminology I have grown to love, from the High Performance Podcast & the work of Prof Damian Hughes & Jake Humphrey. Defining & agreeing your non negotiable behaviours within your group is an absolute must, without that, we have no code to adhere to, no standards to hold each other accountable to, and nothing to support others in onboarding into when they join your team. Within our football club these behaviours are:

Humility - do the work you expect of others

Be Structured - understand the role you have to play, on and off the ball

Be Brave - make decisions, trust that you made them for the good of the team

Remind people of these as a leader, when a game or project start, use them as your language & allow them to guide your success. These behaviours are especially important when bringing someone new into the team, ensure people understand them so they can add value.

3) BUILD AROUND YOUR A PLAYERS

And these are not just your most talented or technically gifted players, these are people who, when provided with clarity, leadership & accountability thrive, self manage & hold each other to account for the standards that have been collectively agreed. Once these people are in place in the team, they do not need you to bark orders or be an authoritarian from the sideline, they merely need direction, and watch them go - it's a pleasure to see them work as a cohesive unit.

4) PLACE IMPORTANCE ON DEVELOPMENT

Winning is incredibly important, and sport for the most part is a results business. Winning in business is also a main target for most, but within achieving that, we must not lose sight of the fact that we need to grow & develop people within our team. Do not sacrifice the growth & development of people, expose them, challenge them, provide them with variation & allow them to make mistakes and fail. In the long term it may mean the move on to bigger & better things, but they will always serve as alumni for the culture that was co-created within your team.

5) ADMIT WHEN YOU ARE WRONG

You cannot ride the crest of a wave when it is going well, only to hide & not admit vulnerability where you have got it wrong. Admit it to the people you are building with, it is by no means a weakness, you are a human being, leaders get it wrong, same as we all do.

Whether it is a decision you have made, a lever you have pulled, own it, because I would like to think people make decisions for the team with the best intentions at the centre of the decision, it would be ludicrous to think you will get every single one correct.

If it includes an apology, so be it - If we are going to be successful, we have to agree that there will be bumps in the road, by admitting our misjudgments & failing fast, we can get back on course to achieve what we set out to sooner, and that is the bigger picture.

6) ASK QUESTIONS & COACH

If you don't know ask, so many of who you bring into the team unit are better than you technically or in some other way. That is an advantage, challenge those people by asking them questions, extract their knowledge, find out their decision making process so that you can understand it as a leader.

Coaching also means your people are involved, they are part of the process and are not just done to, they are key to the decisions that are made, and you are at the centre point of it, rather than above it all.

"Does everyone understand what is required of them"

"Can anyone see a way to improve this"

This is simple but it needs to become a habit, we are so quick to advice that we sometimes lose the quality that derives from not trying to have all the answers.

These are not rocket science, In fact I am writing this as a reminder to myself, as I enter a new season & a new challenge personally & professionally. In some areas I/we have already made some mistakes, this article serves as an opportunity to fail fast from them, and move onwards.

Learn & do different.

Nice one.

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