Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest legends in football management. The tremendous success that Manchester United has recorded over the past 26 seasons is associated with Alex Ferguson’s effective leadership model. The retired manager worked on one unique management philosophy that has led the club to its current high status. One of his leadership philosophies was developing a club rather than just a high performing team.
He attained this by building a firm foundation for the club through his youth recruitment foundation (Elberse 4). The foundation focused on the development of high performing teams of young players who have grown over the years with the cohesion and mutual understanding of their manager’s expectations. Ferguson’s philosophy of developing a foundation to build a club, rather than a team can be applied to the business world, whereby leaders should look into developing long-term goals in their acquisition of human assets.
The second important point in Sir Alex Ferguson’s leadership philosophy was his goal of becoming an inspirational leader. Ferguson deemed it vital to provide his team members with more than just intense training in the field. He focused on providing a holistic training program that entailed the introduction of values to the team members. He taught his players to assume a positive outlook to their goals.
Giving up was not an option as far as Ferguson’s team was concerned. His charisma enabled him to influence his team members to adopt the passion for success that he exuded. Alex Ferguson’s career was braced with extensive success, and this was attained through his commitment to raising the competitive bar higher every season (Elberse 6). Managers in organizations should borrow ideas from Fergusons’ leadership philosophy to develop success in inspiring their employees. Persistence was a major ingredient in Ferguson’s leadership model; hence, leaders in business companies should practice patience and persistence to attain their long-term goals.
Self-confidence and persistence are two of the most important leadership qualities. Self-confidence enables leaders to trust their instincts in the process of developing solutions to the challenges emerging from internal and external forces. Leaders with confidence motivate their followers to develop confidence in their work, and this boosts their performance. Persistence, on the other hand, entails believing in the potency of one’s leadership ideas and pushing hard toward achieving success regardless of the challenges faced in the process. Effective communication skills and developing effective relationships with followers are the most important leadership skills.
Communication skills are essential in the delivery of ideas in a coherent way for followers, and the development of effective interpersonal relationships enables a leader to identify with the competencies available for his or her utilization. When effective communication skills are combined with effective interpersonal relationships between a leader and his or her followers, it becomes easier for the teams to attain their mutual goals. Developing integrity and building a people-based leadership model are the most important leadership principles. Trust should be a core principle in leadership because it encapsulates the best values of leadership.
Followers assume the values advocated by their leaders’ principles, and integrity is one of the principles that promote transparency and moral practices in the quest for success. Developing people based leadership entails placing the needs of other people first and working toward developing progressive leadership that is beneficial to the followers and the entire society.
Works Cited
Elberse, Anita 2013, Ferguson’s Formula. Web.