leadership styles - roberto mancini

Leadership Styles: What we can learn from Roberto Mancini

Leadership styles – that’s what got Roberto Mancini the sack at Manchester City, not his team.

To illustrate my point – review Roberto’s body language when his team lost a goal, or worse still, were losing. Instead of fighting alongside his team, encouraging and supporting he would throw a hand in the air, look the other way, become dejected and angry.

It was as if when things got tough, it was a case of them and him. The team and the manager. Not us, not we. His behaviour was mirrored with his language; singling out players and apportioning blame in post match press conferences.

So here’s three tips that may have helped Manchester City not only retain their manager, but also the Premier League title (in May 2013).

Leadership Styles – three critical components

1. Develop a collective ‘we’

The best leaders are able to gain great influence and buy in from followers because they are seen to represent “us”. Their language is inclusive and they embody the values and practices of the organisation they lead. As such the power that is afforded the manager or leader is gratefully given by their followers. There is no need to power grab, to rely on  a position of authority to get results. Staff or footballers will run through a brick wall for these kinds of leader/managers.

2. Be quick to praise

Roberto Mancini seemed to be far too quick to criticise. Remember how he dealt with Joe Hart? Recent research showed that we should give a minimum of five pieces of encouragement for every piece of criticism. Next time you are interacting with your staff or colleagues, listen to what you are saying. Want someone to do something better? Find a way to encourage them on what they are doing right and build on that – you’ll get the results you want and a much happier work force.

3. Take the blame

Very often Roberto Mancini would be quick to point out the mistakes of his players or team in public – is it any wonder a team full of the world’s best players didn’t achieve silverware? It takes a true leader or manager to say “hey, it was my fault, I’m sorry”. Yet doing so creates a strange dynamic where staff and colleagues are more likely to listen, and results are easier to come by.

 

A great book on the subject of what makes a great leader is by Jim Collins called “Good to Great”.  It’s an easy read and I recommend it to you. At Welcome Insight we specialise in working with leaders and managers to gain that extra edge – ensuring great relationships run alongside great results.

See how our leadership and management development programmes develop leadership styles, or how we work to grow SMEs through business coaching, or work with those in senior positions through executive coaching.

Background on how Roberto Mancini’s leadership styles cost him;

(C) Welcome Insight 2013. Written by Mark Bateman. Image by quisnovus