Good read on Leicester City

Passed on from the Development team at work.

https://app.goodpractice.net/#/leeds-beckett-tfl/s/0d3d08e3

 

Bugger must be an internal thing.

 

Good old copy & paste.

Leadership Lessons From Leicester


‘Fairy tale’ can be overused in sport. But on May 2nd, 2016, Leicester City wrote the climax to a story Walt Disney himself could not have bettered, as the Foxes won the English Premiership with two games to spare. A team of ‘journeymen’ players managed by an eccentric Italian beat some of the sport’s biggest, richest clubs to win their first ever title. And there are plenty of lessons to learn from their most unlikely achievement!



A leader’s perspective

Only a year ago, Leicester were battling relegation with the sometimes controversial Nigel Pearson at the helm. Having escaped the drop thanks to an excellent final few games, there was genuine surprise when Chief Executive Susan Whelan dismissed Pearson and appointed Claudio Ranieri.

The 64-year-old had been sacked as Greek national coach after an abysmal European Championship qualifying campaign, and he was often publicly mocked during his time as Chelsea manager over a decade ago. Still, Whelan saw something in the Italian that she liked.

Leicester were 5000 to 1 to win the league at the start of the season, and one of the favourites for relegation. Fans were concerned, but Whelan gave them a simple message: “Trust us.”

Sometimes, leaders have to make difficult decisions, and they won’t always have a broad base of support. In these situations, it’s important to keep perspective, see the big picture and stay the course. If you’ve done the research and made what you believe is the best decision, have the courage of your convictions.

Seeing potential

When Ranieri arrived, he didn’t bring a raft of new staff with him. Only he and his assistant joined Leicester’s settled and established backroom team. And rather than reaching for the chequebook to build a new squad, he looked at existing players, instilling a confidence in them that others had previously failed to.

The transformation in key players such as Jamie Vardy - who was playing for non-league Fleetwood Town only four years ago - into a top international was truly amazing.



When taking over an underperforming team, don’t make assumptions about the abilities of team members. The right manager can turn underperformers into superstars, so don’t let the past dictate your view of the potential future.

Mastering motivation

The season started well for Leicester - and didn’t stop. Ranieri and his staff insulated the team from the incremental pressure as the season wore on. Every week, pundits were predicting “the bubble would burst”, especially when facing Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in December. They came through these games unscathed, but Ranieri continually played down their prospects, saying a place in Europe would suffice.

His man-management was superb. In a super-rich league, motivation was seen in unusual ways, not just the usual monetary awards. He delivered on his promise to reward his players for a clean sheet by serving them food at a pizzeria in Leicester, and was happy for them to fly out to Copenhagen for their Christmas party dressed as superheroes and cartoon characters. When Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki passed his English exams, he was given a standing ovation in the training ground.



The squad were given two days off per week (with the manager often travelling home to Italy) to prevent physical and mental burnout. This was a bold move, as clubs often keep their players on a ‘tight leash’. It was little wonder Leicester had the fewest injuries of all the top flight teams.

What Ranieri did was in many ways against conventional wisdom, and he found some truly unusual ways to motivate his team, despite having a substantially smaller budget than his competitors. This goes to show how really getting to know your people and thinking creatively about motivation can be just as, if not more, effective for employee engagement than just ‘throwing money’ at them.

Managing talent

The players were praised for their consistency, and football fans of almost every other club began to want Leicester to triumph. Ranieri continued to keep a lid on expectations and showed exceptional media skills, playing on his own ‘dotty’ personality.

As the season progressed, other teams circled the club looking at key players. Jamie Vardy’s goals led to him being offered a lucrative new contract, which dismantled the club’s strict wage structure. Noticeably, there was little complaint about this seeping out of the club. It was a real show of agile thinking.

Star players Riyad Mahrez (the PFA Player of the Year) and N’Golo Kante were linked with moves overseas during the summer, but this was played down by the management. Ranieri said he would not stand in their way if they wanted to go to Real Madrid, but this was not a question for today.



Understanding your people’s own career aspirations and personal desires is important. If they feel like you genuinely understand, value and care about them, even if their ultimate progression takes them elsewhere, they’re more likely to trust you, and to be invested in performing for you, while they’re working for you.

Praise where it’s due

Whilst praise has rightly been showered on the management, the team and their own leaders must take much of the credit. Veteran team captain Wes Morgan and his centre-back partner Robert Huth have been phenomenal leaders on and off the pitch.

There is clearly a bond in the dressing room, which can be seen in how hard they work for each other and the joy when they win. It’s never just been about Mahrez, Kante and Vardy - this settled and nurtured team are a unit at all times.

That truth also extends upwards. When football clubs are successful, it’s usually the team and the manager who are praised, but when they fail, the board often take the blame. In this case, Chief Executive Susan Whelan must get as much credit as those on the pitch and in the dugout for her bold choices.



When giving out praise, make sure to include everyone who has played a part. People who work in the background are sometimes forgotten, when those in the front line are praised. Ensure you spread the credit around to everyone who deserves a piece.

Evolution, not revolution

In 12 months, Leicester City was transformed, but not by revolution. Susan Whelan saw the strength of the existing structure and Claudio Ranieri brought a style of management that empowered and rewarded the players.

Sometimes, a series of small adjustments, like a programme of continuous improvement, can have exponentially greater results than each individually suggests. So don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater when you’re looking for ways to improve performance – make sure you recognise, preserve and build on the positives.

On Monday 2nd May 2016, Leicester City defied the odds and won the English Premiership for the first time in their history. They played to their strengths - they were 17th out of 20 teams in terms of possession. But they defended as a team, attacked using the lightning-fast pace of their strikers, and never missed a tackle.

Next season they have an even bigger adventure: the Champions League.

•Panel image credit: Flickr user Pietro Piupparco (accessed 4 May 2016).
•King Power Stadium image credit: Flickr user Ungry Young Man (accessed 4 May 2016).
•Jamie Vardy image credit: Flickr user Tiểu Vũ (accessed 4 May 2016).
•Riyad Mahrez image credit: admin PFA - twitter.com/PFA via Wikimedia Commons (accessed 4 May 2016).
•Team image credit: Flickr user Ronnie Macdonald (accessed 4 May 2016).

 

Maybe the last story should start 2 years earlier, £100m in debt written off by going into administration. People need to be reminded how this so called wonderful story began.

 

Bugger, you've beaten me to it !
Didn't they overspend to obtain success when everybody else had to cut back?
Perhaps someone should remind Gary Linneker about that on MOTD.

 

Nobody ever seems to mention the way they threw money about in the Championship in a similar way to City and Chelsea, to get out of it. Infact didnt they sign Drinkwater on the back of his performance for us at their place? Just went out and got him.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Everybody always mentions it on here thats for sure. Boring. They CERTAINLY haven't outspent the premiership big boys that they knocked stripes off this year. That is what the story is about.

 

They hardly needed to when they spent sooo ****ing much in the Championship. Its not like they havent spent in the PL either. Personally hope they go down and ****ing bust.

 

I wonder if Leicester have paid backthe thousands they stole from charities yet

 

They went into admin then started again , are clubs not allowed to do that ? They overspent in the Championship but so do most clubs . It's peanuts though compared to the big clubs and they've still walked the league after being bottom . It's like next season Sunderland breezing to the PL title , its just not going to happen .
Been lucky that all the big clubs have been **** in the same season but still an unbelievable achievement .