In a survey asking more than 100 HR and business leaders which premiership football league manager they would like to work with, Tottenham’s Harry Redknapp topped the list with 28% of the votes followed by Blackpool’s Ian Holloway (23%). The managers with the fewest nominations were Manchester City's Roberto Mancini, former Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce and Wolverhampton Wanderers' McCarthy. Manchester United's Alex Ferguson (pictured), the most successful Premiership manager to date, only received 4% of the votes.
Redknapp was also voted as the best football manager to run a large UK business in today’s economic climate, with 23% of the votes. Arsenal's Arsene Wenger (19%) and Blackpool's Ian Holloway (15%) came next. Hodgson, who today was appointed manager at West Bromwich Albion (5%), Mancini (4%) and McCarthy (2%) were seen as the least desirable.
The survey Is Your Management Style Premier League? was conducted by people development company Results International. Melanie Wombwell, managing director said: "Like the football world, the business world is fraught with turmoil and change. It takes good leadership and a strong managerial style to overcome these challenges. Good management works at its best when there’s a fit between the management style of MDs/CEOs and the teams they lead. However, of those surveyed, most (23%) said that their boss's management style was like that of Mick McCarthy’s. Yet this is a style that just 1% of those surveyed would like to work under."
A third of those surveyed believed their own management style was like Holloway’s. "This makes for positive reading, as the ‘relationship’ method, which is how we like to refer to Holloway’s style, is one that would prove successful in the commercial world as it is today," Wombwell added.
"Having a great relationship with your employees, where they want to go out and perform to the very best of their abilities, and enjoy what they do can be very powerful. Plus, for those financially-challenged businesses, this method of people management can be a fantastic way to keep salaries in check."
When asked what motivated employees in their own organisation, inspirational leadership (36%) and reputation of the company (34%) came out top among those surveyed.
Results International classes the leadership style of 10 premiership football managers as such: -
- Autocratic: Alex Ferguson – prefers a high level of power over the team
- Relationship: Ian Holloway – leads people through encouragement and enthusiasm
- Cognitive: Arsene Wenger – leads by a purely logical methodical approach
- Collaborative: Roy Hodgson – deliberates with team members and uses their contributions to make decisions
- Shadow: Carlo Ancelotti – provides adequate authority to the team members to decide on their own
- Co-achievement: Harry Redknapp – works with all team members to inspire them to reach decisions and do the right things
- Results-focused: Sam Allardyce – only interested in making sure that the result happens, whatever it takes
- Transactional: Roberto Mancini – rewards are measured and offered by performance
- High-flex: David Moyes – will change style to suit the circumstances or needs at the appropriate time
- Delegator: Mick McCarthy – like the shadow leader, but also keen to keep their finger on the pulse of what’s going on. Allows freethinking yet always wants to make the final decision
