On Pep Guardiola: A Special Discussion

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Great Coaches: Leadership & Life newsletter.

If you’re subscribed to our podcast on Apple or Spotify then you’ll already know about the special episode we’ve just released, delving deep into the career and leadership of one of today’s Great Coaches: Pep Guardiola.

Those of you keeping an eye on the news will know that Guardiola has just signed a contract extension with Manchester City; this new contract will carry him through to the summer of 2026, by which point he will have spent a decade working with the club.

While the iconic coach himself didn’t join us for this week’s podcast, we were joined again by the great Dr David Turner, who brought a well-studied and informed perspective to the discussion.

Make sure to give it a listen, and then be sure to let us know — do you think he’s the greatest coach in soccer today?

Pep Guardiola: Intense, Passionate, Calculated

It’s hard to escape Pep Guardiola nowadays; even if you have no interest in football (soccer), his name seems to pop up in the news’ sport section on an almost daily basis.

Of course, there’s a reason that he’s receiving so much publicity; the sometimes-controversial coach has established himself as one of the greatest coaches in his sport (if not the world) today, and discourse about him at times seems to blur the line between ‘man’ and ‘myth’.

For this week’s podcast Dr David Turner joined Great Coaches host Paul Barnett to delve a bit deeper into Guardiola’s remarkable career and leadership style.

From how Guardiola ranks against another legendary coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, to his coaching ‘superpower’, Paul and David discuss a number of the different ways that Guardiola stands out from other coaches in his sport and the vital ingredients of his serial-winning success.

In between the conversation, you’ll also hear some fantastic sound bites of the people who have worked and played for Guardiola describing him and his leadership in their own words.

This was a fascinating episode to research and record, and we hope that you’ll enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Listen to the episode now: Apple | Spotify

Featured This Week

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola is a Spanish professional football (soccer) manager and former player. Considered one of the greatest managers of all time, he is the only manager to win the continental treble twice and holds the record for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Budesliga, and the Premier League.

Guardiola’s coaching career has seen him work with Barcelona and Bayern Munich as well as his current club, Manchester City, which he joined in 2016. Highly respected and globally recognised for his achievements, Guardiola has earned nearly 40 major coaching awards as well as a Spanish Gold Medal Royal Order of Sports Merit.

Dr David Turner

Dr David Turner is a senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK. His areas of expertise include sports coaching, coach education, and the lessons that can be learned from legendary coaches.

David is a frequent guest at the Great Coaches podcast, and always has some fantastic perspectives to share.

When Leaders Work On Themselves

Paul and David speak about a number of Pep Guardiola’s traits in this week’s episode, such as his perfectionism and his innovation. They also speak about his self-doubt, and the humility he shows when admitting that he doesn’t know everything.

Just as all leaders have their strengths, they also have weaknesses. One of the things that separates a standard leader from a great one is their awareness of those weaknesses; Guardiola is a relentless learner who enjoys overcoming barriers, and a passion for improvement and learning is a common trait shared by many of the other leaders who have been discussed or interviewed for our podcast.

In this clip from one of our previous discussions with the fantastic Allistair McCaw, he advises aspiring and existing leaders to address their weaknesses and step forward with a goal that guides their development.

Want to explore this topic further? Explore our archive of topic-based insights and bundles on our website with a Great Coaches Membership.

The Great Coaches Membership

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Entering The AI Age with AIS

Everything is going digital nowadays. New and rapidly emerging technology can be difficult to keep up with, and the push for AI across all areas of modern life seems to present us with just as many challenges as it does opportunities.

With that said, technology continues to offer us new ways to innovate, create, and collaborate. One such example comes in the form of this digital tutor from the Australian Institute of Sport, which was created to talk about the AIS Coach Summit Program and the benefits of more social and collaborative approaches to learning.

The AI bot has been trained to provide insight and guidance based on the work of the Institute’s Dr Paul Perkins, helping to disseminate knowledge and foster discussions around coach development and sports. The bot itself is the result of collaboration by the Australian Institute of Sport High Performance Coach Development Team, the Queensland Academy of Sport SPIKE initiative, and Querlo.

Click the link below to pick Paul’s digital ‘brain’ and learn more about the AIS Summit program.

Elevate Your Leadership

We believe that there is no algorithm for leadership, but there is a way to align your values, vision, and behaviour to elevate your leadership style.

Our coaching is rooted in our experience as CEOs, parents, and partners.

Drop us a note today if elevating your leadership is something you are interested in.

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