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One of the most exciting things in life is the fact that inspiration and learning opportunities can be found everywhere. This morning, I was watching on TV the ‘big party’ organised to celebrate the victory of Leicester City in the Football Premier League. Winning the Premier League is reason enough to rejoice, but in Leicester’s case there are even more reasons to ‘have  a ball’. Firstly: the result was completely unexpected. Last season, the team had almost been relegated from the League. Unlike other teams, they did not have any ‘star’ player or a millionaire budget. They were true underdogs. To top it all up, it is the first time in their 132 years of history, that they won the championship. I was intrigued: What happened? What drove Leicester to achieve such fantastic results? That’s when I watched an interview with the team coach, an Italian guy called Claudio Ranieri, and understood it all.

After watching his interview, I decided to dig a bit deeper, acknowledging that when it comes to professional transitions, football coaches have more ‘experience’ than the average person. As we all know, constantly contracting and dismissing is a routine in their world. There must be very few other professions where there is so much change, so much ‘starting all over again’. In this context (of frequent transition) there must be an ‘ocean of wisdom’ about the skills and attitudes that one has to adopt to be successful (or fail) in moments of change. And this is something that I was keen to discover.

Firstly, I checked Claudio’s professional history and, as one would expect, he has worked in dozens of football clubs. His CV confirms that he has a career of constant ‘restarting’. I get very interested in knowing how he deals with this ‘mutant’ reality.  Which strategy does he apply to quickly adapt to a new team? How does he keep his balance whilst experiencing the constant ‘rotation’ between hire and dismissal, between winning and losing? What keeps him so full of energy and always fighting for the next victory?

Unfortunately I haven’t found any articles that explore the topic of professional transitions in the lives of football coaches ( I could, perhaps, conduct such a research in the future). I did find though, a good amount of information about ‘Ranieri’s leadership style’ and thought that it would be useful to share some highlights here. Here you go:

1. Authenticity – One can see that Ranieri has a very ‘unique’ style. He has great sense of humour, speaks calmly (but energetically) and his statements sound very truthful. He says he is always positive and I read that his ‘warm leadership style’ helped inspire each player to give their best.
2.  Responsibility – In many interviews, the coach says that ‘destiny is in the hands of our team’. He focuses his efforts on the things that are ‘under control’. He is clearly a Player, never a Victim (watch a video on this topic). His belief is that winning or losing is not what matters the most, what it is important is to keep fighting up to the end.
3. Collaboration – To build a ‘team spirit’ is something that it’s clearly on the ‘core’ of Ranieri’s work. Celebrate victory, he says, is fundamental. The ‘pizza parties’ that he organised every time the group reached targets were considered key to the team’s success.
4. Vision – Ranieri state his objectives very clearly and acknowledges the importance of communicating these to the group. He knows where he ‘is going’ and inspires the players to ‘get there’.
5. Sensibility – A very important feature of a leader is to understand the ‘context’ where he operates. When asked about what he felt when he arrived at Leicester City, he replied: “There was a positive electricity around.” He quickly understood the potential that was available and made the best of it.

Being clear about own style and unique features, about the context and the culture where they operate, is fundamental for leaders to be successful. More so, the ones who are going through a career transition. Through the work I do as a Transition Partner, my personal motivation is to support professionals in finding clarity and understanding in such moments of change. Do get in touch if you want to know more.

I wish you all a good & inspired week!