There is no secret that I look to professional sports for leadership lessons. Sadly, I follow some sports teams that have had some turbulent years. Right now one of them is Manchester United who have been through a number of recent manager changes without the glory days of success under Sir Alex Ferguson. Most recently, Erik ten Hag has agreed to take on the challenge of restoring Manchester United back to the top of the Premier League.

The season did not start off well with a humilating defeat to Brentford, a team that Manchester United should be able to compete with. Most embarrassing was the lack of effort – the statistic from the game that bothered Erik ten Hag the most was that the opposing team out ran his team by 13.8 km. We have discussed before, it is the actions you take every day that lead to success.

Erik ten Hag’s response to the loss? Cancelling the day off and bringing the team members into training for each of them to run 13.8 km in scorching 33 C temperatures.

What impressed me the most was not that Erik ten Hag cancelled the day off and got the team in to run. No, what impressed me the most was that he shouldered the blame as well and matched each team member step for step and completed the 13.8 km run. It ended up being a tough run for the players, but even more difficult for the 50 year old coach. So many lessons in this single act.

Mirror and Window – Leaders look in the mirror first and question what they can do better.

Model – If you can’t walk the talk then no one will walk with you.

Be swift – When a correction is necessary, respond quickly.

Focus on the actions – As John Wooden says, don’t focus on the scoreboard rather focus on the actions to get you there. In this case it was running 13.8 km.

It may be too early to see if Erik ten Hag will get Manchester United back but here is to the small actions of leadership he is making.