What Premier League Football Managers Can Teach Us About Business Leadership

Every weekend, Premier League football managers take centre stage on the touchline. They gesture, shout instructions, celebrate goals, and react to setbacks. But there’s something crucial they don’t do:

They don’t step onto the pitch.

They don’t take the free kicks, track back in defence, or try to win headers in the box. Their job isn’t to do, it’s to lead. And they do that by building systems, developing people, and managing performance through others.

It’s a powerful image. And one that stands in stark contrast to the reality of how many business owners and managers operate day-to-day. In businesses across the UK, managers are still stuck “on the tools” delivering the work, firefighting operational issues, and plugging the gaps. They’re playing every position on the pitch.

It’s the equivalent of Pep Guardiola having to step in at left-back because someone called in sick.

So, here is the question this blog explores:

Are you managing your business like a Premier League coach—or are you still trying to do it all yourself?

A Premier League Manager’s Weekly Rhythm

Let’s break it down. A top-flight football manager works around 50 to 70 hours per week. But the vast majority of that time is spent preparing the team, developing strategy, analysing performance, and leading the people around them.

A typical week looks something like this:

• Monday – Review and Recovery:
  Assess the previous match with analysts and coaching staff. Players who featured heavily take part in recovery sessions, while non-playing squad members train more intensively. The focus is on learning and improving.

• Tuesday/Wednesday – Tactical and Technical Focus:
  High-intensity days from a planning perspective. The manager works closely with coaches to implement strategy, analyse the next opponent, and rehearse tactical scenarios.

• Thursday – Strategic Execution:
  Sessions move from general training to opponent-specific preparation. Team shape, pressing triggers, and set-piece routines are all fine-tuned.

• Friday – Light Preparation and Final Messaging:
  A lighter day for the squad physically, but a full day for the manager: press conferences, final briefings, squad selection, and ensuring mental readiness.

• Saturday or Sunday – Match Day:
  The manager leads from the sidelines. Adjusting tactics, managing energy, and keeping the team focused. They don’t play. They manage.

What becomes clear is that leadership is about preparation, direction, and empowerment—not execution.

Compare That to the Reality for Most Business Leaders

Now let’s consider the typical week of a business owner or operational manager in a small to mid-sized enterprise.

They’re handling client issues, chasing overdue invoices, writing proposals, onboarding customers, troubleshooting tech, managing social media, and often even doing the delivery themselves. Leadership, true, strategic leadership, is squeezed into whatever time is left.

Instead of building a team, they become the team.

The result?

• Reactive decision-making

• Limited scalability

• Stagnant leadership growth within the business

• Personal exhaustion

This is not uncommon. In fact, it’s one of the most frequent patterns I see when coaching SME business owners. They know they need to grow, but they’re too busy keeping things going to step back and think strategically.

Three Key Lessons Business Leaders Can Learn

There are three critical shifts that Premier League managers demonstrate—shifts that every business owner can benefit from:

1. Lead, Don’t Play

Top football managers empower others to perform. They don’t micromanage or jump in. In business, the same principle applies. If you’re still delivering the service or solving every customer issue personally, you’re playing instead of leading.

2. Prioritise Preparation and Reflection

Premier League managers spend far more time preparing for matches than they do reacting to them. They review performance, study data, analyse opposition, and fine-tune plans. Business leaders who skip this step are often stuck in a loop of reaction, unable to break out of the day-to-day.

3. Build a Support Team

No manager succeeds alone. They rely on a network of experts—analysts, coaches, physios, logistics staff—to create a high-performing environment. Business leaders must think the same way. Surround yourself with great people, delegate, and create systems that allow you to focus on leadership.

The Real Cost of Staying on the Tools

Remaining operational might feel productive in the moment, but it has long-term consequences:

• It limits growth

• It prevents team members from stepping up

• It increases dependency on you

• It undermines the long-term value of the business

As one of my clients once said, “I finally realised I’d built a business that couldn’t function without me …. and that’s not a business, that’s a job.”

A Better Weekly Rhythm for Business Leaders

To help you shift from reactive to proactive leadership, try structuring your week using the same principles elite managers use.

Even allocating just a few hours each day to these activities can fundamentally shift your leadership focus and impact.

Who Coaches the Coach?

Every Premier League manager has someone in their corner. They have mentors, support teams, and performance analysts. Business owners, by contrast, often lead in isolation.

If you’re ready to step back from the pitch and step into your role as leader, it may be time to get your own coach, too.

That’s what I do every day with leaders and business owners across the North West, helping them move from tactical execution to strategic leadership, and from business operator to business owner.

If this article resonates, I’d be happy to have a conversation about how you can get started.