Great leaders inspire and motivate

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You better believe there are leadership insights to be gained when a 37 year old rookie takes over as head coach at Arsenal Football Club.

I’ve supported Arsenal for 30 years. To say the first 2 decades were easier than the last one would be an understatement. The stage is set for revolution. So enter former inspirational captain and complete rookie Mikel Arteta as head coach.

Last night we won our first home game in two months. It was also our new coach’s first win and the well deserved victory came against none other than Manchester United.

This match could be a sign that the risky appointment of a 37 year old first time coach might just be changing the direction at Arsenal. It can also teach us a few things about leadership.

My first observation is that leadership is not easy, but seeing your efforts pay off can be very rewarding.

“It’s much more stressful as a manager. I lost my voice talking to them (the players), but I’m very pleased and mostly for them and as well the fans.” - Mikel Arteta

Secondly, a leader can be as smart and hardworking as an individual as they want to be, but if they fail to inspire and motivate the people they are leading, then they will fail to achieve anything great in the long run.

It’s up to the leader to create an environment where as Arteta put, “they (the team) want to do it and they are starting to enjoy. Hopefully it is a start.” It’s more than a start. It’s everything.