Why Leicester FC's Claudio Ranieri is a better manager than Jose Mourinho, according to SCIENCE
- Psychologists believe that switch from 'I' to 'We' is a winning formula
- Ranieri focused on making the team great, rather than his own greatness
- The experts explain coaching style switched from imposing his will on the team to helping them discover and impose their collective will
- This may have given Leicester City the extra boost needed to win the EPL
- See more of the latest Leicester City FC news and updates
With the dust just starting to settle days after Leicester City FC sealed its first English Premier League win, pundits and fans around the world are still wondering how they pulled it off.
Hard work, dedication and consistently grinding out draws and dogged 1-0 wins may have kept them in the top of the table, but psychologists think that its manager is at the heart of their winning form.
Researchers believe it was Claudio Ranieri's focus on making the team feel great, rather than his individual greatness, which brought them the well-deserved big win.
Leading experts in the psychology of leadership believe it was Leicester City FC manager Claudio Ranieri's (pictured) focus on making the team feel great, rather than his individual greatness, which clinched the well-deserved Premier League win
Ranieri has been a top flight club football manager for decades, in Italy, Spain and as well as a former stint in the Premier League at Chelsea.
But two experts in the psychology of leadership believe his attitude may have held him back at former clubs.
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'Previously Ranieri had a terrible reputation for tinkering with his teams where his actions mimicked those of many corporate managers, whose passion for restructuring belies a desire to show the world what a great leader they are,' said Professor Stephen Reicher of the University of St Andrews.
Hard work, dedication and consistent results may have kept Leicester in the top of the table, but psychologists think Ranieri letting go of the 'great one' mentality may have cleared the way mentally for a win
Leicester City won the English Premier League on Monday (pictured) after starting the season as a 5,000-1 shot with the bookmakers
'But by the time he arrived at Leicester, Ranieri had learned the hard way, and no longer was his coaching a matter of imposing his personal will on the team – it was a matter of helping the team discover and impose their collective will.'
Writing in an article in The Psychologist, with Professor Alex Haslam of the University of Queensland, the psychologists explained that the Leicester manager letting go of the 'great one' mentality may have cleared the way mentally for a win.
Professor Reicher added: 'Ultimately, Claudio Ranieri's redemption follows a trajectory from 'I' to 'we'. From his first day as Leicester manager he was keen to make it clear that it was not he who was special, but the team and league that he had come to serve.'
This attitude marks a stark departure from imposing an iron-will on teams, an approach favoured by many managers including former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who was labelled 'the special one'.
Mourinho is quoted as famously saying: 'I have top players and, I’m sorry, we have a top manager. Please do not call me arrogant because what I say is true.
'I’m European champion, I’m not one out of the bottle, I think I’m a special one.'
The experts explained that by comparison, Mourinho's failures followed a reverse trajectory to Ranieri, moving from 'We' to 'I'.
Other managers stuck to imposing their will on the team, such as former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho (pictured), who called himself 'the special one'. According to the psychologists, it was this lonely path that lost him support from players and fans
Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy (left) celebrates with manager Claudio Ranieri (right) on the final whistle of a match between against Sunderland in April
According to the Reichter and Haslam, it was this lonely path that lost him support from players and fans.
They wrote that the point at which he became convinced he was 'special' coincided with the 'beginning of the end', joining a long list of leaders whose 'success seduced them into thinking that they were above everyone else'.
Elsewhere in the top four, current Manchester City manager Manuel Peligrini is seen as the 'nice guy', well-liked by players and fans, and this looks to have helped the sky blues finish the season in the top four – with just two games left of the season.
He is set to be replaced at the end of the season by Barcelona legend, current Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola, who is renowned for being made of sterner stuff.
While tactician and long-serving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, known for his outbursts against officials, keeps an even keel for yet another top four finish.
Professor Haslam said: 'Ranieri's failures and successes teach us critical lessons about how to be a good leader - and also how to be a bad leader. Indeed, there is a long history of leaders in sport - but also in politics and business, moving in precisely the opposite direction to Ranieri.
'Early success seduced them into thinking they were special, and thereby transformed success into failure.'
The psychologists concluded: 'By thinking of leadership solely in terms of the characteristics of the individual leader, we divide leaders from their followers, we compromise performance and organisational effectiveness.
'This is a salutary warning against a romantic model of leadership; a powerful illustration of the dangers of falling in love with one's own reflection; a lesson to all leaders in all fields.'
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