LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SHORT COURSE
WORKBOOK | MODULE 4 ACTIVITIES
Examining the way regulatory, economic, and organisational factors shape daily operations and decisions in the professional game.
LMA 360 MODULE FOUR.
This module provides football managers and coaches with a practical and reflective understanding of the professional football landscape. It examines how regulatory, economic, and organisational factors shape daily operations and decisions in the professional game, while encouraging participants to reflect on their own leadership roles and career aspirations.
Participants will gain realistic insight into the pressures, expectations, and opportunities that define the modern professional football environment..
Module learning outcomes:
•Understand the regulatory, economic and organisational realities and challenges of professional football
•Recognise the complexities of managing upward, sideward and downward in professional football
•Evaluate your own career journey and your aspirations for the future
MODULE NOTES.
Notes
MODULE NOTES.
Notes
MODULE NOTES.
Notes
ACTIVITY 1: MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMS AND YOU.
Effective football coaching and management relies not only on tactical expertise but also on strong collaboration within a multi-disciplinary team. From physiotherapists and analysts to nutritionists and psychologists, each professional contributes unique insights that shape player performance and wellbeing.
This activity invites you to pause and reflect on the diverse team around you, considering the roles they play, the quality of your relationships, and how these connections influence success on and off the pitch.
Who e.g., performance analyst Rank your working relationship 1-10 Identify how you could make this more effective?
MODULE FOUR TASK
ACTIVITY 2: MANAGING UP, DOWN AND SIDEWAYS IN YOUR ROLE.
Map Your Network
As well as considering the members of the multidisciplinary team you have listed in the task above, think about the broader network you interact with to complete the following activity.
List the details of those you work with -
Up: E.G., Academy Manager, Head of Coach Development, Club Directors, Club Owner.
Down: E.G., Players, Assistant Coaches, Support Staff.
Sideways: E.G., Collegues in other departments, partner organisations, or peer coaches.
Self-Assessment
For each direction, rate yourself from 1 (low) to 5 (high) in the following areas:
Communication: How clearly and regularly do you communicate?
Trust: How strong and mutual is the respect in these relationships?
Influence: How effectively do you shape decisions or outcomes?
Conflict Management: How well do you handle disagreement or tension?
Support: How consistently do you provide or receive support?
Up Down Sideways
ACTIVITY 2: MANAGING UP, DOWN AND SIDEWAYS IN YOUR ROLE.
Reflection
Write brief notes on the following prompts: Which direction do you feel most confident managing? Why?
Where do challenges or barriers often arise?
What behaviours or habits help you maintain positive relationships?
ACTIVITY 2: MANAGING UP, DOWN AND SIDEWAYS IN YOUR ROLE.
Action Planning (10–15 mins)
Identify two practical steps to strengthen one relationship in each direction.
Example:
Up: Share progress updates proactively with your Director of Football.
Down: Offer more one‑to‑one feedback for development.
Sideways: Collaborate on a joint project with another department.
Optional Follow-Up:
Revisit your ratings in one month to track progress and note changes in your communication and influence.
What three points stand out for you from module four?
What are the three small actions you are going to work on following module four?
FURTHER READING, WATCHING AND LISTENING:
Book ideas
Practical Sports Coaching – Chrisine Nash.
Practical Sports Coaching is a thorough and engaging guide for all sports coaching students and practitioners. Drawing on real life case studies and examples, the book is designed to develop practical coaching skills and provides readers with the methods and tools they need to become an expert coach. Structured around all facets of the coaching process, the text comprehensively covers topics such as: Preparing to Coach, the Role and Philosophy of Coaching, Coaching Environments and the use of Modern Technology in Coaching.
Article
Developing Individual and Team Resilience in Elite Sport: Research to Practice. Mustafa Sarkar and Abigail E. Page.
The purpose of this article is to discuss the development of individual and team resilience with practical recommendations provided for athletes, coaches, and sport psychology practitioners operating in elite sport. Four overarching practical recommendations are provided to aid the development of individual resilience: ensure clarity of what resilience is and is not, enhance and refine personal qualities, evoke and maintain a challenge mindset, and create a facilitative environment. Furthermore, five psychosocial processes are outlined and practical recommendations are provided to develop team resilience: Transformational leadership, shared leadership, social identity, team learning, and team enjoyment and positive emotions.
View the Article
Podcast
The Leadership Style of American Football Legend Deion Sanders
In 2022, Deion Sanders, known as “Coach Prime,” became head football coach of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). Sanders was hired to bring CU’s struggling football program, which had only one winning season in the previous 15 years, back to glory.
In this conversation with host Brian Kenny, Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Hise Gibson discusses Sanders’ leadership style and effectiveness.
Listen to the Podcast