I am a self-employed management consultant and trainer. I am also a volleyball coach. Over the past few years, I have begun to use sporting analogies from my experiences of coaching volleyball as a way of explaining core leadership and management principles. I have been fortunate to have been asked to give talks about this. Here is a synopsis of my talk.

1. How to be a great
manager
or … lessons I have learnt from coaching volleyball

2. Volleyball and
Management?
I am a self-employed management consultant and
trainer. I am also a volleyball coach.
Over the past few years, I have begun to use
sporting analogies from my experiences of
coaching volleyball as a way of explaining core
leadership and management principles.
I have been fortunate to have been asked to give
talks about this. Here is a synopsis of my talk.

3. Who am I?
• Self employed Management
Consultant/Management Trainer
• Passionate about People Management …
passionate about getting the best out of people.
• Experienced Team Manager … a wide variety
of teams both local and remote.
• “Enthusiastic” sportsman … sport has always
played a big role in my life.

4. Why are we talking about
Volleyball?
• Former player and now coach
• Coach for University of Leicester Volleyball
Club - both men’s and women’s teams
• Clear parallels between coaching and
management
• Sporting analogies help articulate the point
• Here are 7 key points about leadership and
management

5. Be careful what you ask
for…
In my first year, I asked my players what they
wanted to achieve. They said “We want to win the
league”
So training, team selection, tactics, behaviour was
focussed on winning.
The result was that we won a lot of matches, the
men won the local league, the women came 2nd.
BUT, we did not improve beginners, we lacked
strength in depth and we had falling-outs.
1

6. Be careful what you ask
for…
Setting targets can produce unexpected
consequences. By focussing on the one target, we
forgot that the club is about more than winning:
people play to enjoy themselves and to make
friends.
Lessons:
• When setting targets, consider the wider picture
• Concentrate on the outcomes (developing
players) rather than the outputs (getting results)
1

7. High Expectations
I expect my team to be brilliant. I tell them all the
time that I believe in their ability.
By doing that, it gives them the confidence to
improve and to succeed.
If I tell my players they are useless and have to try
harder, some of them may believe me and not try to
improve.
Set the bar high and encourage them to make it!
2

8. High Expectations
2
This means I have to lead by example.
I have to be first into training. My sessions have to
organised and professional. I have to treat the
opposition and the referees with respect.
If I want my team to behave a certain way, I have to
be the best at it.
“As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of
the world change towards him” Mahatma Gandhi

9. Team ethos
I am nothing without my team. A manager
achieves nothing without the hard work and
brilliance of his/her staff. The same is true on the
volleyball court.
I focus on my players and their needs. My job is to
give them the skills, knowledge, confidence to be
able to perform.
But they are the ones who perform!
3

10. Throwing toys out of the
pram
• Challenging poor behaviour is difficult
• Make it clear what you expect
• Nip it in the bud
• Set up a code of practice
• Ask the team to define their own standards and
self-regulate
• Team defines their own values and standards of
behaviour
4

11. Throwing toys out of the
pram
Challenging poor behaviour is difficult in any
context.
A player who behaves badly infects the whole
team. It causes disharmony and can lead to the
team failing to perform as a whole.
My secrets to managing poor behaviour are to:
a) Make it clear what you expect
b) Nip it in the bud early
4

12. Throwing toys out of the
pram
Nowadays, I ask the players to set up a code of
practice.
I ask the team to define their own standards and
self-regulate. Team defines their own values and
standards of behaviour.
It creates a better environment, it makes it harder
for people to behave badly and it is easier for me or
the players to tackle any issues.
4

13. It takes time to change
techniques
Improving someone’s poor service technique, for
instance, takes time.
The player has to “unlearn” the old technique and
focus on the new one.
Performance dips as the player get used to new
ways of working
As a coach, I have to help the player persevere,
even if it means they play worse for a while
5

14. It takes time to change
Changing processes takes time in the workplace. It
takes time for your staff to get used to new systems
and processes, so remember there may be a dip in
productivity.
Changing behaviours takes even longer and needs
a lot more support and re-enforcement!
5

15. Sport is all about
confidence
Confident players = happy players = better players
How many times have you seen a sports team play
terribly when they have lost a couple of times and
then suddenly flourish after a couple of wins?
A coach’s job is to remind them that they are good
players, to remind them of what they are capable
of.
6

16. Work is all about
confidence
Confident teams = happy teams = productive teams
Make sure you recognise achievement in your
team. Inspire and challenge them to do better.
Believe in them.
But remember: every person is an individual with
different goals, different “triggers”.
Learn to manage the team and manage each
individual within the team.
6

17. I had to learn how to be a
coach
When I started to coach, I read books, I asked for
advice and I planned my sessions carefully.
I still read books, I still ask of advice, I attend
courses and I watch Youtube! I also ask for
feedback from my players so that I can keep
improving.
I am not a “born coach”, I have worked hard to
become a good coach.
7

18. 7 I had to learn how to be a
manager
When I first became a manager, I attended
courses, I asked for advice, I got feedback. I have
continued to research more, listen more and learn
more.
In my opinion, managers are developed, not born.
Good managers become good managers because
they work hard at it.
That is why I provide training in how to become
better managers.

19. Results?
• We had some successes - 5 local league titles
in 3 years, a great team spirit, size of club has
grown.
• We did some stuff badly - we still don’t develop
beginners well enough, we had at least one big
bust up.
• AND … we had a great
deal of fun and I want to
learn more and become
a better coach

20. Thank you
www.pkms.co.uk
paul.kaerger@pkms.co.uk
@paul_pkms
07595 702878