A great football team doesn’t rely on strikers to defend or midfielders to score every goal. But in business, too many leaders expect everyone to do everything, and wonder why chaos follows. Sales are your forwards, tech and operations are your midfield, and customer service is your defence. Each has a role to play, and when they’re aligned, you win. If your team structure is broken, so is your game plan.

Great teams don’t just show up and hope for the best. Before every NFL game, coaches break down the opposition, design plays, and set a strategy. But once the game starts, they don’t abandon the plan, they adjust, adapt, and stay agile. Business is no different. Structure isn’t there to hold you back, it’s there to create trust, clarity, and freedom. The best teams don’t play without a system, and neither should you.

Everyone says, "Be a leader, not a boss," but the best head coaches know that’s not how it works. Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t build a dynasty by being nice all the time. Sometimes, your team needs guidance. Other times, they need authority. If you think leadership is just about inspiration, you’ll lose control. If it’s all discipline, you’ll lose the locker room. The real skill? Knowing when to switch gears.

Traditional businesses reward people by moving them up the hierarchy. But in elite sports, the best players earn more by being great at what they do, not by becoming coaches. If Patrick Mahomes wants to earn more, he doesn’t climb a corporate ladder, he wins games. Your job isn’t to protect a salary pyramid, it’s to build a winning team where everyone is paid for impact, not rank. Time to rethink the playbook.