Business leaders can learn so much from Villa bosses
The job of manager at a big football club essentially equates to running a big business. Warwickshire County Council's Executive Director for Resources, Rob Powell, a passionate supporter of Aston Villa, believes business people can learn plenty from the skills of current boss Unai Emery and others to have preceded him in the Villa hotseat.
This article expands on a recent article for the Municipal Journal written in August in my capacity as President of the Society of County Treasurers. My article set out lessons from the brilliance of Unai Emery, manager of my beloved Aston Villa, for finance managers in local government, all linked to SCT’s new development programme, Future County Finance Leaders.
Written before the Premier League season started, I feared my article had cursed Unai during Villa’s awful start to the season, but the mighty Villa have roared back to life and so I am now broadening my learnings to my three favourite Villa managers.
Unai Emery: As a season ticket holder, I have watched Unai’s work closely since he took over at Villa nearly three years ago. His coaching has improved every player. With exacting standards and huge demands that players must consistently achieve, Unai has got more out of the group of players than I think any other coach could have.
Lessons: Leaders need to engage, motivate and develop their people, spot talent and give people opportunities to be their best. Be demanding, so that our people achieve their full potential, within a culture of support and challenge in which people develop and thrive, and hit the required standards. Clarity, focus and immense attention to detail have turned middle of the road clubs into great ones under this remarkable leader who improves all members of his team, and made them deliver more than the sum of their parts.
Graham Taylor: My happiest year watching Villa was 1989-90 when Graham Taylor took over a badly struggling sleeping giant and completely transformed the club. With incredibly high standards, a brilliant eye for a player, and, it was a quite a year and Villa were so close to winning the league just a year after a narrow escape from relegation. Graham went on to manage England, less successfully, but a lot more successfully than people remember.
Lessons: 1) Know how to manage different players, for example Graham Taylor’s customised (and unique) management of the incredible Paul McGrath gave Villa fans the best player many of my age have ever seen play for the club, bought at a time when his knee problems and struggles with alcohol meant it was a hugely risky signing. 2) Be brilliant at upward management. 'Deadly' Doug Ellis, the chairman, was unceremoniously kicked out of the dressing room on occasions when he encroached, and proper standards and clarity of roles were maintained at all times. 3) Have the right values and insist on the right behaviours and humility from your team. 4) When things aren’t working, sort them out. Graham had an uncanny knack for sorting out poor first half performances at half-time, and getting results.
Dean Smith: my best day watching Villa was the day lifelong Villa fan Dean Smith won the play-off final at Wembley, his team captained by Villa fanatic Jack Grealish. Dean had delivered ten consecutive wins to sneak into the play-offs, beaten West Brom (very sweet) and then won the ‘richest match in football’. From the day he walked through the door, the quality of his coaching and player leadership, and the synergy with the club’s heritage and values was clear to all of us.
A very tricky first season in the Premier League was just about safely navigated, but what really impressed was how Dean, when the Covid lockdown struck with his job under threat and the team in deep trouble, used the lockdown to explore in detail why the season had not gone to plan, holding multiple zoom calls with players, and essentially sorting out Villa’s defensive problems. When the season restarted, the team was steelier, harder to beat and had renewed belief they could survive, something achieved against all odds with an amazing finish to the season. Dean then improved the team dramatically, buying a number of players who remain the spine of Unai Emery’s team. Harshly sacked after another season following four consecutive defeats, Dean left the club with immense dignity and will forever be one of the club’s most important and loved managers.
Lessons: 1) Always be prepared to innovate and do things differently. During the worst of times, don’t wallow in self-pity, and take any opportunity to find another way to improve things. 2) Recognise and harness the culture and heritage of your organisation. 3) Leave with dignity to preserve your legacy, recognising sometimes the organisation moves on but your impact will remain.