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Writer's pictureRiley Bauling

Learning from the masters: Jesse Marsch

Updated: Jan 3

What would you do if you inherited a team that was led by one of the most successful managers your company had ever seen?


Jesse Marsch wasn't quite sure what he would do either. But that didn't stop him from taking the job.


Marsch inherited Leeds United, stumbling in the English Premier League at 16th overall and in danger of relegation, from the indomitable Marcelo Bielsa, a coach who sits on the Mt. Rushmore of soccer excellence.


I watched Marsch coach his Leeds team to a 1-0 loss to Leicester City in his first game as manager after just four training sessions and learned three valuable lessons:


Lesson 1: How you end matters


When the whistle blew, Marsch knew how he wanted to end the game. His team having just lost despite controlling the majority of the game against what should have been a superior side in Leicester, the typical manager move is to get off the field. And fast.


Marsch zagged, though. He collected -- and when I say collected, I mean ran all over the field and at one point had his goalkeeper collect a departing player -- every single one of his players in a huddle at the center of the field. He said two things to them: We played with hearts, and we deserved to win. Be proud.


Those players departed the field thinking of themselves as winners because of it. What Marsch left them with was a rebranding of what that game meant.


The lesson? We need to be intentional about how we end engagements with our teams. They'll remember how we do whether we like it or not.


Lesson 2: Building connection is as much about the small things as it is about the big


Marsch made it a point after the game to personally congratulate and console every single player on his team. It wasn't showy. It wasn't some huge pump-up, get-em-next-time speech. It was simple. As he walked up to each of them, you could hear him, "Next time," "Well done back there."


Two words here. Four words there. Simple. Told directly to each person, literally every person on his team, while he looked them in the eye and physically embraced them with a hug and a handshake. The message? I saw you out there. It didn't go unnoticed. And the work you put in on this team, regardless of who you are, matters to me, matters to these fans, and matters to your teammates.


Lesson 3: It's as much about the journey as it is the destination


Marsch understands one critical part of leading a team: outcomes matter, but the journey and process to achieving them might matter more. Focus more on the process, and the outcomes might just start falling into place.


"It was always going to be more about the performance than the points," Marsch said in his post-game news conference.


Too often, a narrow focus on the goals we're trying to accomplish constrains how we think about achieving those goals in the first place. Marsch knows that in his first weeks as manager, he's building a team identity, teaching his team to care about one another, determined to prevent mistakes that have led Leeds to flounder this year. Obsess about those points and the freedom and responsibility that he's attempting to teach each of his players to feel and embody goes out the window. In comes micro-management, one-size-fits-all approaches, and a lack of creativity.


Marsch is in unchartered territory. As only the second American to ever coach in the EPL, there are countless out there who expect him to fail and do so miserably.


I doubt Marsch cares. He is, after all, the guy who lives by this creed, which he shared with his previous team RB Leipzig, "I don't regret much in my life, but if I do, then it's the things I approached too passively."


So, with Marsch's masterclass in mind, here are three questions for you as you lead this week:


1) How can I intentionally end time with my team this week in alignment with what I want them to think, feel, and believe?


2) What are the smallest ways I can build connection with my team and who on my team have I overlooked who might be in need of some affirmation?


3) How can I support my team in reflecting on the journey and process as much about the outcomes they achieved?

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