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So what have Mourinho and Ferguson got in common?

Apparently the answer is not a sense of humour - unless it is the occassional tongue or gum in cheek remark often uttered at the expense of their rival.
One is a dour Scot brought up in the tough environment of Glasgow who has spent all of his career as a player or manager in the Scottish or English Football League environment. The other is a younger, urbane well travelled manager with a background in Portugese football and life. They are apparently poles apart in their backgrounds and cultural approach and on the surface appear to be as different as chalk and cheese.
They have both led their respective Clubs to the Premiership title in the current or last season but what are the common ingredients of their success?
If we look more closely at their leadership style there are a number of characteristics that they have in common:-
- a fierce drive and determination to win
- a strong belief in their own ability and the ability of their players
- unswerving loyalty to and support of their players, even to the extent of ignoring their excesses both on or off the field
- a clear vision and ambition that their club will come out on top, often expressed with absolute conviction
- they concentrate almost exclusively on the playing aspects of their Clubs, leaving the rest of the commercial management side to other specialists
- the preparedness to take tough decisions and to discard players that they feel are passed their best or who do not fit in well with the established team pattern
- the ability to spot, attract and develop outstanding young talent and to bring them into their Clubs, even prepared to evolve their playing pattern and style to accomodate this new talent
- an outspoken style with the media that tolerates no challenge of their perspective or right to criticise the competition and to employ "mindgames" before important matches

Some of these characteristics provide lessons to us all working to develop people and organisation's performance. Others are less relevant to success in the modern business world.
Identifyng leaders in our businesses with these winning characteristics is a key requirement.
I think that we can already see that Roy Keane has this unique set of skills after less than a full season as a Manager in the Championship.
Do you know the characteristics of successful leaders for your business and how to identify and develop them?
If not then please contact us to find out how we can help.