Creating and Keeping a Culture: Lighting Up the ‘Dark Side’ of Sports Directorship in Football
28th May 2019

- recruiting individuals who bring something different and desirable to the group (to discourage current staff from ‘becoming comfortable’ or doing things the same way)
- making performance data publicly available (to nudge individuals to compare against and outperform each other)
- designing systems that expose the limitations of individuals who are likely to become detractors of the culture in the future (so others see them and their views as less influential)
- building strong relationships with individuals who glue sub-groups together (so that those who could ‘side either way’ are more likely to stay on board due to the weight of perception)
- bringing the media into selected parts of the environment (to encourage more positive reporting by ‘knowing the people’; or, to publicise good work ‘upwards’ to the Board)
So, as well as inspiring or working with people directly on what to do or think, the effective leader also seems to be someone who can work indirectly as ‘a shepherd in the shadows’. Of course, this approach won’t be a surprise to most in the game. Perhaps the more interesting question then is, why isn’t this side of leadership discussed or educated more openly
- As the Sporting Director is responsible for creating and keeping a high performance culture, it’s vital that they have the knowledge and skills to make ‘high performance thinking’ and ‘high performance behaving’ normal in their clubs;
- To date, research and education has tended to emphasise the ‘bright and positive’ ways to do this; either overlooking or downplaying the role that the ‘darker side’ of leadership can sometimes play;
- To give their club’s the best chance of long-term success, Sporting Directors would do well to consider the full range of leadership behaviour and – even more importantly – develop their skills in PJDM. Strong skills in PJDM can improve the chance of behaving in the best way at the best time for the best purpose, while also minimising the big risks of getting behaviour ‘wrong’.

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Performance psychologistIn an increasingly confused world of ‘sciency’ researchers and commercial gurus, Grey Matters focus on providing a clear, evidence-based service that puts YOU in charge.
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A leap forward in performance
To find out how Grey Matters can take you or your athletes to the next level click below to get in touch.
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A message from Dave Collins
Performance psychologistIn an increasingly confused world of ‘sciency’ researchers and commercial gurus, Grey Matters focus on providing a clear, evidence-based service that puts YOU in charge.
View Dave on LinkedIn