How Soccer Explains Leadership Podcast

In Episode 7, Jordan Gardner, Chairman of the Board and Co-Owner of FC Helsingor and finalist for the Best Executive at the World Football Summit Industry Awards, talks with Phil about cross-cultural leadership, a posture of learning, recruiting and player development, what makes a great manager, and other aspects of successfully owning and running a football club in Europe. Specifically, he discusses: His story and his journey from playing soccer in California to owning multiple European soccer (i.e., football) clubs (1:04) What he learned from the game of soccer that he uses in his business/entrepreneurial ventures (3:18) Why it is so important in the world of football (and business) for clubs and organizations to have a healthy board and healthy relationships really between the boards, executives, owners, and managers (5:20) The challenges of working with others from different cultures, and how to earn the respect of others in cross-cultural work (8:15) How leaders need to surround themselves with people smarter and better than them (10:17) The critical importance of a humble, learning posture in leadership (12:14) How he measures success in his club and the keys to reaching that success (15:55) How to acquire and retain the right people in a business that is extremely transient (19:58) The need for more sophistication in player development and recruiting (22:36) Making business decisions in the context of a football club (27:04) The Chairman/Manager relationship when making difficult decisions (29:50) The critical importance of managers being strong and healthy leaders who lead well beyond the game (32:37) The important role of networking and connections in football and business (38:47) The impact of no fans and empty stadiums on the players and clubs (43:05) Resources and Links from this Episode Uncut video available on the How Soccer Explains Leadership YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/YdZ6UB47z9o FC Helsingor Website -- https://fchelsingor.dk/en/

In our Season 1 Halftime Show (a/k/a Episode 6), Phil and Ryan (yes, Ryan is finally back in the studio) expand on some of the topics covered by our guests, Paul Jobson, Pete Kipley, Amanda Cromwell, and Eric Pfeiffer, in the first four interviews of the podcast, including: Overcoming adversity and permission to fail (2:40) Coaching against the negative vs. coaching towards a positive (8:35) The critical role of college coaches in the development of their team as players and people (11:34) The negative side of insecurities and how to overcome them (12:52) Leading from the middle and the characteristics of great captains (17:48) "Have to" vs. "Get to" mentality and servant leadership (24:26) Repercussions of parents who micromanage, coddle, and/or pressure their kids (31:38) Neuroscience and how trauma compromises the brain's ability to interact with itself (35:29) The four levels of development/growth (40:51) Resources and Links from this Episode Uncut video of the episode – https://youtu.be/UJh7lDxAvRs HSEL email – info@howsoccerexplainsleadership.com HSEL Facebook Group -- https://www.facebook.com/groups/howsoccerexplainsleadership Think Orphan Podcast – https://thinkorphan.com Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life, by James Kerr Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.

In Episode 5, Eric Pfeiffer, Founder and Senior Consultant of MPWR Coaching and Collegiate Soccer Player, talks with Phil about emotional intelligence, dealing with insecurities, self-love, permission to fail, the journey of growth, and conflict resolution. Specifically, he discusses: His story and how his experience playing soccer intersects with other areas of his life and leadership (2:05) Emotional intelligence and why it is critical to success in soccer and leading others in any area of life (6:16) How coaching sports organizations is the same as coaching any other organizations (8:27) Insecurities, how they affect us in soccer and other areas of life, and how we can overcome them in sport and life (12:41) How self-love is different from narcissism and why the distinction is important to understand (17:46) Permission to fail and why it's necessary to learn how to embrace failure and fail forward (21:01) How insecurities and emotional unintelligence manifest themselves in our lives (and on the soccer pitch) and why overcoming them is essential to flourishing in life (23:59) The journey of growth and phases of development for anything worth doing (28:58) Creating a culture that celebrates healthy failure (29:07) What soccer teaches us about conflict resolution and how we can work through conflict together in a healthy way (40:49) How he uses the lessons he learned from soccer in his marriage and parenting (47:19) His recommendation of a book that impacted his thinking of the intersection of soccer, life, and leadership (52:14) Resources and Links from this Episode Audio with subtitles available on our YouTube channel (video not available due to technical difficulties) MPWR Coaching website – https://www.mpwrcoaching.com Eric Pfeiffer on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-pfeiffer-53964b173/ How Soccer Explains Leadership Facebook Group -- https://www.facebook.com/groups/howsoccerexplainsleadership Das Reboot: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World, by Raphael Honigstein

In Episode 4 of How Soccer Explains Leadership, Amanda Cromwell, Head Coach of UCLA Women's Soccer, Former National Team member and coach, former pro footballer, and Olympic Gold Medalist, talks with Phil about vulnerability, recruiting, pursuing justice, and infectious influence. More specifically, she covers: Her experience in soccer and leadership from her club career, to University of VA, to some other cool stuff, to her current position at UCLA. (1:46) The most memorable leaders she has played and coached with during her illustrious career, and the qualities that set them apart from the rest (3:21) The critical importance of understanding and connecting with your teammates and players you're coaching (6:10) Life and leadership lessons she has learned from the game itself (7:25) The importance of players, and all people, to experience and overcome adversity and failure early in life (9:50) What we can learn from our losses ad failings (11:27) Leadership lessons (and some insider Bruin lore) from her Final Four experience in her National Championship season at UCLA (which also happened to be her first year at the school) (13:33) How to foster a healthy culture in a team full of elite players, and the difficulties of choosing captains (22:07) The non-negotiables of a captain (24:57) What she looks for in recruits (and their parents), how she works to prevent signing problem players to her program and how she deals with viruses who slip through the cracks (26:19) How to keep players content and motivated when they're on the bench, or worse, not in the Top 18 (30:29) How she cultivates a healthy team culture with a team full of differing world views, political views, demographics, and backgrounds, even when people disagree on important things (34:18) Resources that she recommends to us (53:43) Resources and Links from this Episode Audio with subtitles available on our YouTube channel (video not available due to technical difficulties) UCLA Women's Soccer website & Social – https://uclabruins.com/sports/womens-soccer & @uclawsoccer Amanda on Social -- @CromwellUCLA (Twitter) & @coach_cromwell (IG) Corey Close on IG and Twitter --@coachcoriclose How Soccer Explains Leadership Facebook Group -- https://www.facebook.com/groups/howsoccerexplainsleadership "All or Nothing: Manchester City" – Amazon Prime "All or Nothing: Tottenham" – Amazon Prime "All of Notiong: All Blacks" – Amazon Prime "The Social Dilemma" – Netflix "Take the Ball, Pass the Ball" -- Netflix How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, by Franklin Foer Failing Forward, by John Maxwell Think Orphan Podcast "Two Perspectives on Abortion" Episode -- https://thinkorphan.com/2018/08/21/episode-110/

In Episode 3 of How Soccer Explains Leadership, Pete Kipley, Founder of Bolta Soccer, and Music Producer and Songwriter, talks with Phil about how his decades of experience in the music industry intersects with his new life running an indoor soccer training facility, and how both inform his life and leadership. More specifically, he discusses: His story of how soccer and leadership have influenced his life and how he ended up leaving the music industry to start an indoor facility. (1:43) His philosophy at Bolta Soccer and how they are curating, creating, and connecting in their development of trainers and players in their community (5:43) How breaking into and advancing in the music industry and the soccer world involve many of the same things (10:57) How the college soccer recruiting process prepares athletes for the world outside of soccer (14:49) What Pete has learned from the game of soccer as a man who has only recently fallen in love with the beautiful game, particularly what he has learned about the mental side of the game (19:44) The dangers and negative impact of parents, coaches, and other leaders micromanaging and pressuring the people they're leading, and why it is critical to foster an environment allowing for a freedom to fail (24:59) How to deal with failure and "bad balls" in soccer and life (31:26) The importance of teamwork and teammates covering for each other (36:14) The common threads that Pete has seen in the best soccer coaches he has worked with in his life (38:24) Principles from soccer that he applies in his marriage and parenting in his home (and Pete gets really philosophical on this one) (43:53) Resources that Paul recommends to us (47:49) Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode Video of this episode --https://youtu.be/YhpON3tc7_E Bolta Soccer website -- https://www.boltasports.com How Soccer Explains Leadership Facebook Group -- https://www.facebook.com/groups/howsoccerexplainsleadership "All or Nothing: Manchester City" – Amazon Prime "All or Nothing: Tottenham" – Amazon Prime "Ted Lasso" – Apple TV "Take Us Home: Leeds United" – Amazon Prime

In Episode 2 of How Soccer Explains Leadership, Paul Jobson, Head Coach of Baylor Women's Soccer, talks with Phil about his coaching philosophy, identity formation, shaping culture, and how he uses lessons from soccer in his life and leadership. Specific topics covered in this episode: His story of how soccer and leadership have influenced his life, how he ended up coaching at Baylor, and how he's the second best footballer in his marriage. (1:26) Paul's coaching philosophy that has led Baylor to be one of the premier soccer programs in the US (8:28) The importance of identity formation, and what it has to do with leadership in soccer and life (9:59) One of Paul's favorite things about being a college coach (12:58) The importance of prioritization (14:41) The concept of "leading from the middle" and how Paul incorporates it into his team (16:25) How to reduce the risk of negativity impacting your team, whether on soccer pitches or workplaces (17:26) Paul's view on the best way to describe leadership (19:59) The impact culture has on teams, why it is so critical to have a healthy culture, what Paul has learned from his wife, Marci, about leading culture, and what all of it has to do with Baylor's recent Big 12 Championship (21:07) The difficulty of recruiting and onboarding players in college soccer, and how Paul views his players as both customers and employees (25:26) How Paul handles viruses on his team (30:14) The importance of knowing and understanding the personalities of your players and coaching staff in the context of leadership (34:59) The important leadership lesson Sir Alex Ferguson taught Paul (37:09) What Paul has learned through playing and coaching soccer that he uses in his marriage and parenting (39:41) Resources that Paul recommends for leadership and life (42:22) Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode Video of this episode -- https://youtu.be/T7nnQ6IJOa4 Baylor Women's Soccer website & social – https://baylorbears.com/sports/womens-soccer; @baylorfutbol Jobson Soccer website & Social: www.jobsonsoccer.com; @jobsonsoccer on Twitter, IG, and FB Paul Jobson Social: @coachjobson on Twitter and IG Tim Elmore "Habitudes" Program -- https://growingleaders.com/habitudes/ "Chasing What Matters" Podcast -- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chasing-what-matters/id1527359046 Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United, by Alex Ferguson Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in Leadership, by John Maxwell

In Episode 1, Phil and Ryan share their stories and what led them to start this podcast. They talk about their leadership experience, their families, and how they fell in love with soccer and Manchester United. They also give a sneak peek into topics that they will be covering in future podcasts, and how studying the intersection of soccer, life, and leadership will help you to flourish in virtually every area of your life. And for the global audience, they also cover why the title uses "soccer" rather than "football." You can learn more about the show at howsoccerexplainsleadership.com.

Is soccer just a game that we play and watch to give us a break from reality? Or does it actually teach us lessons about life and leadership? We tackle these questions, and a whole lot more on the How Soccer Explains Leadership Podcast, which explores life and leadership principles through the lens of the beautiful game. You can download new episodes every Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts, and you can learn more about the show at howsoccerexplainsleadership.com.