John Herdman
As a child growing up in Newcastle, U.K., John Herdman dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player, but that was not to be. He was too small and, quite frankly, not good enough to compete. Thus began a journey of another sort; he became a professional coach, living and loving soccer from the sidelines. While happily coaching the women’s national team in New Zealand, he got a recruitment call from Canada. He moved his young family around the world to take a job heading the Canadian women’s national soccer team, a “struggling squad” that had recently been humiliated at the 2011 World Cup in Germany. On the plane over, Herdman had a major OMG moment. He thought, ‘Am I crazy to do this? What if I can’t turn the team around?” “But I had to get out of my comfort zone,” he says. “That is where the magic happens.”And it certainly did. Nine months later the soccer team was on the podium receiving a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in London. How did they change from a broken mess to an award-winning, forwarding-thinking team with a vision to excel at the World Cup in 2015? Herdman knew a platform of trust was necessary before he could address performance issues. He developed a connection and rapport with the women by listening instead of telling, by taking the time to learn about them and understand what they had been through. He brought in a clinical psychiatrist to tackle toxic experiences and emotions which were wreaking havoc with the players’ self-esteem and confidence. Herdman knew the team had potential, he just needed to rediscover it. “I had 21 juicy brains in front of me. I wanted to invest in them,” he explains. Today he asks the team to reflect on the words of the national anthem. “It is about being glorious and free,” he says.“You have choice and you can
John Herdman
“But uncovering their humanness first, before concentrating on strategy and technique proved to be the winning formula.” make change. What are you ‘standing on guard’ for?” Although Herdman accepts less than 80% performance on a given day, he never accepts less than 80% character-wise. On the team, there is no room for complaining, for lack of personal accountability or for “closed door” communication, all of which serve to weaken a team’s foundation. When the vision is clear, when “true
north” is compelling, players will selfcheck and will self-regulate, he adds. The culture becomes one of development instead of obedience. Another way Herdman coached the team to master world-class skills and become resilient was by taking risks. “I am sometimes criticized for giving my kids (eight-year-old Jay and twoyear-old Lilly) too much freedom, but I love seeing them make mistakes and
YOUR WORKPLACE | VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4
LEADERSHIP
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