Motivate a millionaire??

During this time of the year I find my mind becomes drawn more to the off field dealings of football clubs and of course their main dealings are player purchases.  In the modern world of football player purchases and sales come under far more scrutiny than ever before.  Modern football clubs are businesses and are controlled by wealthy business men or consortium's, these men are focused on the bank sheet and the bottom line.  In truth most clubs lose substantial sums of money each financial year but the owners still take their salaries and expenses.  But in a effort to appease the banks clubs try to operate their transfer dealings on a more strict structure.

The essence of the clubs scouting network is to identify a diamond being sold at the value of a stone.  This is much the same as any other form of business being carried out on most high streets in this country.  And in much of the same way this is becoming more difficult everyday.  So the skill is to identify talent that needs naturing and coaching but already has the key attributes to succeed.  Once these players are identified it then becomes the responsibility of the manager to enable the player to flourish.

Developing and naturing talent is a skill, a skill that separates mediocre managers from the best.  And in a sport that is now littered with millionaires motivating is now harder than ever for managers.

Unlike most work places you are unable to inspire with financial gain or the so called carrot method.  Most footballers don't spend half a day inside the club between Monday to Friday and in a lot of cases their leisurely work hours leads to addictions such as gambling or alcohol.  Whilst if you consider Carlos Tevez last season he sacrificed approx four million pounds in wages when he fled to Argentina and refused to return.  This one instance shows the wealth these players have by the willing to go without this absurd amount of money.

In some work places the element of fear is used to motivate employees to achieve results.  Sadly in the sporting world most managers know their own job security is very low and so players feel they will probably out live their manager.  If you wished to sum up how players feel towards managers and their tenure "the king is dead long live the king".  In my opinion players driven by fear are normally players who believe they are struggling to get a real game and could well be facing being sold to a lower level club.

The most useful skill a manager can use will surely be praising and recognising players who contribute to the team.  The ability to pull a player to one side and singularly give him praise for his contribution although very simple can offer huge rewards.  Frank Lampard always quotes the story of Jose Mourinho talking to him briefly in the shower telling him his was the best midfielder in Europe, and the effect that had on him to achieve for a man he respected.  This praise then coupled with a good managers awareness to not publicly abuse or talk negatively about certain players can lead to vastly improved performances.  Of course like any manager you must have the respect of your staff for this praise to have a full impact.  And respect is something that has to be earned but can be earned in many different ways.

In the end most modern athletes like most successful people in life are mostly self motivating and only use praise as a momentary boost of confidence and esteem.   The ability to self motivate is key to most successful people.  They normally have a clear vision of their goals and achievements they wish to make.  To these people their managers are more of a point of reference to report back to.

So in truth a manager of millionaires will find that the most successful methods of motivation are the same as the manager of a local pound store.  If they want to achieve results do not underestimate the simple things.

Praise, respect & recognition.