Leaders & Followers

Much has been written about ‘leadership’ in sport in recent weeks. Maybe it is time to consider what we really mean. What is the purpose of leadership? If it is, and this seems reasonable, to work with others in an agreed purposeful way in order to achieve stated goals, then we should be able to arrive at a decent understanding.

‘Working with others’, be they fellow coaches, those who are coached, or those who employ the coaches, implies a certain amount of agreement and empathy, yet this is where many coaches go wrong.

Most coaches will say that they want ‘their’ players to be responsible, to be good decision-makers, and to take some sort of ‘ownership’ of their situation. Yet, these same coaches are highly likely to take control of just about everything in their particular environment.

I started learning about this many years ago when I was the coach of the English Universities Rugby XV. For several seasons, I had been frustrated that when we asked our selected players to be at our meeting place in London, say, by 8pm on the Wednesday evening, ahead of a match v French Universities on Friday evening, there were always some who said they could not make it until later that night, or even before early the following morning. Despite my protestations, I never resolved this problem. So one year, at a final squad practice ahead of selecting the team, I sent the players off in groups to discuss a range of things connected with a possible code of conduct. On the matter of being at the meeting at 8pm on the Wednesday, they were all united- ‘If they cannot be there by then, don’t pick them’. Thus it was that we never had the problem again. The reason was that the players had ownership. Because of this, they stuck to it.

We often hear talk of leaders, and of the need for good followers. The best environment is where the followers are also seen to be leaders- as the All Blacks say- ‘One captain, fifteen leaders’. Any coaching environment, from school to elite level professional sport, should work in this way. We should hear coaches saying-‘What do you think?’ ‘How do you feel? ‘What should we do?’. Players should feel confident that their responses are important. Players should take charge of some sessions. How else can we expect them in due course to make all the right decisions on the field? Players should not look to the touchline for instructions. Should coaches go on the field of play as ‘water-carriers’. Who should do most of the talking at half-time?

Players views are important. It was said that the ECB disposed of Kevin Pietersen because he was disruptive in the dressing room and the other players did not want him. The player himself apparently is now saying that the right decision was made. So how did England’s rugby players feel about whether Stefan Armitage should be eligible to play or not? Were they asked, and if so, by whom? If the players wanted him, should that have been enough? Quite possibly. If they did not, that is the end of the story.

In the primary school, youngsters devise their own games in the playground, select their own teams (always trying to have an even contest), decide the rules, and they act as their own TMO. We spend the next 20+ years taking all of this away from them. A different approach is needed to coaching, at all levels. A stated purpose of the coaching environment should be to develop leaders.

Such leaders can become leaders in and of sport, and in the real world beyond.

Bob Reeves

Director, Foundation for Leadership through Sport

President, Rugby Football Union 2013/14

FLS at work with Saracens Academy

Our FLS philosophy on developing leader capabilities is demonstrated in the current programme we have designed and are running for the Academy at Saracens RFC, which features in a recent edition of Training Journal (www.trainingjournal.com; 'news' 17 August).

Put together and directed by Vic Luck, the programme features:

1. A series of practical projects in the workplace, putting into action a personalised leader development plan based on better self awareness of personal impact on others. This reflects our belief that the best way to accelerate the development of leader skills is focused practice in everyday situations

2. Spread over 5 months, these projects are initiated in 4 half-day workshops that facilitate learning about the leadership process and various core skills like communications, decision-making under pressure etc. The role of FLS is to direct these interventions but not to provide them all; we have included other leadership experts to contribute to the programme

3. 17 Academy players are joined on the programme by 9 executives from club partner wealth management business Sanlam, and one workshop also involves working with Sandhurst cadets. As with our workshops held for senior performance executives in NGBs and elite clubs, we are keen to exploit the learning across sport, business and the military

4. Key to the success of this type of programme is the support of club management, and accordingly the Academy manager, Don Barrell is participating in the programme along with four coaches, who encourage players to practice their leader skills alongside their rugby skills

5. And in keeping with our mission to develop leadership THROUGH sport, the aim of the programme is both to yield immediate performance improvements by the individuals and for their teams AND to lay the foundations for successful careers after rugby

Coaching from the sidelines

Increasingly, it seems to me that sportsmen and women are being told what to do by coaches from the sidelines while a game is being played, or perhaps by the water carrier who goes on the pitch to tell players what to do next. This suggests that players are not trusted to manage their own performance. Surely, players in any sport should be encouraged to make decisions, assume responsibility and to be accountable for what they do. With this in mind, Brian Ashton and I are developing ideas on ‘Coaching sport to develop leaders’. We believe that a change in teaching and coaching style from schooldays onward is necessary so that game understanding is seen to be as important as skill development and that those being coached should be given more say in practice. As Brian says, leadership in sport begins in the primary school playground, when youngsters select their own teams, design the playing area and also make decisions without a referee. We then spend the next 20 years taking this away from them!
Our activity in coaching to develop leaders will involve the likes of Kevin Bowring, Andy Flower and David Whitaker.

What do you think? Let us know.
Bob Reeves

Harry gets excited about the Rugby World Cup 2015

Follow the link:  http://bit.ly/1e2CjCR

Player selection - some difficult decisions

Would you have picked Kevin Pieterson for England? Would you have selected Stefan Armitage or any other overseas domiciled players for the Rugby World Cup? These were big decisions to be made by leaders of these sports. It would be great to find out what FLS members think. Let us know?
For my part, though it there is no clear ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, I have a feeling I might have said ‘yes’ to the former, and ‘no’ to the latter.
Pieterson is a sporting genius, and such people, being very different, tend to behave differently in many ways. They need careful management. Even then, relationships are often difficult, with team-mates and coaches alike. Maybe Pieterson was a ‘pain in the ——‘, but this surely could have been managed. Geoff Boycott was a very selfish player, but he was never dropped for being a pain. He was however once left out of a test team even though he scored a double century in the previous test match. This was justified, as he had taken so long over his innings (2 days if memory served me right), that it made a draw inevitable, when a win might have been on the cards. Now that is a strange one.
As for Armitage, he knew the ‘rules’ when he went to play in France. He was reminded of these when he had the chance to return to play in England. He chose not to, and has paid the price.
In both these cases, the selectors, and particularly the coaches, have taken heed of the damage in the dressing room that may have followed selection of the players concerned. If they thought that team spirit and the healthy culture built up over time were to be eroded, they cannot be blamed for leaving them out.
What do you think?
Bob Reeves

Managing players with big egos

Mike Forde, once with Chelsea FC and now an adviser with the San Antonio Spurs in the USA, has written an interesting piece on managing players with big egos. In the light of recent English cricket experience, the reader might find something interesting in this. It is a thought-provoking article, now to be found in the references in the FLS Members section of the website.

Sporting bodies and media

'A couple of our workshops in the past couple of years have focused on sustaining success- straying at the top after working hard to get there. We came to the conclusion that it is most unlikely that a sporting team would last long as one of the world's best unless the organisation in which it sits has an appropriate culture as well as being a world-leading sporting business. In 2011, when England rugby was in trouble on and off the field, England cricket seemed to be in a very good place. How the tables have turned. The ECB seems to have made the same mistakes that the RFU did a few years earlier.
Peter Moores attended our workshops and he must ruefully look back and bemoan what has happened to him. Leaking stories to the press is not the way good leaders work, but that is what senior people in the ECB have been doing. Peter's treatment and subsequent sacking was played out in the media and glory be, they are still at it. Whether the newly appointed Andrew Strauss should or should not give Kevin Pieterson another chance is one thing, but for the media to announce confidently that he will not, even before the two have had a meeting, is unacceptable.
The incoming ECB Chairman, Colin Groves, has already put his foot in it by publicly denouncing the West Indies as mediocre, thus motivating them to a fine victory on the 3rd test. Groves' quote was pinned to the West Indian changing room wall.

Sporting bodies have to work well with the media. How well they do it reflects on the quality of the organisation. One start for the ECB would be to stop contracted players tweeting and twittering and for any others in the organisation to say as little as possible. The RFU seem to have this right at the moment, but it only takes one indiscretion to send the pack of cards tumbling. At least the rugby folk have been made aware of this. Will English cricket learn. The signs are not good so far!'

Bob Reeves

Sign Up

' The new look website has encouraged much more interest, and among the latest to sign up as members are two people whose books on leadership we strongly recommend in the references section of the site. Richard Hytner ('Consiglieri') and James Kerr ('Legacy') have written original and insightful books about leadership. They are a must-read! '

FLS New Website

FLS New website

Welcome to the new look FLS website!  We hope you find it easy to look around and use.  There is a members log-in area and registration page for those of you who want to join us where further articles and resources can be found.  There is also a news feature with comment and online interaction.  If you have any suggestions for additional material for the site please get in touch.

Sandhurst Workshop

Leadership and the Military

Over the past 18 months, FLS have hosted six workshops, which have looked into such things as ‘Sustaining sporting success’, ‘Establishing the right culture for performance’, ‘Leadership development in sport, business and the military’. These have been attended by leaders in all these areas, such as Andy Flower, Stuart Lancaster, Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi and General Sir Peter Wall, the Army Chief of Staff.

On March 25, the next in the series is being held at Sandhurst, when the Commandant and senior colleagues will explain how the Army identifies and develops talented leaders, going into how this might have relevance for sport and business.

Members of FLS will have access, through this website, to the notes of the meeting, as they already have to information from some of the previous workshops.

Cricket World Cup

England Jaded?

England’s disappointing performance in the Cricket World Cup has understandably aroused a lot of criticism. It is worth looking into a bit more carefully. When FLS hosted a workshop on ‘Staying at the top’, attended by the likes of Peter Moores, Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss, from cricket, it was agreed that organizational culture is important if any team is going to have sustained success. A world leading team is not likely if the organisation in which it sits is not also world-leading.

Is there not just too much cricket for our top players? James Anderson looks jaded. Consider what is in store. So far, in 2015, England have had 15 one day matches in the 50 over format. In early April, they will have 2 two day games and three five day tests in the West Indies. Leading straight into a one-day International v Ireland, and then 2 tests, 5 one day matches and one 20-20 game v New Zealand. All this is before the Australians arrive for five test matches and 5 one day games.

Does all of this appear to be the best way to encourage our best players to perform at their best? Not in my view. What do you think?