1. Don’t change the two most important people in the organisation at the same time
Sir Alex Ferguson had been manager of
Manchester United for 27 years and David
Gill had racked up a decade as chief
executive when the duo stepped down last
summer. For manager and chief executive at
a football club, read chief executive and
chairman at a publicly listed company.
Allowing both to leave at the same time is
dangerous, particularly when their
combined leadership has been so successful.
How many companies have lost
their chairman and chief executive at
exactly the same time and replaced both
with great success?
2. Don’t let the last business leader choose the next one.
Sir Alex Ferguson imposed what some
observers have described as a “Stalin-like
grip” on Manchester United during his 27
years in charge. Very little, it is said,
happened without either his direct say-so or
tacit approval.
But allowing the man who
has had a stand named after him and a statue erected at the club’s Old Trafford stadium to effectively nominate his replacement as manager brought personal
emotion, ego and self-interest into the succession, when it should have been a rational, well thought-out collective board decision.
Who on the board would have
dared to shoot down the suggestion of the club’s most successful manager ever?
Ferguson was allowed to become much too
important during his reign at the top. How many departing chief executives are allowed
to select their successors?
3. Groom successors from within when you have a winning team.
Ferguson’s biggest failing perhaps was not grooming a potential successor. Maybe that’s a pitfall of having a domineering, win-at-all-costs personality. But some of the most successful leadership at winning companies has taken more of a team-based approach, generating a cadre of capable lieutenants who have gone on to follow them as well as taking the helm at other companies.
Groups including Procter &
Gamble , Dixons, Asda and the former menswear chain Burtons have served as prodigious academies of management talent.
And in English football three of the 19 other managers in the Premier League served as players and/or backroom staff under Ferguson, demonstrating that the talent to
groom at hand was indeed available.
4. Keep the most important support staff intact when the top jobs change
David Moyes entered the lions’ den when he
took the manager’s job at Manchester
United. The previous manager had won
everything there was to win in a glittering
career; the top players’ medal cabinets were
stuffed full too.
Having never won a major trophy himself as a manager, he had an
instant credibility gap and needed wise heads around him who had the benefit ofhaving been around in the glory years.
Instead, he replaced the entire top coaching staff, bringing in the team that had served him at Everton.
While this might have been
seen as asserting his authority at the time, it left Moyes unsupported within the club
and deprived the club of vital experience, know-how and continuity.
5. Appoint someone big enough for the job
Moyes has never won a major trophy as a football manager and yet he was expected to deliver more or less instantly at a club
whose previous manager had won 13 English Premier League titles and two European Champions Leagues.
As if this was not mission impossible, his body language, demeanour and communications
with the media suggested almost from the outset that he did not feel that he was up tothe task.
6. Get the cultural fit right
The history of an organisation is an
irrevocable part of what it is. It is almost impossible to imagine Apple as a company full of conformists or General Electric as
recklessly-managed. Similarly in football, Manchester United’s history and reputation is as a dynamic and romantic team full of
derring-do, adventure and attacking style.
From the youthful exuberance of the “Busby Babes” in the 1950s to the swagger and pomp of Best, Charlton and Law in their
prime, the club has developed a “United way”.
Ferguson, a self-confessed sporting
gambler, stuck to those principles. However, while Moyes spoke about a strong youth policy and the club’s fine reputation for attacking football, his actions and strategies
did not match his words.
7. Manage the management’s communication
Moyes had no choice but to take the microphone after every defeat – the broadcasting contracts governing English Premier League football stipulate that the
team managers are interviewed after every game.
Moyes, following a master media
manipulator in Ferguson, could not be expected to have his predecessor’s touch in this department. Honest and decent in his public utterances, he nonetheless needed support from his backroom staff and senior
players and directors.
The club’s media team could have taken a much more active role in protecting Moyes, presenting a
collective front and showing support to a manager who was always going to have a tricky first year in following a legend.
8. Be decisive. Know when it’s the right time to stop the rot.
Prior to Moyes’s departure, United had a reputation for giving managers time to build teams, in contrast to some of the rapid
firings seen at other top teams in the UK and Europe .
Yet, it was clear that Moyes had lost the dressing room, while his
comments after the team’s final
performance under his management demonstrated that he didn’t have the long-
term vision required.
9. Don’t let the news leak
Once the decision is made, make the announcement. Some of the momentum gained from the decisiveness United’s owners showed with their judgment that
enough was enough was lost by widespread reports the day before that made Moyes’ sacking the worst-kept secret in British
football.
Nearly all Britain’s national
newspapers led their sports pages with the news that Moyes was to be sacked, before it had been announced. While United’s listing
on the New York Stock Exchange governs the timing of price-sensitive news, the leaking of the dismissal led to speculation
about compensation, replacements and club strategy, when the focus could have been on a new beginning.
10. Have a credible new plan.
When an instant fix is neither credible nor desirable, at least have a plan, a process and steady temporary leadership.
Appointing Ryan Giggs, United’s most decorated player in the club’s history, to take charge on a temporary basis, restores some respect to the fallen champions.
Giggs is adored by fans, respected by the players and hugely liked by the sports media. With so much of the past leadership having departed, his is an obvious temporary appointment to try to arrest the team’s slide and provide some stability. Few companies,
however, are likely to have somebody with his attributes waiting ready in the wings.
original article appeared on FORBES
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