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In April 2022, Erik Ten Hag was hired to coach the legendary club Manchester United.

He brought a very particular system that helped him achieve a lot of success at Ajax in the Dutch League over a period of four years. 

All the sports commentators wondered how he would implement his system and which players would survive and which had to go.

Early in his time at Manchester United, he demanded that the entire physical bench for the team, which was hooked up to an underground heating system, be moved several yards so that he could stand exactly in a particular spot on the field that he felt was key to his system.  The team put all their support behind him and indulged this and other strange requests, even if it came at great inconvenience and cost.

Then, in October 2024, after leading his team to some of their worst performances and metrics in decades, he was let go. Ultimately, his system did not work out at Manchester United.

The team looked for and hired his replacement, Ruben Amorim, another manager with his own system that brought him much success in the Portuguese League over a period of several years.  

All the talk was about how he would implement his preferred “3-4-3 system” and which players would survive and which would have to go.  In his case, he assumed control of the team about 3 months into the season.  Implementing a new system during the off-season is hard, doing so while the season is in progress is very difficult.  Nevertheless he accepted the job and challenge.

The Importance of Culture, History, and Values at Established Organizations

Organizations like Manchester United are unique.  In the world of soccer, there are probably only 2 or three teams like Manchester United.  That is, teams that are recognized globally.  Teams that have regularly transcended what was possible in the sport.  The other team with a similar status is Real Madrid.  Other close runners up include FC Barcelona, Liverpool and/or Arsenal, maybe Bayern Munich and more recently making a case to join this small group, Manchester City.  

Teams like this are 10x more intense in every conceivable way you could measure a team or organization.

Their histories, their fans, their achievements, their memories, and their expectations are all 10x above the average and above average sporting organizations.  For most of the last several decades, Manchester United was seen as a team of killers and fighters who never lose.  Of course, they lost matches, however, if they lost, it was not without leaving absolutely everything on the pitch and requiring an almost perfect performance from their opponent on that day.

And if a team stepped foot at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home stadium, forget about it, their chances of success, no matter how good their team, was already a fraction of what it might be on any other day.  

All of this speaks to a standard, culture, and mindset at the organization.  This is no different than any type of organization (i.e. business, etc.).  In fact, Harvard Business School chose to study Manchester United’s organization and their former legendary coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, in his final year at the club.  They followed him around for an entire year, with Man United granting full access to the Harvard researchers.  

Culture, standards, values, and mission are at the core of what makes any organization tick. These are their building blocks of their DNA.

When a new leader, especially from the outside, joins the leadership team, it is critical they take the time to learn and adapt to their new organization.  However, these days we see quite the opposite.  Leaders come in with their own strategies and systems and expect the organization to adapt to them and their ways.  

This rarely works. What takes decades to develop cannot be undone and rebuilt by one new leader, much less one that likely intends to move on after a few years.

The mistake is believing that the secret sauce is their strategy or the system they bring to the organization.  Erik Ten Hag (and those who hired him) believed his system would ultimately prevail at Manchester United. He was hired for his system, not for the person. Organizations need a human leader, not an algorithm.

Ruben Amorim was likely hired for the same reason.  And perhaps he too believes it is his system that makes him a success. Though I believe there is more to both Erik and Ruben and many other leaders who focus on their formulas, systems, algorithms, strategies, etc. 

The Missed Opportunity

Most leaders don’t recognize their true superpower – their ability to solve difficult problems.  These managers developed their systems in response to earlier challenges in their careers.  Their ability to solve a problem was their super power.  However, they have forgotten this as their fame grew and they looked to find a more tangible key to success (i.e. strategies, formulations, and systems).

They join new clubs and expect to be able to achieve success with the same recipe and become a one-recipe-chef.  They don’t appreciate what is already there and often go as far as bringing in their own people from their last successful organization. This might work at a small organization or somewhere with mission, values, and culture similar to theirs. 

For Ten Hag, coaching at Ajax was a great fit because the Dutch culture aligned with his style and personality.  However, at Manchester United, where he managed players from all over the world, in a different language and culture, he never stood a chance of success by using his old recipe.  It’s like trying to using your recipe for your favorite meal with a totally different set of ingredients. Eventually, you toss out the ingredients that aren’t on your recipe and go out to buy the ones on your list. That is not leadership.

A former pro-soccer coach once told me that the key to success for any soccer club was to tap into the culture of the city in which they resided.  He said, if you could tap into the city’s people and culture, you could build a successful team from the ground up.

In the case of Manchester United and other more established clubs, the culture is multiple decades strong and firm, in fact, over 100 years strong.  Manchester United and Manchester the city are one and the same. It’s even in the name, Manchester united.

If you want to achieve success at Manchester United or any established organization, you need to start with their people, culture, and values.  Learn those, uncover their super powers, their natural resources and strengths. Then add in your talent, your problem solving abilities, your personality, your passion, your drive, your fresh perspective, and your energy to make them great again.

Manchester United’s potential and ability to be great are already there.  It’s up to Ruben Amorim to simply uncover and re-catalyze it.  One of Ruben’s super powers is his ability to connect with players one-on-one and build deep and personal relationships.  This is what Man United’s players need, especially after years of struggle.  The team doesn’t lack in talent, however, that talent needs to be reignited.  I hope Ruben focuses on that more so than his system.

He is so much more than any one system and he has the potential to be what this club needs right now. But if he doesn’t bring more of his true self to the role, he’ll never exploit the potential for mutual and long-term success. 

Leaders Who Are Find it Easier to Draw on Culture

Just before Ruben Amorim arrived to Manchester United, the team placed a former club legend, Ruud van Nistelrooy, as interim manager for a duration of 4 matches.  In those 4 matches, the team won 3 and drew one.  It was easily one of their best 4-match stretches all season and maybe even the previous season as well.

Van Nistelrooy’s success in that 4-match spell had nothing to do with a formula as he is still quite inexperienced and had only a few days to prepare for his first match.  His key to success was that he was part of the last great era at Manchester United (1992-2013). He played there from 2001-2006 and he still remembers and embodies the culture, values, and mindset of that Manchester United. A Manchester United that never placed lower than 3rd in the English Premier League and they only placed third twice in those 21 years.  Furthermore, as a former (and relatively recent) player, he also relates to today’s players more closely than other coaches.

A few years earlier, another club legend was hired on an interim basis for the second half of the 2018-2019 season. Ole Gunnar Solskjær was brought in after they fired Jose Mourinho while they searched for a replacement to takeover after the season. His job was simple, don’t let the team go completely to hell while we find a new coach. However, after winning 14 of his first 19 matches, completely outperforming expectations, he was hired on a full-time basis to finish the season and continue the following one.

Ole’s success came from a deep understanding of the culture, people, and values of the team. He spent just as much time fixing the on field problems as he did fixing things off the field. It was reported in articles that he helped bring back the culture of saying hello and knowing everyone’s name at the club including kitchen staff, janitors, and all other personnel. This is true leadership.

Ruben Amorin is a former player who only retired in 2016. He understands the mentality and personalities of current players.  He’s not a former Manchester United legend and the good news is that he doesn’t have to be in order to succeed. He cares deeply about building relationships and leading each player the way they need just like the great Sir Alex Furgeson and his former players Solskjær and Van Nistelrooy did.  He simply needs to focus on learning United’s culture, values, and people.

Check out another article I wrote on the power of culture: How to Drive a Culture of Innovation Powered by Well-Being