The Counter-Intuitive Leadership Principles Driving Premier League Dominance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65222/VIRAL.2026.2.16.36Keywords:
Abstract
The received wisdom with regard to leadership is that it usually requires charisma, is most effective with a clear chain of command, and is at its best when it announces grand strategic visions. Nevertheless, lessons learned from the highly competitive and high-stakes universe of elite football management, especially matches (both in Premier League and European competitions) that cast a set of counterintuitive principles critical for sustained success. As Mike Carson's "The Manager: Inside the Minds of Football's Leaders, considers most winning coaches: inside the minds of football's leaders; this feature article examines how great and winning football coaches develop peak performance. We suggest that these less visible principles - that is, the power of deliberate unknowing, strategic retreat, the significance of micro-changes, and the nurture of a ‘no-blame’ learning culture have significant implications for practices of educational leadership. Through questioning status quo models of educational leadership, this paper aspires to offer a new model enabling the development of stronger, more entrepreneurial and high-performing educational organisations.
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