BCBusiness – Thought Leadership with Bob Lenarduzzi
Date: April 6, 2017
Name: BCBusiness – Thought Leadership with Bob Lenarduzzi
Presenter: Bob Lenarduzzi
Understanding the view of team leadership can build a stronger organization; moreover, entrepreneurs need to integrate the power of team leadership. BCBusiness invites Bob Lenarduzzi, the President of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, to discuss his business insight on team leadership. From the perspective of sport industry icon, Bob Lenarduzzi shares his valuable lessons that integrate into business. In addition, entrepreneurs will discover the key elements of building a professional team.
Bob Lenarduzzi is the President of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He was the former star of North American Soccer League, and won the Player of the Year award. As a coach, he led his team to Canadian Soccer League championships, and led Canada’s men’s national team. Lenarduzzi received North American Soccer Hall of Fame, the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, the British Columbia sports Hall of fame, and United Soccer Leagues Hall of Fame. Furthermore, he received the Order of British Columbia for his contribution in the sport of soccer.
The Power of Team Leadership
Bob Lenarduzzi is grateful for all the games he played through his career. He will continue to do so and he look forward for many years.
Instead of following the traditional academic education route, Lenarduzzi went to be a professional soccer player in the age of 15. He compromised with his family by continuing the education with correspondence; however, he failed to do so. He still regrets for that decision, and he commented, “Do what I say, not what I did”.
Lenarduzzi mentions he does not profess all the answers, but he resonates the lessons he learned from the locker room. There are five importance factors for leadership in the life of sport player.
- Discipline
- Hard work
- Commitment
- Drive
- Passion
“Look what I can do today, not tomorrow”
When his youth, passion was his driving force. Lenarduzzi experienced his true motivation when England beat Germany during 1966 World Cup. His brother guided him to discover his strength. His parents supported his decision. Eventually, Lenarduzzi moved to England for his apprenticeship. He learned a valuable lesson of hierarchy and team culture.
He brought over his experience to Vancouver Whitecap and promoted the residency program, where they recruit many talented young players, such as Alphonso Davies and Russell Telbert. Lenarduzzi encourages many old players to take young players aside for the mentorship.
John Giles was Lenarduzzi’s old coach. He had a great coaching style. By taking players aside, he provided feedbacks on what the players need to do better and what they do well. He provided valuable encouragement. It is a powerful acknowledgement for Lenarduzzi. John Cruyff was Lenarduzzi’s idol. Lenarduzzi believes he was equivalent to Wayne Gretzky in hockey. He had the honor to play against him and it was a moment he never forgets.
Lenarduzzi shared during his coaching, he met John Catliff, a Harvard graduate. When he questioned his coaching method, Lenarduzzi provided him harsh criticism with precise facts. That is concise communication. He met Dave Cox, the sport psychologist. Lenarduzzi learned the lesson of “process versus outcome”. People often hear the phrase of “we need to win”; however, they never realize the importance of determining how to get here.
Lenarduzzi had the honor to played in 1984 Olympics. The coach bought beers for them. Coach trusted them. The coach wanted all senior players to invite young players to deliver the message of empowerment. The bonding made them trust coach even more. In the World Cup 1986, the coach established something called “team first philosophy”. Lenarduzzi learned even the other team outperformed his team, the coach wanted the team to stick together with the plan, stick to the process, and stick to the strategy. “No one is bigger than the team” was the message the coach wanted to deliver. In the match against Mexico, the team was in the bull fight and lost miserably. Instead of looking for exercise, the coach took the hit and asked themselves to be better next around.
True leader is graciousness in victory or defeat. They give back to the community. For Vancouver Whitecaps, Lenarduzzi encourages the team to network and be in the appearance. Lenarduzzi believes the guiding principles.
- Our all. Our honor
- Unity, winning, and honor
- T be a champion club on and off the soccer pitch
These guiding principles form the Vancouver Whitecaps today. Every player honors these principles.
Lastly, Lenarduzzi shares a couple of quotes he inspired from Paul Bear Bryant the coach of Alabama.
“If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If an anything goes really good, then you did it”
“That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you”
“You must learn how to hold a team together”
“You must life some men up, calm others down, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat. Then you’ve got yourself a team”
Questions and Answers
For any entrepreneur who need to manage up, Lenarduzzi suggest entrepreneurs to create good foundation. They need to adapt the top with clear communication and coordinate the low to understand the true “why”. Lenarduzzi is shock that many people who are in the senior position, do not have clear communication with their team.
From a player to coach and coach to leader, the shift of mindset can be difficult. Lenarduzzi believes Vancouver Whitecap still does not have the roots that other sports in Vancouver have. However, it takes strong desire to do well. There is always opportunity. To apply mentorship for youth, Lenarduzzi still believes storytelling is the suggested method. Instead of focusing on the problem, leaders should focus on how they deal with the situation.