BY ELIZABETH MALOBA
Being a football manager means you arrive at work well aware that your work is being reviewed and commented on by millions of people and there is no guarantee on how long you will keep your job.
First we had the National Football League (NFL) of America, then came the English Premier League (EPL), and now La Liga – the richer a league becomes, the more volatile (and thrilling) it seems to become. As more money comes into the league, considerable attention is paid to winning and losing, and identifying who is responsible for team performance. Increasingly, club managers and coaches are being held directly and personally responsible. The most volatile coaching jobs are found in American College Football where between 1990 and 2015 Power Five programs changed coaches 267 times. In the EPL Jose Mourinho is currently struggling to keep his place in Manchester United and Arsene Wenger was forced to leave his post at Arsenal FC after 21 years at the helm, while in La Liga Julen Lopetegui just lost his place in Real Madrid. So far in 2018 the EPL has had 11 managers sacked (the Christmas period may yet bring more sackings as the season comes over the halfway mark).
Public Scrutiny
You might say that leagues are very specific contexts within which leaders operate. However, scholars like Kreilgaard, Soren & Sorensen say that being a football manager means you arrive at work well aware that: your work is being reviewed and commented on by millions of people; many of your employees earn more than you do; even if you deliver results, there is no guarantee on how long you will keep your job; your best employees will leave the company several times a year to work for someone else, you will still pay their wages and take the risk that they return unable to perform their duties; you are a public person – everything you do and say is broadcast to the world; your employees are a mix of people from a wide range of nationalities and cultures; and you must deliver results every time. Many organisational leaders are also confronted with the same scenario; increasing public scrutiny of their results and potential for ritual scapegoating when things don’t work as planned.
Where does the buck stop?
Leadership happens on different hierarchical levels but who should be held ultimately responsible for results is not always clear-cut. Football managers (and coaches) are hierarchically middle level managers who do not sit at the strategic apex of the organisation. They report to a Board (or owner) and are responsible for a team of other staff who work with players to deliver results. In other organisations, the person in a similar position is typically the CEO, the Executive Director, the General Manager… the title varies based on the nature of the organisation and its location. They are the public face of the organisation and the focus of attention when the organisation fails or succeeds.
Leadership lessons from world of football
1. In different contexts, job description of managers even in the same industry may vary.
Leaders in large organisations – like large teams – are likely to be responsible for overseeing functions that others fulfil while leaders in small organisations – like small teams – are likely to have a broader portfolio to oversee. Founder managers of start-ups that get to growth stage have first-hand experience of how tough it is to transition between the different job descriptions for the same position as the organisation grows. In some contexts, it can be unclear what exactly the boundaries of a managerial job are. Founder managers of early stage organisations often wear multiple hats while on the job – they can transition from driver to chairperson of the board.
2. Success is defined differently by different organisations.
The most obvious differences are experienced by leaders who transition across sectors – from public to private, or from for profits to not-for-profits. However, differences exist even within the same sector depending on the mission of the organisation. For example, within the not-for-profit development sector, grant making organisations measure ability to raise funds and disburse them while implementing organisation’s focus on capacity to raise funds and utilise them efficiently.
3. Managerial change is costly, and in many cases ineffective. Ever changed the leader at an organisation with the hope that it would improve results and interpersonal relationships only to find the change a flop? Like football teams whose performance doesn’t seem to change despite the appointment of a new manager, different studies show that simply changing leadership without addressing other elements of the working environment does not result in a change in achieving objectives or improving interpersonal relationships. I believe that to grow the organisation, one needs to focus on providing a conducive environment rather than engineering its growth.
4. Leadership happens in existing teams.
When appointed to a leadership position, you, like a team manager, find your team members in place. You must navigate your way through team dynamics and existing operational mechanisms to communicate your vision and facilitate the delivery of results.
Elizabeth Maloba is an Organisational Development and Business Growth Facilitator based in Gaborone. Email: info@businessafric.com
