Leadership lessons from Jose Mourinho sack saga

Few days ago, Chelsea football club parted ways with Jose Mourinho on mutual consent. He was sacked for a second time. The news came with different reactions from various quarters. People had different opinions to the termination of his job. While some saw it as justice served rightly, others felt it was a wrong move. I am not a strong football supporter, but the news of his turbulent season has been making the rounds for several months. After Chelsea’s loss to Leicester City on Monday, December 14, 2015, it was their ninth defeat of their 16 league games. This brought them to16th position in the table, one point above the relegation places. Wow, Chelsea! Current English champions! One point away from relegation! Yes, that is the reality. I am just reminded of the Scripture in 1 Samuel 1: 19, which says, “How are the mighty fallen.” Indeed, this has been a great fall for Chelsea and Jose Mourinho. All hope is not lost. There is still more they can achieve, but that will definitely not be in the hands of the Special One, as he calls himself.
There are many lessons you and I can gain from this outcome that was likely expected. I am a student of life. I always like to draw lessons from every situation, whether good or bad. Jose Mourinho is undoubtedly one of the most successful coaches, not just in England, but in the world. He won the Champions league with FC Porto and Inter Milan. He has also won the league titles in at least four countries. In some countries, he won the league twice. A proper look at his profile and past achievement shows that he is indeed a very accomplished and great manager.
The big question here is, do great leaders fall? The answer is obvious. Since the month of August this year, Mourinho has not had it easy. The humiliation he brought on the club’s doctor, Eva Carneiro sparked up other things. From that time, it has been from one situation to the other. Even though I feel that there is more to what we have read from the news, we can learn a thing or two from the entire experience.
One of the ways to know a great leader is how they handle situations in the midst of challenges or crisis. Firstly, great leaders take full responsibility for whatever happens in their personal lives, team, unit, department, etc. In the past few months, Mourinho kept blaming different people for his team loss. He was either blaming the poor officiating of the referees, the medical director or the unprofessional attitude of his players. In his last club defeat, he said publicly that some of his players betrayed him. He never accepted responsibility for their loss. In one of the occasions, where there was no one to blame, he simply said, “I have nothing to say”. Taking responsibility is one of the hallmarks of great leadership.
Secondly, great leaders ensure they hold their subordinates together in bad times. Your team members may lose faith, but it is up to you as a leader to ensure that they stick together and get back on their feet. There were unconfirmed reports that Mourinho lost the dressing room. This means that there would have been several divisions among the players and him. This is cancerous to team success.
Thirdly, in the midst of challenges, great leaders stay off the radar in order to do a proper root cause analysis and re-strategize. I feel that Mourinho paid more attention to the media than to his “house”, which was falling gradually. It is true that he wanted to ensure that he maintained a good image for himself and the club in the eyes of the media, but that did not call for unnecessary distractions.
On a final note, great leaders understand the power of oneness in team work! The weakest link in your team is your easiest access to failure. It is the role of a leader to block off leaks and strengthen loose ends. How could it be that the same players who have great individual skills could not win for the club? Something was wrong! Mourinho had rifts with individual players. It was either Eden Hazard today or Oscar tomorrow. Diego Costa was not spared as well. This questions his interpersonal skills.
In business or at work, challenges and set backs are bound to occur. The right thing is to admit that there is a problem, which you take full responsibility for and then work with your team to make amends. Never take it personally. Every setback is a setup for greater accomplishments.
You may have followed in throwing jabs at him. If you have not achieved great feats like him, talk less and learn more. Learn from his mistakes and apply these lessons in your life and at work.
Jose Mourinho is a great manager. Would he get another top class job? You can be sure of that! I wish a certain English club could even hire him and fire their present manager. He is indeed unique and special in his own way. Selah!