Saturday morning and I am watching my grand son at football training followed by a practice game. The coach is very encouraging to all the players despite the clear differences in ability. I see one rather shy and uncoordinated lad grow in confidence as the coach praised his efforts. By the end of the session he looks a different player.
Saturday afternoon Burnley v Manchester City as the players come off at half time the Manchester City manager charges over to his star striker not to congratulate him on the two goals he has scored but to berate him in front of the crowd and t.v. cameras. It is not clear why he is so animated or why it can’t wait till both are in the privacy of the changing room.
Two very different management styles. It would be ridiculous to compare the under 7s coach of my local team with the man generally regarded as the most successful football manager ever. Who only last year won the treble of the Champions league, the Premier league and the FA cup. Or would it? Which scenario is closest to that of the average manager in an average organisation? Assuming most of us are unlikely to be a world class performer in a world class organisation which type of manager is going to get the best out of us?
Pep Guardiola is know to be a perfectionist others may focus on two well taken goals he is more interested in what his star striker did wrong and is so impatient and frustrated he can’t wait long enough to tell him in private. Some might argue that’s the difference between a good manager and a great manager and that his pursuit of perfection is what turns a good player into a great player. But I have also noted that some very good players have not flourished in this type of hyper critical environment where nothing is ever good enough.
My own experience on and off the sports field is most people respond better to praise than criticism. To me this incident just illustrated even the most successful managers can get it wrong and perfectionists make rubbish bosses.
Blair Mcpherson former Director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
