The most successful football manager shares how to be a great leader

Be a good listener

Listening and watching are two lifelong habits you need if you want to lead well. Both are free.

Don't rush decisions

Leaders should have the information and take time over some decisions. Work through the situation and the problem.

In the long run principles are more important than speed.

Be disciplined

Discipline is an integral part and a must-have habit for success.

Disciplined perseverance pays more dividends than impetuous individual heroism.

Once you bid farewell to discipline, you can bid farewell to any achievement you seek and you set the stage for anarchy.

Winners are relentless

When winning becomes a way, true winners are relentless.

If you want to do well, you must have an innate desire to excel and improve.

The winner’s drive

Winners have a formidable appetite for work and extraordinary self discipline.

Drive means a willingness to work hard, emotional fortitude, enormous powers of concentration and a refusal to admit defeat.

Focus comes with conviction

Most people do not have inner conviction and get easily shaken.

Eliminate surprises

The pursuit of excellence involves eliminating as many of the surprises as possible.

Effective teamwork

Great teamwork comes from familiarity and developing close bonds with others.

Be real about your team’s capability

A good leader is always clinical about the capabilities of his team.

A leader has to balance a sense of what is possible with a sense of reality.

Earn your team’s respect

You get the best out of people by earning their respect.

A leader is not one of the boys

A leader should not be over friendly with his direct team. You don’t need to be loved; on occasion you should be feared when you are asking for performance, but you should be respected.

Be consistent

Another important ingredient of motivation is consistency. Good leaders are consistent and transparent about it.

Stay cool under pressure

When you are in a tight situation or pushed to the wall, do not panic.

Don't become complacent

Complacency is a disease in individuals and organizations.

Value timeliness

As a leader never be late for work or meetings.

Young people think they have all the time in the world. As you get older you realise that you should not squander time.

Leaders sacrifice pastimes

I have yet to encounter anyone who has achieved massive success without giving up many pastimes.

The art of giving feedback

Always put criticism in perspective.

In tough situations, I was always composed and precise in my feedback.

Getting the best from teams

A good leader needs to get control, harmony, tempo, timing and rhythm from a team.

Confidence leads to control

Authority and the exercise of control rests on possessing confidence.

Delegate

Control and delegation are two sides of the same coin.

The great leader will be clinical about performance. He will trust the judgement of others and is unafraid to delegate authority.

More money won’t solve problems

Throwing money at a problem does not solve the problem.

Share information

One mark of a good leader is his willingness to share information.

The hallmark of a great leader

There are plenty of attributes that separate a great leader from the good manager. Both will work hard etc., but the great leader will always put the interests of the organization first and ahead of everything else. 

Embrace audacity

The great leader will embrace audacity and the unthinkable.

Be inclusive

The great leader will not manage through check lists, but with more focus and purpose in discussions.

You cannot lead by following

No organization achieves greatness by reacting to its competitors.