Thomas Bjorn and the Captain myth: How much influence do leaders in sport really have? Thomas Bjorn has been anointed as the new European Ryder Cup captain, a role that has grown from coat carrying irrelevance to the most lucrative unpaid job in world sport. "This is not just a job, it’s a f***ing metaphor," one prominent sports agent told me while I was researching my book, The Captain Myth. [...]
Why the famed “hairdryer treatment” dished out by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United should not be used as a leadership template Sir Alex Ferguson was unusually coy this week. When giving a talk to the World Business Forum in Milan the former Manchester United boss claimed his infamous "hairdryer treatment" was more myth than reality, a story that grew during his 27-year tenure at Old Trafford. "It happened about half a dozen times in 27 years and the [...]