Category Archives: Sport

Leadership Lessons from Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson is not just one of the most successful football (soccer) coaches ever, he is also one of the most successful leaders you can spend some time studying. Take some time and read over the Harvard Business Review – Ferguson’s Formula by Anita Elberse. In 26 seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson’s leadership, Manchester United succeeded in the most challenging football league in the world, the English Premier League. Manchester United won 38 domestic and international trophies, nearly twice as many as any other manager in the English Premier League. In this article, Sir Alex Ferguson breaks down his simple formula, consisting of the following key areas.

  • Start With The Foundation
  • Dare To Rebuild Your Team
  • Set High Standards – and Hold Everyone to Them
  • Never, Ever Cede Control
  • Match the Message to the Moment
  • Prepare to Win
  • Rely on the Power of Observation
  • Never Stop Adapting

Start with the Foundation. The foundation of every team is the key to success and consists of the vision, values along with leaders exhibiting those values. Good people will attract more good people.

Dare to Rebuild Your Team. There comes a time for every team to rebuild, taking too long can be detrimental. I tell everyone, from the first day a person joins our team, through every day as a part of our team to the day we say goodbye, treat each person with the respect they deserve.

Set High Standards – and Hold Everyone to Them. We’ve heard it all before, the culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate. Hold yourself to the standards, and hold everyone else to them.

Never, Ever Cede Control. Observe egos, which can be so destructive to a team. When the focus is on me, I and comparing myself to others – when we believe that other people around us are not as special as “me” – mutual respect disintegrates. Respond quickly when you see a negative influence, maintain control of the team and set the pace for expectations.

Match the Message to the Moment. Some messages are meant to be delivered to the team, some in person. Some messages can be used to recognize achievements while other ones can be used to highlight a situation that didn’t unfold as expected. Take time and prepare for every team communication.

Prepare to Win. Yes, Allen Iverson, practice is important. Not just to run through drills – skills and tactics. Training sessions are used to prepare for the big game when decisions are needed quickly. Help prepare the team to win in those tense situations.

Rely on the Power of Observation. Delegate supervision to others – trust, train and empower – and observe. Coaches need to observe, assess, clarify behaviors – recognize when result are as expected and show how to improve as needed.

Never Stop Adapting – Status quo is never an option – individually or with a team. Always learn and adapt – reflect on experiences, what went right and what didn’t. Seek out experiences from others.

Apologies for the poor quality, the graphic above is a scan of the visual reminder I keep in my office. Whose leadership lessons strike a chord with you?

Trail Running Part 1

I entered the trail running world years ago after watching The Barkley Marathons. I’ve always wanted to experience new ways to maintain my fitness and I never ran for the purpose of running too much in the past. I enjoyed running while playing sports like basketball but running for the sake of running was not enjoyable. Trail running on the other hand, hooked me and pulled me in. The ability to escape into a forest, running along a trail became a meditative experience with me. The meditative experience was especially powerful as my father entered his last years of life and I had a diffcult time coming to terms with death so close at the door. Regularly, after silent visits with my father I would return home and “escape” into a forest reflecting and having conversations with my father and eventually saying goodbye to his physical presence. While I have yet to reach, and most likely never will reach, the levels of trail running associated with world class atheletes that compete in the Barkley Marathons, I have run over 20 km many times. I have learned so much while trail running and this is my Part 1 in the lessons I have learned while trail running. These lessons are in no specific order.

Lesson #1 – Manage your stress I have a Garmin watch I purchased years ago and I monitor my heart rate while on the trails. I know that if I get over 170 bpm heat rate it will affect my ability to recover and maintain pace. If needed, I will slow down and bring my heart rate down knowing my limits. In life we don’t have a Gamin watch that will tell us when life is moving too fast. There may be other signals we need to pay attention to – sleep patterns, overall health and resistance to common colds, headaches and overall happiness. Find your measurements in life and slow down when you need to. The danger of not slowing down may result in a longer recovery time.

Lesson #2 – Don’t be embarrassed to walk the hills Yes, it is more difficult to run up a hill than on level ground. Running up a hill uses more energy and there is a much higher potential to exceed your stress levles. On more than one race I have walked up a hill or two, sometimes you will hear someone saying “Don’t walk, keep running”. Me, I know when I need to walk up a hill and most of the time I have ended running past that person that had that need to run up the hills. In life there will be times when you have an imposing hill in front of you. Don’t be embarrassed to slow down and walk up the hill if you need to. Only you can determine when you need to walk or run.

Lesson #3 – Enjoy the journey and don’t be a trail running snob More than once I have been on a trail that has a lookout. Looking at my watch and timing I would quite often run past the lookout, trying to maintain my pace and beat my last time. Take some time, stop at the lookout, take some deep breaths and enjoy the view. You will never get a chance to enjoy that specific view another time – we only have the present.

Lesson #4 – Splash in the puddles Who doesn’t remember running in the rain, looking for puddles to splash in. Somewhere along the way we stop jumping in the puddles, not wanting to get our shoes and clothes wet. It was fun, enjoying a nice rain, rolling in the snow or finding a new swimming spot. We look for dry ground or don’t go outside when it is raining – we want to stay in our comfort zone. You learn so much and can have so much enjoyment getting out of that comfort zone and trying a new path.

13.8 km and Leadership

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.

Intrinsic/External Motivation and Soccer Canada

In Canada we are getting ready for something that hasn’t happened for 36 years – the Men’s National Soccer Team is going to the World Cup. What happened? John Herdman is what happened. If you don’t know about John Herdman take some time to listen to or watch his talks. John is a self proclaimed “Hobbit from New Zealand”.

John Herdman was actually born in England, loved soccer (football) and made his way to New Zealand. In 2011, John made his way to Canada to take over leadership of the Womens National Team. Coming off their worst international performance ever, John quickly led the Womens Team to a gold medal finish at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico followed by bronze medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

In January 2018, John inherited the Canadian Mens National Team ranked 94th in the world. Where are they today, currently ranked 33rd and on their way to the World Cup.

How does John do this? John finds the North Star for the team and individuals on the team. This becomes the external motivation for the team and players – unanimous focus on a common goal. While John provides external motivation, he also puts the team together with individuals that are internally motivated and will “Live Above the Line” and provide 80% + every single day. 100% is not possible, but 80% is the minimuim requirement (at approximately 13:45 of the clip below). Living below 80% is mediocrity and if you live below that line, you don’t represent Canada because you don’t deserve it.

Now in your personal or professional life, are you passionate about what you do and are you intrinsically motivated to Live Above The Line?

Let Others Compliment You

I came across a quote this week from Walter Payton that made me reflect on results and behaviours. For those that aren’t aware of Walter Payton, he was a running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for 13 seasons and widely regarded as one of the greatest American football players of all time. Not only was he a great athlete, he was also a dynamic leader, modelling leadership behaviours both on and off the field of play.

The quote that caught my attention was a simple one, “When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.”

I reflected on the chart that I posted earlier this month. If you are living in quadrant 2 below you will go out of your way to let others know how great you are. If you are living in quadrant 1, others will go out of their way to let you know.

Walter Payton (July 25, 1954 – November 1, 1999)

Status Quo Is Not An Option

The great thing about life is that each day provides us with an opportunity to improve. One time at work, my boss showed up when I was having some challenges and the group results were not as expected and most importantly, not as I had committed to earlier in the year. His simple message to me was “Status quo is not an option!” It also reminds me of the quote from Will Rogers, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” During our lives, we always come to the day where change is necessary. It can be results at work, a health issue or a relationship challenge.

The key is to set goals, chart progress and change before you need to.

The Comfort Zone

I came across this graphic one day and it really hit home for me. You hear the suggestion over and over again – you need to get out of your comfort zone. It is true, to learn new skills and to have new experiences, we must all escape our comfort zone. I worked at the same company for twenty five years, promoted through many roles until I became President. I knew every process, I knew the products inside and out and I felt in control.

The day came when another opportunity was in front of me, a new challenge to lead another company where I did not know any of the processes. I was not familiar with any of the products and had no connection with the team. In my previous twenty five years, I had built my skills and confidence. I left my comfort zone, went into the learning and growth zones. I had confidence from previous experiences and the culture of the company was one that promoted team members to obtain new skills.

Not everyone has confidence when leaving their comfort zone. In life or business, our role as leaders is to help others through the fear zone. Eliminate the fear zone by creating a safe zone, a zone where it is ok to try new things and sometimes stumble. A safe zone does not mean there are no rules, rather it means the rules are very clear and we will all abide by them. These can be values, behaviours or a code of conduct. Humiliation, mockery and other demeaning behaviours can not exist in a safe zone.

Run a meeting, if it doesn’t achieve the desired results you can try again tomorrow. Try a new form of dance or a new sport, if you are not passionate about it you can try another. If you enjoy it, set goals, practice and improve. So while it is important for all of us to get out of our comfort zones, as leaders or parents our work is to create safe zones where people can grow and achieve their dreams.

The Passion of Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney, the football (soccer 😀) great has now retired from professional competition and will focus on coaching. Previous posts have discussed the importance of passion for what you do. Wayne Rooney has been one of those unique athletes who gave his all for his team while on the field. He played multiple positions as the team needed but his greatest accomplishments were up front, banging in goals. No one is perfect and Wayne Rooney had his rough patches like all of us – asking for a trade from Manchester United and also some personal troubles. Take a look at some of his highlights and see the passion in action on the field. I had the pleasure seeing Wayne Rooney play live later in his career and he still commanded a presence. Now Wayne Rooney transitions to coaching and trying to ignite the passion in others. He did learn from the best, Sir Alex Ferguson, but it is not always an easy transition. Best of luck Wayne Rooney and thank you for showing me what passion for sport looks like in action. Find your passion, do your best every day and obstacles become very small. Enjoy the journey.