Leadership - Alex Ferguson - Case Study Example

Title: Alex Ferguson Name Institution Date Introduction Leadership is the ability to transform a dream into a reality and to make a vision practical (Bennis & Nanus, 2004). To become successful, different leaders employ different leadership styles and traits depending on the situation at hand. Sir Alex Ferguson's name resonates in the minds of many people when it is mentioned. He was a former football manager who was, and still, known among the football lovers around the world. Alex is credited with steering Manchester United from just a mere club into a world class club admired by many. It is needless to emphasize the fact that his success as a coach is attributed to his astute and leadership skills. He left Manchester United in the year 2013 and what preceded his departure from the club clearly shows that the club is missing his leadership qualities. Manchester United was barely a shadow of its present self when Sir Alex was appointed as the manager. It is as a result of his success at the club that Alex is now a household name in football management. This paper explains and analyzes Sir Alex’s leadership and communication skills and how they propelled him to success in his management career. Leadership styles Leadership style refers to the design and approach of directing people, implementing different plans and providing motivation to people that you are leading (Clark, 1997). Alex Ferguson is well known for different leadership styles in the realm of sport. He could display different leadership styles when faced by different situations so as to become successful. He managed to transform a mere Manchester United club to a world brand that is globally revered. Most of his leadership styles include; Authoritarian or autocratic leadership This is the leadership style whereby the flow of information is in one direction, and the final decision making is for the top authority. Subordinates are not allowed to voice their opinions or ideas regarding a particular issue. Leaders are known to be non-tolerant to the suggestions or the viewpoints of the juniors (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt & Van Engen, 2003). This kind of leadership style facilitates quick decision making because the decision-making authority is bestowed upon an individual. Mostly no consultation is done, and it facilitate the quick decision-making process. During the reign of Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he could make substitutions during the game without consulting the assistant coach. The decisions were informed by the situation on the pitch especially when the team is losing (Live and Learn Consultancy Limited, 2015). Alex Ferguson adopted this leadership style during his reign as he used to set the standards for the team and the target to be achieved by every individual player (McCalman, 2015). At the beginning of his reign at the club, he had pleaded with the players to have faith and believe in him. It was then that he went ahead and won the league after a previous dismal campaign that almost saw the club relegated to the second division. He always wanted to be in control of everything at the club. He controlled the transfer of players from and into the club, hiring of staff and also the practice sessions (McCalman, 2015). He was also a known disciplinarian and most people usually feared him as a coach. He fined David Beckham and suspended him from an important game because he had missed training. He had missed training because he was taking care of his son because the wife was away attending a fashion week. He could discipline the players regardless of their levels of income or years of experience at the club, and this was later attributed to his success. Alex Ferguson had the tendency to mix both the experienced and the inexperienced players so as to end up with a better mechanics in the squad. He could do this without complaints or discontent arising from the players. In most cases, the team selection was done by himself without many consultations from the players or his assistant. During his later times at the club, he would intimidate other managers to instill fear in them by making derogative comments about the opponents (McCalman, 2015). This made Alex instill a winning mentality in his players that most of the opponents feared. Autocratic leadership style has proven successful and useful in most of the management situations. This style is a source of motivation to the leader; it facilitates quick decision making because it is just the individual that handles the final decision of the entire group. This makes the group indebted to the manager and became reliant on the manager. The manager thus hoards the information until the right moment to share the information. This leadership style is essential especially at a club like Manchester United because different races are represented. The diversity at the club makes it appeal globally and command a huge fan base. As a result of the global appeal, autocratic management style become inevitable due to different situations that will arise at the club (Suresh, Antony, Kumar & Douglas 2012). Diversity in a workplace needs to be managed effectively so as not to result in conflict. In a diversified workplace, there is likely going to occur conflict of interest and will deter the entire team from achieving the ultimate goal set forth. Autocratic leadership style is especially important in such situations because it facilitate quick decision making taking into consideration the conflicting interests of the players and the individuals. Participative or democratic This leadership style entails sharing the decision-making authority and functions with subordinates and other junior staff. The leader encourages input from the members and provides motivation to them. The leader himself also take part in the group activities and functions (Cherry, 2011). This type of leadership style aims to bring the most out of every individual by practicing social equality and encouraging the interests of all the group members regardless of the situation of the individual members of the group. In this style of leadership, roles and duties of the leader are shared among the group members. The leader also tries to delegate most of the duties to group members. The leader has faith and trusts the ability of the group members to make credible decisions. The group members are expected to become responsible for the decisions that they make. They should be able to be answerable for the outcomes of the decisions they make (Cherry, 2011). During the reign of Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he always made known to most of his intentions to the players. He always motivated them and in most cases asked of the inputs of the players before the game so as to be able to have a joint target as a team. The players always felt challenged by his style of leadership because he was always at the forefront of everything. When the team had had away games and returned to England just on the same morning, he would be the first person to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave. Ryan Giggs always felt challenged by this trait and he alludes to the fact that Ferguson always inspired them as a team (McCalman, 2015). . During the reign of Alex Ferguson, he could mostly consult with his coaches and the club scouts during different situations. Before the signing of a player could take place, he would get to know what the scouts thought about the prospects of signing that particular player. Ferguson had to discuss the prospect of signing Christiano Ronaldo with the scouts and the chief executive of the club. This made sure that all the management staff could become responsible for a particular decision that is made by the coach. This also ensured that Alex Ferguson got the backing of most of his back-room staff and avoided much conflict within the management staff. Transformational leadership This leadership style involves the leader who identifies the necessary change, create a vision to be pursued so as to realize the change and executing all the plans to achieve the change with the committed group members through inspiring the members (Bass, B. M. (1991). Upon the arrival of Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he started by building the club from the foundation. During that time, the club had very old players with only one player below the age of twenty-four years. The manager then started off by developing a youth academy where he would identify top talents among kids then develop them to become professional players. Among the early recruits were the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes. These players later went on to form a formidable team that was dubbed as the famous class of 1992 (Barclay, 2010). After the establishment of the youth academy, he then recruited competent scouts, and he urged them to help identify the top talents among children and take them to the academy. The focus on the youth system was to create coherence and to ensure flow and continuous supply of players into the first team. During the early stints of management at Manchester United, most of the football commentators could criticize him for his belief and persistence on the youth players. Ferguson was always working to rebuild his team as opposed to what the opponents did at all times. He used to focus on the future of the club. He is credited with having fielded five different squads during his stints of management and continuing to dominate and to win silverwares during all this time including the major trophies both in England and Europe.He is also a distinct and efficient manager of talent, he is strategic, systematic and rational where he would look into the long-term future of the club and invest appropriately to avoid later exploitation of the club by scrupulous agents when the club is in dire need. During the past decade when Manchester United won the league five times, the club had spent a little amount of money as compared to the rivals like Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City. This was also supported by the continued spirit of commitment and belief in the youth players. During this time, the club had also spent less on the incoming players as opposed to the competitors. The manager was also able to sell good players who still had their better years ahead of them. This made the manager make the most out of such deals as compared to the opponents who used to invest in the experienced players. As a result of releasing the old and experienced players, the young players were given suitable conditions to succeed. Few veterans were left to combine with the young stars so as to ensure there is continuity in learning and the right gel and blend of a squad is constituted. He also focused on the life of a player in totality, what value the player could add to the team. He would ensure that a player is fully settled into the club without major distractions and influences from outside factors (Barclay, 2010). Charismatic leadership This type of leadership style entails the leader influencing the followers through a strong and dint personality that are drawn from within the individual as opposed to those from external power or authority (Shamir & Arthur, 1993). Ferguson used to set the standard high for all the players to achieve. He used to influence and instill the values in players and also to acquaint them with a winning mentality. In addition to setting them high on the technical skills, he always wanted to make them winners by ensuring that they are inspired to give their best in every moment of performance. From his time as a player in a Scottish club, Rangers, he learned the spirit of never giving up and continued with the same into his stints of management. He always ensured that such a mentality was passed to the players from those senior in the squad to those that seemed junior. The attitude became a norm in the club that the senior players could end up influencing those that were junior including the new arrivals into the club. He always ensured that the superstars in the team had to give an extra effort and energy for the team. He always ensured that the target for the superstars was way much than the other players. For this reason, the superstars with egos had to be influenced by a winning mentality so as the team to succeed. Such was the treatments of the likes of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Christiano Ronaldo. During the 1999 champions league final game against Bayern Munich when the team was on a deficit of one goal up to half time, he called the players to the dressing room and spoke to them one on one. He set the standard for them and the performance he expected to see on the pitch during the second half of the game (Sheard, 2012). What followed was a manifestation of the influence the coach had on the players, and they became victors on that particular night. In a modern business environment democratic or participative, transformational and charismatic leadership styles are best suited. This is because they aim at bringing the best out of every individual and take into account the perspective of all the people. In democratic leadership, the leaders empower group members, it aids in the decision-making process, and there is a delegation of responsibility which is the key to the success of an organization (Eagly & Carli, 2003). Due to consultation complex problems can be easily solved. Transformational leadership at influencing all the people so as to achieve the desired change. People become motivated and tend to have an organizational vision as their key priority and main agenda. Charismatic too aims at influencing the people to view different issues in the perspective of the leader. These will ultimately result in people becoming coagulated and gelling up to meet the organizational goals. In the current business environment, diversity has greatly increased, and so effective diversity management is as a result of working collaboratively and using a consensus to get different issues done in the right way. Democracy ensures that a leader can build a strong team around him and to foster an environment of creativity within the same organization. Effective democratic leaders encourage creativity due to fostering innovation and creativity from team members. When an enabling environment is created people become supportive, honesty flourishes and team spirit highly establishes (McCalman, 2015). Different people tend to have different opinions regarding a particular issue. Encouraging participation from all the people will only improve the quality of decisions made and ensures that a particular decision is backed up by all the people that are involved in the implementation of the final decision arrived at. As a result of diversity, Ferguson ensured that his authority superseded all the other individual players and staff at the club. He did not allow any individual player to challenge his authority and control. He would respond forcefully regardless of the caliber of the player. When a player would violate certain terms and step out of line in a way that could hinder the performance of the team, he would always be willing to let such player leave. In the year 2005 when the club captain made a public criticism of his teammates the manager terminated his contract. The following year the leading club goal-scorer was sold to Real Madrid as a result of being angered when he was oftenly being benched. In his daily management activities at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson used different communication styles to convey his messages and information to different people at the club. Among most of his communication styles included clear and direct communication also referred to as aggressive communication style. This the communication style in which the message is stated in plain terms and directed at a particular individual. In this style of communication, the speaker conveys the information as it is supposed to be. Alex Ferguson usually used this style of communication especially when he was disappointed about a particular player. In 2005 when the club captain tried to bring chaos in the dressing room, he spoke to him directly about the issue. Due to captain's reluctance to change his contract with the club was terminated (Barclay, 2010). Also, the coach used clear and indirect communication style (Canary & Dindia, 2009). In this approach, the coach speaks to a group of players without necessarily having to mention an individual player. In occasions when Alex Ferguson was making corrections in the dressing room about a particular game, he would speak to all the players in general without having to single out an individual player. During most of his training sessions and board-room reviews of different games, the coach was able to use assertive communication style. This style of communication aims at ensuring that the receiver of the information freely understands the information without coercing or being forced to do so. It creates an enabling environment in which both the speaker and the receiver can seek clarity about unclear points or circumstances. This communication style is mostly used when the situations are cool and is aimed at making the receiver learn. The manager was also well versed in manipulative communication style. In this style of communication, the speaker can influence others to have their point taken in for their advantage. The manager always had his target set for every game before it was played so he would always try to influence the players to come to terms with that target set. Sir Alex Ferguson was an excellent manipulator both to the players and the staff he was working with. Due to his ability to manipulate others, he won Fifa presidential award in 2011 and most records that he set which remain to date are attributed to his influential status. Alex Ferguson remains a figure in the current field of leadership not only in football but also in modern management. He is revered by the majority from the field of football to other fields of management and leadership. The other fellow coaches still refer to him as a boss and a king. Jose Mourinho, immediate rival of Ferguson still has fond memories of how he would instill fear in them. Upon his retirement from management and coaching role, most of the fellow coaches paid tribute to his strong personality and leadership traits. Robin van Persie felt let down by the retirement of the great coach whom he felt had inspired him to join the club. To date, Christiano Ronaldo still makes reference to him as a father figure who brought him up and nurtured him to who he is today (Barclay, 2010). Great leaders are known for their great skills, achievements and their influence they had on their followers. Management is now faced with several challenges that results from globalization, increased diversity in workplaces and competition. To succeed in the modern management of sports club like Alex Ferguson did, it requires a strong leadership and communication skills. Managing a diversified population not only require strong investment in resources but also a blend of strong leadership and communication skills in a way that conflict of interests do not arise (Pedersen, 2014). Due to globalization, most of the managers in big clubs like Manchester United command a strong following. Failure to manage the diversified population of players and staff well will result in the manager becoming a let-down to many people all over the world. Authoritarian leadership style employed by the manager helped in managing the stubborn and egocentric players who would otherwise have been detrimental to the overall goal attainment of the club. All his leadership styles became so much successful and important in making important strategic decisions of the club. Ferguson was able to combine different communication and leadership styles at the club that helped him to become successful in everything that he did. In modern leadership and management, it requires flexibility and adaptability to different situations so as realize success. Most of the problems arise as a result of dynamics in the places of work that will force the management to adapt and become flexible so as to succeed. Alex Ferguson is well known for all these, and he ended up become a renowned and very successful leader in the history of football and even to the modern management References Bass, B. M. (1991). 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