Soccer / managers

Paul Clement began to help soccer players as a Physical education teacher at the age of twenty-three. He was so effectiv in the job that he was asked to coach Fulham youth team. Chelsea snapped him up to work in their academy and finally promoted him as an assistant manager under Carlos Ancelotti. The duo did well together that the Italian manager took him to be his assistant at Paris St German, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The duo won the UEFA champion league as well as other trophy. Trouble began to kick in when derby and Swansea appointed him manager. Clement performed woefully that one began to doubt his coaching ability. What would make a wonderful assistant manager perform poorly as a manager? Peters principle gives us a clue. A person is promoted due to their success in the previous job until he is no longer competent in their new job as a result of lacking the skill needed. Many exceptional teachers perform very well as vice principal but when they are made the principal of the school, their performance drops. He begins to spend more time in the office appending signatures to files as well as attending to meetings upon meeting and less time in the classroom. The role of a youth coach differs from that of a club manager. The former is responsible for the Athlete whereas the latter is responsible for the club management. A youth coach is successful when he transforms a mediocre player into a superstar. He instills the needed skill to the player to improve his performance. A team manager is successful when he wins matches and take home the trophy. To promote an assistant manager to a main manager comes with extra responsibility for which the individual may not possess The youth team coach enjoys bringing out the hidden potential of a young athlete. The fact that he did well there was because he loves the work more than he loves to win. Not everyone loves competition. Not everyone is well suited to the fame and power that comes with taking the lead role. Some individuals are better off helping from the background. Both positions come with different skills. Unless the coach has the new ability needed, he is destined for failure. This begs the question. If a youth coach is offered an opportunity to manage a club which he knows he lacks the ability to perform at that time, should he reject the offer? The first factor is the individual perception and reaction to failure. Employee who perceive failure as a terrible thing hate being sacked. One who dreads to fail is better off in his comfort zone. Job security is Paramount to such an individual. When a team fails, the fans blame the team chief manager. . The chief responsibility of facing the media falls on the head. The backroom staff are overlooked. Such a person should first change his mindset on failure before he can accept such an offer. Failing to step up counts as failure. Real failure comes from inability to learn from one's mistakes. He should see the offer as an opportunity to gain new experiences and meet more people in the sport sector. He should understand that all great coaches failed one time or another but learned in the process. Every failed match is an opportunity to reflect on the likely reason and improve his knowledge. The second factor depends on the individual ability to embrace the change that comes with learning. Slow learners are better off rejecting that offer as they are unable to deal with the immediate complexity that comes with the new role. Fast learners should take the job while asking for help from experienced persons outside the organization. For instance, he may choose a more experienced assistant manager. He should not hesitate to engage in additional training in that new skill which he lacks. Club owners are unreasonably optimistic. A club legend does not necessarily make a great coach. Diego Maradona is a typical example. A good sergeant may make a bad captain or a worse general. One may be good at obeying order but terrible at knowing the best circumstance to give such order.