Leaders live on the edge of their seats.

For all you non-soccer fans out there I’m about to educate you as to why the English Premier League (like all FIFA leagues , except the silly guys running the MLS) keeps you on the edge of your seat through until the final day of the season – every season.
Football (the real football …not what you guys in the US call football ….which truly should be called Throwball) does not operate to a play-offs system or a draft system. Every year in every league there is something to play for right through to game 39 of the season (though they play nearly 55 games with all the cup tournaments that run concurrent through the season).
One team wins the league but three teams are relegated out of that league (an immediate $40M financial loss). The top four clubs qualify for the next seasons Champions League in addition to the regular league (a minimum of $12M extra) and the fifth and sixth place team qualify for the Europa League (a minimum of $4M extra). Up to the last game of the season clubs are fighting to win, to finish in the top four, to finish in the top six, to avoid relegation. Every game is a meaningful game ……. so much to win; so much at stake if lose.

For the fans we sit on the edges of our seats until the last ball is kicked on the final day.

Just now we are six games away from the finish ….the tension is palpable (and I had to endure the previous ten games without the aid of chocolate due to Lent!).

Every game is meaningful and impactful – it edges you up the table, it slides you down….or it does to your competitor. Even the number of goals you score or concede is important as in a points tie goal difference counts!
It’s magical – exciting, captivating, essential viewing until May 13.
The NBA, NFL, MLB and the MLS could all learn how to keep every game and every fan watching until the final whistle.

Now let’s switch.

Both leadership and life are like the English Premier League. There is something to play for every minute, every move, every decision, every choice.

Let me speak into the leadership aspect of this.
There is no such thing as an empty, wasted or meaningless leadership shout. Leaders live on the edge of their seats – we seldom if ever slide back and sit comfy ……not until the final whistle is blown.
This brings intensity and I place intensity up at the top of the characteristics or quality every leader needs to have.
I’m not meaning that we act like that annoying ‘intense guy’ who can never smile, laugh or joke.
I’m meaning that we can never take our eye off the ball or judge a decision to be arbitrary or inconsequential.
If we lead without this intensity we will slide down the table and eventually be relegated.

One leader said it like this “when uncertainty is gone your leadership is no longer required.”

I think that’s a brilliant observation and speaks into this issue of constant intensity. The climate of leadership is always uncertainty – that why people need leaders. Fail to stay intense and the uncertainty will go – along with you.

If you want a study in a leader who knows how to make every minute, every moment count – check out Sir Alex Ferguson – the manager of Manchester United ….on their way to a record setting 20th English Premier League title.
How many games have Manchester United won in the last second of the game? It’s a higher percentage than any other professional football team. To the last dying second - that’s how intense Sir Alex’s is.
That’s how they keep winning the hardest league in the world.