“IF YOU KNOW YOURSELF, YOUR STRENGTHS, YOUR WEAKNESSES, YOU CAN MANAGE YOURSELF. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW YOURSELF, YOUR WEAKNESSES WILL MANAGE YOU.”
ARSÈNE WENGER
WELCOME TO THE MANAGERS’ PLAYBOOK
This set of interactive guides was born out of the challenges presented by the global COVID pandemic and the LMA’s support of its members. Through our relationship with the Wellbeing Science Institute in Australia, we have created this set of guides, providing a collection of simple theories and tools that we have been using day to day throughout the pandemic to support our members in responding to many of the challenges the pandemic has thrown at them. Whilst created during the pandemic, this guide provides a set of exercises that have been proven over time and we hope will be useful at any time on your career journey.
The pages are fully interactive, allowing you to fill in tables and note down your thoughts. As individual booklets you should find them easy to use, and you will be able to print out what you need easily.
If you would like any further information or 1-to-1 support on any of the areas covered in the guides please do not hesitate to contact the LMA Member Services team on 01283 576350
The Wellbeing Science Institute was born out of a desire to help create more flourishing cities, communities, organisations and individuals. The backbone of our approach lies in a holistic, positive and developmental wellbeing perspective supported evidence-based science. We strongly believe that self-determination leads to higher levels of engagement motivation and higher quality wellbeing outcomes. Therefore, capability transfer is central to everything we do.
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HOW EMOTIONS ARE MADE
Emotions are made; they don’t rise up from deep inside us but instead they are made through our default mode network that predicts how we can, and should, experience certain situations, events and relationships.
Emotions aren’t “pre-programmed” in our brains and bodies, rather they are psychological experiences that each of us constructs based on our unique personal history, physiology and environment.
Because emotions are made, we can create our own meaning; we can observe an emotion before we act and we can ensure our emotions “fit the facts”. Many emotions and actions are set off by our thoughts or interpretation of the events – not the event itself. Our emotions can also have a big effect on our thoughts about events, and examining our thoughts and checking the facts can help us change the emotion.
Unfortunately, most people believe that emotions reside deep within us and therefore we don’t have much control over them – particularly when we feel intense emotions. Recent neuroscience tells us that this is flawed thinking – and flawed science.
In other words, your brain constructs your experience of emotions and it’s your brain’s job to construct the most useful emotions for any given situation.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
One of the best things you can do for your emotions is to manage your “body budget” because the greater the resources available, the more likely you’ll be able to take care of your own wellbeing. But if your body’s budget gets stretched due to lack of sleep, too much stress, too much alcohol or poor diet, you’ll have much greater difficulty regulating your emotions. It also helps to develop your language skills when it comes to emotions. It not only has personal benefits but benefits you when engaging with staff and players.
HOW TO SLEEP LIKE A CHAMPION – THE TOP 5 TIPS
1. Have a consistent routine – when you go to bed and when you wake.
2 Have a shower/bath before bed – approx. 1 hour before bedtime for maximum benefit.
3. Implement a “wind-down” routine which includes avoiding all screens at least 30 minutes before bed-time. Replace your screen time with relaxing activities like meditation, listening to music or reading a book.
4. Limit your alcohol intake (on a daily basis) as it interrupts your natural sleep cycle.
5. Ensure your bedroom is cool, dark and quiet.
GET A PHYSICAL CHECK-UP AND START MOVING
1. Go to your doctor and have your overall health, heart rate, blood pressure and blood profile checked so you’re approved to undertake a job-ready fitness regime.
2. Once you’ve got your tick of approval from your doctor, get a baseline on your current fitness level with a qualified exercise physiologist and develop a realistic fitness regime that fits your daily schedule. Remember – movement and frequency are more important than intensity. Start where you are, not where you think you should be.
3. Set some clear goals with your fitness regime that you’ll be able to achieve over the next 3 months such as, losing 10 pounds, being able to exercise for 20 minutes nonstop, being able to make a 20% improvement in strength.
IMPROVE YOUR DIET
1 Eat real food - that you (or someone else) prepares. It might take a little more time but your body (and emotions) will thank you.
2 Eat more fruit and more green vegetables.
3. Drink more water during the day.
REDUCE YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE
1 Think back over the last week; count how many drinks you had (honestly).
2. Divide that number of drinks by two.
3 Work out how many standard drinks per day you would allow yourself if you drank only the number of drinks you calculated in step 2 above.
4. Commit to this new regime for a minimum of 4 weeks and assess the impact it has had on your sleep, your weight, your mood and your ability to regulate your emotions.
IMPROVE YOUR EMOTIONAL VOCABULARY
1. Read out of your comfort zone. Don’t just read about football; read about philosophy, psychology, sociology and relationships and include fiction to expand your emotional granularity and range.
2. Watch movies and TV series from a variety of genres and pay attention to the emotions expressed by the characters.
3. Take trips in nature and try unfamiliar (healthy) foods and describe to yourself the sensations that you experience.
4 Learn as many new words as possible because the greater your overall vocabulary, the easier it becomes to describe emotions with greater accuracy and granularity.
WHY THIS WORKS
You might have been surprised that four of the five areas recommended to improve your emotional regulation – sleep, physical movement, diet and alcohol reduction - all relate to your body. The reason we focus on the body is because the brain regulates your body’s budget and the better you take care of your body, the more capacity your brain has to help you take care of your emotions.
Sleep, in particular, plays a key role in helping you better regulate your emotions because, when you get good quality sleep, you also get a “neurological bath” that lessens the emotion attached to an event and emphasises the facts associated with the event.
Your body’s budget – a bit like your financial budget – is easier to maintain when you have a solid foundation.
SUGGESTED READING
How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett.
LMA HEALTH ASSESSMENT
To book your annual LMA health assessment email LMA Member Services Executive Sophie Molley: sophie.molley@leaguemanagers.com
MODULE 02
BOUNDARY MANAGEMENT
UNDERSTANDING YOUR BOUNDARY MANAGEMENT STYLE
Your boundary management style reflects the extent to which you integrate or separate work from other aspects of your life.
During COVID, because of Club and Code “bubble” requirements (which limit some physical proximity and social contact) and work demands, our physical, psychological and social worlds revolve around football, to the exclusion of everything else. Research tells us that when our worlds become extremely narrow in focus, it is detrimental to our physical, psychological and emotional health. It also makes us less effective as leaders and less able to manage our emotions.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING PERSONAL BOUNDARIES
Use technology when necessary - avoid technology-assisted supplemental work
Separate by using different devices for work and personal life
Separate by managing space boundaries (closed door to home office for example)
Allow for transition times (also known as time buffers) between roles
Turn off email and distracting devices for working periods
Strive for mindfulness (being in the moment) when working. During personal time, detach from work
Organise time to focus on priorities when most alert
Assess time management to align time with central roles and identities
Set aside time to focus on yourself (exercise or lunch for example)
Organise blocks of time to focus
Let others know when you are available and how to contact you during emergancies/critical times when unavailable
Set and manage expectations to provide boundary slack
Find a role model or peer for social support
Avoid mixing work and personal social media
Offer quid pro quo arrangements with others at work/home to have a back-up
Source: Ellen Ernst Kossek
WHY THIS WORKS
Kossek’s research tells us that managing our boundary style has several important benefits.
1 It allows us to focus on the task at hand and be less distracted
2. It allows us more time for rest, recovery and rejuvenation
3 It improves our effectiveness as a leader of others because, when we are coaching or developing others, we can be fully present
4. It has a positive impact on relationships by building trust and engagement
5. It minimises work/family conflict and has a positive impact on the quality of personal relationships because we can be fully present and prioritise time outside of work
SUGGESTED READING
Ellen Ernst Kossek, Managing worklife boundaries in the digital age, Organizational Dynamics,Volume 45, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 258-270
LEARN MORE
If you’d like to learn more about your unique boundary management style and its implications, you can take a short survey by clicking here
TRANSITION BREATHING MODULE 03
WHY THIS WORKS
When we live extremely busy lives, we always feel like we’re “on”. As a consequence, it can be difficult when we move from one task to another, or from one context to another. The transition breathing technique allows us a short time-out to get connected with body and mind, to become grounded and focused as we move from one task or context to another. It is a very simple, but powerful technique for managing body, mind and emotions for busy people. It also helps us remain present and focused.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Each time you move between tasks, change contexts, or move from one situation/ location to another, simply take 2 minutes time out.
2. During those 2 minutes, you can be sitting, standing or lying down, and take that time to breathe slowly and deeply through your nose.
3. While breathing slowly, direct your attention to your diaphragm and take a long, deep breath – in through your nose – for 4 seconds.
4. Then pause for 2 seconds before releasing the breath – also through your nose.
5. During this breathing, if your mind wanders, don’t find it but gently bring it back to the breath. Just focus on your breath – going in and out of your nostrils.
6 Try to relax your body as you breathe and do this exercise for 2 minutes before you move onto the next activity, event or location.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH TRANSITION BREATHING
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Click in the boxes to type notes
SUGGESTED READING
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor
MODULE 04
RECOVERY FOR RESILIENCE
MANAGING YOUR ALLOSTATIC LOAD
The brain’s primary job is not thinking but rather managing our body’s many competing demands, neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune and metabolic, and predicting what is required to meet the demands that the environment places upon us.
The interaction between the brain and our biology determines whether we successfully adapt or become impaired – mentally and physically. That’s where allostasis comes in. Allostasis is the active process that promotes adaption, emphasises anticipation and prediction of the body’s needs.
But sometimes the stress or allostatic load we carry is too great and this has consequences for both the brain and the body via the neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune and metabolic systems. Allostasis is the active process that promotes adaptation, and emphasises anticipation and prediction of the body’s needs.
A simple example is that, in the short-term, acute stress can be good for us because it enhances immune function, increases arousal and improves a certain type of memory, whereas chronic stress has the opposite effect where diabetes, hypertension, mental disorders such as depression and cognitive impairment in ageing can result. In other words, in chronic stress the allostatic load is too great.
As a Manager, there are things that you can do to reduce your allostatic load by implementing effective recovery strategies.
WHAT CAN YOU DO
Not all allostatic load-reduction and recovery activities are created equal. These three interventions are the best activities for promoting resilience, changing brain structure and reducing allostatic load.
SCHEDULE DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Review your physical activity goals from Module 01 and schedule them into your daily routine. Ensure that you prioritise your physical activity so that the people around you (family/colleagues) know that this is a “must-do” for you. A good start would be working towards a 30-day physical activity “streak” where your goal is to exercise every day for 30 days, regardless of weather, work demands or competing priorities and interests. Make your goal about this “streak” known to others.
10 MINUTE BREATHING
Learning how to breathe effectively is one of the best things that you can do to calm your brain, to give you more energy and allow you greater focus. But learning how to breathe effectively is a skill and, like any skill, it will take time to develop and initially may feel a little uncomfortable.
Start by taking 10 minutes a day where you just sit quietly, relax your body and breathe through your nostrils – while focusing on nothing but your breath.
The sooner you start this practice, the sooner you can reap the benefits. Very quickly others will notice a change in your mood, your energy and your behaviour. Before long, you will realise how much focusing on breathing relaxes you and makes you more effective as a Manager.
Try to make your daily 10-minute breathing a new habit (something you do automatically). Just as with physical activity it is important to schedule a time in your day that works for you, that you can consistently plan and commit to.
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS
While the demands as a Manager are often 24/7, research tells us that not making time for non-work-related interactions is detrimental to our physical and mental health.
Spending time with loved ones and friends, which allows you to psychologically detach from work (by not discussing work), and working hard on being fully present will be of huge benefit. Taking steps to physically remove distractions, such as phones and work-related material, and using strategies such as transition breathing to create separation between your work focus and life focus, makes the social interactions much more enjoyable as you’re fully present.
Applying the principles of boundary management (Module 03) will help you with social support and integration – with family, staff and players.
SUGGESTED READING
The Brain on Stress: Toward an Integrative Approach to Brain, Body and Behavior, Bruce S. McEwen, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York
“MERE
SURVIVAL IS AN ACHIEVEMENT; CAN YOU COPE WITH THAT SCENARIO? WHEN PEOPLE ASK WHAT YOU DID, YOU WILL BE PROUD TO SAY, ‘I WAS A MANAGER FOR 25 YEARS.”
