The Three Levels of Leadership – Scouller Leadership Blog The Three Levels of Leadership - Scouller Leadership Blog - Part 2
What Went Wrong at Chelsea (Part 2)?
Why did Chelsea football club go from runaway English Premier League champions to relegation candidates within 16 games in 2015?
Here was a collapse that no one foresaw. In 2014-15, Chelsea won the English championship by eight points having lost just 3 games over a 38-game season. But 16 games into the 2015-16 season Chelsea were only one point above the relegation zone, having already lost 9 games. Experienced commentators said they’d never seen anything like it before in professional football. So what happened? This three-part post explores the possible system story behind the club’s on-field collapse which led to Jose Mourinho’s sacking … and what leaders can learn from it.
Yesterday I posted part 1 and defined both a system and a system story. Part 2, in which I tell the Chelsea system story, follows today. Tomorrow in part 3 we’ll analyse the story to see what leaders can learn from it.
Imagine This Story…
What Went Wrong at Chelsea (Part 1)?
Why did Chelsea football club go from runaway English Premier League champions to relegation candidates within 16 games in 2015?
Here was a collapse that no one foresaw. In 2014-15, Chelsea won the English championship by eight points having lost just 3 games over a 38-game season. But 16 games into the 2015-16 season Chelsea were only one point above the relegation zone, having already lost 9 games. Experienced commentators said they’d never seen anything like it before in professional football. So what happened?
This three-part post will explore the possible system story behind the club’s on-field collapse which led to Jose Mourinho’s sacking … and what leaders can learn from it. I’ll argue that the story’s main actors (the official leader, the people who commission the leader and the “followers”) must stand back at times and see the whole emerging story rather than let its individual elements blind them. That way they’ll have a chance of steering their organisation away from a downward spiral into crisis. However, this intellectual truth will count for nothing if – while mired in the crisis and feeling the pressure – the actors don’t remember it and find a way of seeing the big picture. The key? It’s self-mastery, the ability to choose your emotional reactions under pressure – a continuing theme of this blog. Today I’m posting part 1. I’ll post part 2 tomorrow and part 3 the day after.
Two New Books to Come…
I want to apologise for not having posted a blog for four months. It’s because my attention has been elsewhere. More specifically, it’s been on completing the second edition of The Three Levels of Leadership (due out at the end of May 2016) and on starting my long-awaited second book, which will be on teams.
For those of you wondering “Why a second edition of ‘Three Levels’?” here’s what I’ve written in the new book’s preface: Continue reading →
Thoughts About Vision (Part 4)
Yesterday we looked at part 3, Profile of an Effective Vision. Today we look at the final part: the Difference Between Mission and Vision. Continue reading →
Thoughts About Vision (Part 3)
Yesterday we looked at part 2, Why You Need A Vision. Today we are shifting to part 3, Profile of an Effective Vision. Continue reading →
Thoughts About Vision (Part 2)
Yesterday we looked at part 1, Typical Problems with Vision. Today we move on to part 2, Why You Need a Vision. I’d suggest four reasons: Continue reading →
Thoughts About Vision (Part 1)
“Vision” (like the word “values”) has lost its shine in the last 20 years and these days many people see vision statements as waffle, bulls**t and a waste of time. Others confuse vision with mission. Either way, the idea of having a vision statement to guide your action blueprint and raise motivation is one that’s often aired, but it’s rarely discussed convincingly in my experience.
So I’m offering these thoughts after 12 years of coaching individual leaders and groups of executives. They come in four parts, which I’ll publish over the next four days.
Part 1 is “Typical Problems with Vision”. Part 2 is “Why You Need a Vision”. Part 3 Is “Profile of an Effective Vision” and part 4 is “The Difference between Mission and Vision.” This series starts with part 1: Typical Problems with Vision. Continue reading →
What Do I Think About Strengths-Based Leadership?
Several readers of The Three Levels of Leadership have written to ask: what do you think about strengths-based leadership? So I thought this would be a good subject for the blog, but before answering this question, it’s worth summarising the key ideas of strengths-based leadership. They are as follows: Continue reading →
What Is Self-Mastery & Why Is It A Game-Changer?
After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful. Here’s the fifteenth in the series. I’ll post the others over the coming months…
Q15. What exactly is self-mastery in the context of leadership and what makes it game-changing and beneficial for leaders? [This was asked by Joe Scherrer of the Leadership Crucible in the course of an interview in October 2013 for his website.]
“Well, self-mastery, in essence, is inside-out-based change… change from the inside out … where you become aware of what’s happening in your mind and gradually take command of it. This allows you to express your highest potential…not just for your benefit, but in the service of others. Continue reading →
Self-Mastery & Leadership
Lao Tzu, the Chinese sage (not the bloke who wrote The Art of War – that was Sun Tzu), said this about self-mastery: “He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”
I agree. In my book, The Three Levels of Leadership, I talk about self-mastery as the key to taking command of your thoughts, feelings and behaviour in the service of others as a leader, especially when you’re under pressure. I believe it’s the essential discipline of the third level of leadership that I call “personal leadership”. Continue reading →
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