The world of football is often described as a game of tactics. Every team has its style of playing, and the success of each side depends on how well its players adapt to their roles and adopt different strategies in offense and defense. Jose Mourinho continues to write his legacy as a fantastic strategist and leader. Jose Mourinho is one of the great coaches who has been an influential leader in the world of football. Even though he doesn’t like talking about or accepting it, Mourinho is one of the most decorated football managers in the world.

With 27 trophies in his cabinet, Mourinho has what it takes to teach us about leadership and team building. The Portuguese is famous for managing some of Europe’s top clubs, such as; Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, FC Porto, and Chelsea Football Club; he is the current manager of AS Roma. Apart from his success with these teams (and various others), what stands out about him most are the leadership lessons he passes on to all his players. As leaders, we have lessons we can learn from his leadership style.

Communicate Effectively And Transparently.

The first and most crucial step in effective leadership is to be transparent with your team. It doesn’t mean you have to reveal your entire plan upfront and let everyone know what you’re doing. Mourinho has always been known as very secretive, which is why his players are often left in the dark. Being secretive may have an advantage, especially on your opponent’s team, but in your team is a huge mistake and has led to many of his players losing confidence in him. Transparency doesn’t have to mean letting your entire team know the full extent of your plan. It can also mean being honest with them about their shortcomings and what they need to do to improve. Your team can perform higher when they know where they stand.

Set Clear Expectations And Hold People Accountable.

After communicating with your team, you need to hold them accountable for their actions. Holding your players accountable doesn’t just mean punishing them for their mistakes; it also means praising them for their wins. Holding people accountable sets a standard of excellence required in any successful team. It would be best to have high-quality people who will be held responsible for their actions to achieve great things. The case of Delle Ali and Mourinho at Spurs shows how much he expected from the English player. During his time as Spur’s manager, Mourinho put much pressure on Ali’s performance, demanding he improves his game or he would regret it. As a leader, how do you set clear expectations and make your players accountable?

Create A Culture of Constant Improvement And Learning.

To build a truly successful team, you must create a culture where people constantly learn and grow. Growth doesn’t just apply to your players; it applies to everyone on your team. Even though a large portion of your players is likely at the peak of their performance, they can constantly improve. For instance, two years after Mourinho’s comments on Delle Ali, the English signed with Turkish Club Besiktas after a lousy season at Everton.No improvement, no growth. Everybody can continuously improve, and everybody should always be trying to improve. It is a leader’s responsibility to create an environment that supports growth. As a coach and a leader, how do you support the development of your team?

Culture Of Discipline And Accountability.

There’s a difference between disciplining your players and being accountable for everything they do. You can only expect your players to do something if you have given them an apparent reason. If you wish your players to be disciplined in their play, you must ensure that you are disciplined in your approach to coaching them. As a coach, you must ensure that your instructions are clear and concise. You need to be consistent and organized, and you need to make sure that you communicate effectively with your players.

Culture of Innovation and Experimentation.

Now that you’ve created a culture of constant improvement, you need to create an environment where your team can experiment with new ways of playing. Experimenting may seem contradictory to the previous point, but it’s not. If you want to achieve consistent success, then you need to be constantly trying new things. You must be open to new approaches and experiment with different play styles. Only some games require a 4–4–2 formation; sometimes, a defensive strategy of 5–3–2–1 can be a solution. Your questions should always be, “Which method is suitable for this game?” A game can represent any challenge on your way; it can be an issue of low customer engagement or unsatisfied employees. What do you need to do?

You can find a suitable way to solve the problem by experimenting with more than one approach and choosing the one that works best.

Mourinho has helped teams achieve success in many different ways. He has used different styles of play and different types of players to win trophies. But through all of this, one thing has remained the same: Jose Mourinho has remained an effective leader. As a fan of Manchester United, since the departure of Mourinho in 2018, a lot has happened, and it will take time to get another “special one” who will return the “Red Devils” on their days of glory and power in European football.