Edge: Leadership Secrets from Footballs’s Top Thinkers

One of those ideas came about after a meeting with Karin Wahlén, whose father Lasse Lindin is ÖFK general manager. Wahlén was a bookish child who grew up wanting to be a librarian. She ended up working for a publisher, then setting up her own cultural agency to promote museums and literacy for groups who don’t normally engage with culture.

Kindberg missed his initial meeting with Wahlén, who was convinced that meant he was not interested. When they did meet, she went in heavy with her pitch. ‘Getting the players into culture will improve their performances. It will take them out of their comfort zone and make them braver on and off the pitch,’ she said. ‘When we are brave we can explore our creativity without being afraid of the unknown.’

This chimed with Kindberg’s view, so he set up a two-day workshop where the players met authors, dancers and artists, and shared views on the creative process. It was a success, but nothing changed. So Kindberg asked Wahlén for more. He appointed her ÖFK’s ‘cultural coach’ and, later that year, the whole club put on a play. The coaching staff performed monologues, the players acted a meta-comedy about not knowing how to put on a play, and the youth academy did a dancing and singing extravaganza that required over 20 costume changes. ‘Everyone loved it, and the results improved soon after,’ said Wahlén, a passionate ÖFK fan whose daughters are careful not to stress her out on match-days.

Other cultural projects followed. In 2013, the club put on an art exhibition. In 2014, they published a book, My Journey, featuring every club employee’s story. In 2015, there was an art/dance piece, called ‘Strength through Diversity’. One year later, the club performed a modern dance interpretation of Swan Lake at the city’s local theatre on the main square, Storsjö. Maria Nilsson Waller, the choreographer, described dance to them as ‘movement of the soul’.

In rehearsals, the players began with nervous giggles as they divided into pairs and lifted each other up. But their inhibitions quickly left them as Waller’s drills had them moving in harmony. The rehearsals were like training sessions, a safe area for learning (and making mistakes), and peppered with positive feedback and support structure. Everyone was out of their comfort zone and helping each other. In football parlance, it was a real leveller. The power of touch in the dance also brought an intimacy to the group.

Psychologists have shown that sporting teams win more if they touch each other as a way of establishing bonds of trust. One study of NBA teams found that those who touched more (defined by a fist-bump, high-five or a hug) won more games.17 (#litres_trial_promo) The smallest touch is a bonding tool of support. You are not alone on the field. Someone has your back (literally, in this dance). We will discuss the importance of tactility in the methodology of one of football’s most intriguing managers in Chapter 2.

And so, to show-time. There were 450 people in the venue, mostly theatre-going types. Midfielder Monday Samuel opened up with a graceful solo, before his team-mates joined him. The movements were elegant, the dances polished and, most of all, the focus was intense. This was not a joke for the players. Potter also performed a solo: lying on his stomach, legs bent at 90 degrees, on the gold confetti-covered stage. He slowly lifted his head and neck, but not his shoulders, and looked around him. There was a refined dignity, a stillness, to his movement. It was excellent. Afterwards assistant coach Billy Reid sang The Drifters’ ‘Saturday Night’ and the mood turned joyous as the whole team danced around him. They were back in their comfort zone.

Once mocked for its cultural projects, ÖFK was now having its performances reviewed by Stockholm’s high-culture media. ‘It was beautiful,’ Sverige Radio’s cultural expert Gunnar Bolin tells me. ‘The sincerity and power of expression made it extremely moving.’ Two theatres in Stockholm asked ÖFK to perform Swan Lake at their venues. The team declined. Bolin had noted that it was not just the players who were dancing, but all the club employees. ‘Even the ones who were not quite so flexible as the younger players,’ he smiles.

‘The cultural theme allows us to be more open, to be braver, to improve decision-making,’ Kindberg says. ‘It helps the group come together. When we look at players, people look at qualities like physics, technology and understanding of the game. But we believe the mental part is the most important. By allowing players to venture into situations they do not know, and challenge their own fears, they grow as individuals. By extension, that gives them greater courage on the pitch.’

Potter agrees. ‘The environment we have established means everyone is prepared to trust the process, but it’s definitely a challenge and by no means comfortable for any of us out there. You have to overcome some inner demons and insecurities to get out there and do it.’ Potter found his Swan Lake solo particularly tough. ‘We had just got promoted to the Allsvenskan [Swedish first division] and there was a huge buzz around the performance. It was very difficult to do, and I felt a right wally at times.’

Potter understands the positive effect of the coach showing his nerves and vulnerabilities to the group. ‘Culturally, everyone thinks a leader needs to only show strength and be this macho figure, but it doesn’t have to be like that.’ Potter was not scared of his team seeing his weaknesses. Sometimes giving them that glimpse can be transformative.

The time spent working on the dance also taught a valuable lesson. Time is important. Things don’t happen straightaway. The players in the squad are used to instant gratification: being able to watch TV on demand, order things online and even meet partners instantly on smartphones. But it takes patience to write a book, to put on an art show, to learn a dance. It can be arduous and punishing, but ultimately it is worth it. The lesson that ÖFK players took in from Swan Lake was not just about cohesion; it was also about self-confidence, job fulfilment and patience.

Management has changed from the days when Potter was a player. Millennials will no longer put up with always being told what to do. ‘It just won’t work any more,’ he says. ‘If you rely on your position of power, or control over the group, it’s only a short-term solution. You need to be authentic in the relationships you have, show the qualities you want to inspire in the group, and sometimes it’s about not having all the answers. As long as you are dedicated to improving yourself and those around you, are able to adapt and make good decisions, then you can manage. It helps to have some self-awareness, as if you understand yourself then you can understand others. That’s how you can build relationships that withstand the pressures of losing games.’

This was also apparent in the preparation for ÖFK’s 2017 cultural project: an investigation into the Sami culture, to culminate in an exhibition comprising photo, film, crafts, music, song and speech. Known in English as Laplanders, the indigenous Sami live in the Arctic area of Sápmi, which encompasses parts of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The whole club has learned about the Sami’s language, faith and narrative tradition, with help from Maxida Märak, a hip-hop artist, activist and Sami expert. One lesson was about reindeer husbandry and, in the absence of a real reindeer, Potter wore fake horns and challenged striker Alhaji Gero to lasso him. So he did.

Potter’s studies at the Open University, Hull and Leeds reinforced his interest in self-reflection and forced him to think about what kind of leader he wanted to be. He did not want to repeat the patterns he saw from his own playing career. So, what type of leader is he? ‘I value people and I value relationships and I am as authentic as I can be. My job is to understand the person first and foremost, and help them improve. For me, this role is not about winning matches or winning leagues, it’s simply about whether you can affect someone’s life in a positive way.’

Potter is convinced the cultural projects can work in another environment, though he warned against going from doing nothing to performing Swan Lake. ‘It was a gradual process,’ he says. ‘But the fundamentals are the same across industries: if you have people who are very good at doing something, whatever that is, and you want to explore a new way to challenge them, or develop the team, or find out about themselves, this is a way to do it. Lots of professional life is about coping with the struggles and attitude to that. In football it’s a misplaced pass or a lost game – or an angry fan. In another environment it might be a grumpy client or a difficult moment. But being comfortable in uncomfortable situations is a way of teaching people in a new way.’

The cultural work is not just crystallised into the performances. Kindberg sees the whole process as one of self-improvement. ‘We want to show that our football is more than football. We are happy, we are open, we are braver than the normal standards, and we use this to challenge people by taking them out of their comfort zone.’

This is where Wahlén comes in again. As well as collaborating with Kindberg on the cultural projects, she organises regular workshops for the team. The players are encouraged to make emotional connections with each other. She remembers the conversations that followed the Privilege Walk, when the whole squad stood in a line in the middle of the room and were asked a series of questions:

If you are a white male take one step forward.

If there have been times in your life when you skipped a meal because there was no food in the house take one step backward.

If you have visible or invisible disabilities take one step backward.

If you attended school with people you felt were like yourself take one step forward.

If you grew up in an urban setting take one step backward.

If your family had health insurance take one step forward.

If you feel good about how your identified culture is portrayed by the media take one step forward.

If you have been the victim of physical violence based on your gender, ethnicity, age or sexual orientation take one step backward.

If you have ever felt passed over for an employment position based on your gender, ethnicity, age or sexual orientation take one step backward.

If English is your first language take one step forward.

If you have been divorced or impacted by divorce take one step backward.

If you came from a supportive family environment take one step forward.

If you have completed high school take one step forward.

If you were able to complete college take one step forward.

If you took out loans for your education take one step backward.

If you attended private school take one step forward.

If you have ever felt unsafe walking alone at night take one step backward.

Some players ended up at the back of the room, while others were now right at the front. One player had taken so many steps forward, he was up against the wall. He had never realised how much privilege he had, compared to his team-mates. ‘It was such an interesting way of making us all aware of who we are,’ says Wahlén. ‘It was an intense session, but we were able to openly discuss why and how these issues had affected our lives.’

Wahlén admitted that she had preconceptions that footballers can only play football; she realised the players had the same assumptions of themselves. ‘They only see themselves as footballers, but they are not; they are sons, fathers, husbands; they are emotionally aware, socially responsible and confronting their own biases.’ They are also regularly having conversations that Wahlén never imagined. How does music move you? What makes dance, dance? What is the meaning of art? How does this photograph make you feel?

The players have started their own voluntary book group, and not a single sporting title has been chosen. Instead, more heavyweight subjects are being tackled, such as identity, race and love (Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adache18 (#litres_trial_promo)); the Vietnam War (The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien); friendship across generations (The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood); and our role in the world (Ishmael by Daniel Quinn).

The players tell Wahlén that they like to read a lot now because everyone else is. She hears them talking about books and finds their conversations more fascinating than those of the cultural elite she often works with in Stockholm. ‘The players don’t have any literary truths, so they interpret what they read with authentic openness,’ she says. ‘It’s much more interesting for me.’

The fans have picked up on the players’ behaviour. At a time when fan violence is not uncommon in Sweden, ÖFK supporters have responded to their club’s efforts and become socially responsible. At the last home game of the 2016 season, there was a Gay Pride flag in the stands to mark ÖFK’s certification as an LGBT supporter, the first of its kind in Swedish football.19 (#litres_trial_promo) There is a closeness with the fans, who have taken a lead from the club and embraced their differences.

At the start of the 2016 season, Kindberg wrote an open letter to the fans. I have not seen a mission statement quite like it. ‘Together with you, we want to be role models!’ he wrote. ‘Östersunds Fotballklub, ÖFK, is a club with clear values. We go our own way. Our belief is that our players perform better both individually and as a team if they are offered an environment that is challenging and stimulating across many human levels … ÖFK stands for openness, diversity, and tolerance. We stand for sincerity and honesty. We will always be trustworthy and professional. We want to create a new kind of football culture. We want to be good role models. We propose that all ÖFK supporters endorse these five simple rules of conduct:

1 The stadium is a place for everyone. We behave in a way so every visitor, from a small child to a 100-year-old, feels safe and welcome.

2 We may have opinions about a player but we never use derogatory or offensive words.

3 The players and supporters of our opponents are our friends. We do not boo them when they come onto the pitch. We do not boo when they do something good. In general, we boo as little as possible.

4 We may have views about the referee, but we never use derogatory or offensive words.

5 We always stay away from violence.

We are ÖFK. We go our own way!’

In return, the fans are inventive with their banners, even making a special one for Potter’s wife Rachel. Behind the goal, in the pre-season friendly against Everton, the fans unfurled a giant red tifo, a banner with ‘RACHEL’ written on either side of giant white hearts. The head of the supporters’ group, the Falcons, also wrote a thank-you letter to Rachel. It included the lines: ‘I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but I just want to say thank you. I’m not sure if you realise how much you, indirectly, affect me (and many others) every single day. You need to know how much joy you’ve given us. And still do. Everyone in Östersunds is talking football nowadays. Everyone is proud of ÖFK … That wasn’t the case in 2011 but much has changed since you and your husband first arrived five years ago.’

‘I wanted the people of Östersunds to be proud of its football club,’ says Kindberg. ‘This city is warm, welcoming, safe and secure.20 (#litres_trial_promo) The fans are also part of our team and they recognise these values that we have. We want to take a stand against society and use our role for good. That’s another product of the environment we have built. If it connects with the core values in the club, then fine. I believe that can give us an edge and help us win games.’

The project is not over yet. Kindberg told Potter when they first met that Europe was the target, and he was not just talking about going to Tenerife on a pre-season training camp. ‘We still see this as the start of our journey.’