(or why every executive should take a football coaching license)
In between all the gossip about transfers and the sniping at other teams, there are some coaches that have shaped the game and have written plenty about leadership.
The two most over-used metaphors in business are sports and war. The reason, I was once reliably informed, is they are apt. It is obvious why we can learn from world class football managers. It takes a particular type of leader to drive a team of diverse personalities to perform several times a week for 90 minutes at the highest level. The most successful coaches go on to earn hundreds of thousands of pounds per day in corporate speaking fees when they retire from football.
For the rest of us mortals, there are still plenty of simple lessons we can take from football coaching directly. This is why I think everyone should coach an Under 14s at one time or another. Think of it as a safe playground where you can train your leadership skills with only the threat of a loss to Chatswood Rangers, rather than ending your career. That is the core reason why everyone should do a soccer coaching course. You can learn to lead teenagers who have no problems with telling you that they don’t want to do something. You have to learn influence and leadership without the same role power you have at work.
