Leadership Strategies: Brisbane Roar Football Team Case Study

This case study analyzes the leadership and management strategies employed by Ange Postecoglou, the coach of the Brisbane Roar football team, during their record-breaking unbeaten streak. The study examines the team leadership model, which prioritized team cohesion over individual player strengths, and highlights the coach's focus on long-term gains and strategic planning. It delves into human resource management practices, emphasizing the importance of placing the right personnel in appropriate roles, and investigates the impact of organizational culture on the team's success. The case study explores the challenges of change management, particularly the resistance to change within the team. Additionally, it differentiates between the roles of a manager and a leader, with Postecoglou's actions being characterized as those of a visionary leader. The analysis includes the use of cross-functional teams, SWOT analysis of the team's strategies, and an application of the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid. Finally, the study examines the organizational culture of achievement and the promotion of entrepreneurial behavior within the Brisbane Roar, offering valuable insights into effective team building and leadership in a business context. The document is a student contribution for Desklib, a platform offering AI-powered study tools.

Question 1
The present case identifies a “team leadership model” where instead of the individual strength,
the cohesive strength of the team works as the driving force behind the endeavor. In the present
case the coach of the team, Postecoglou, changed the style of play and introduced “buy into”
style where the “style of the team” became more important rather than the “style of an individual
player”. The coach of the team also planned a strategy that was focused more on long term gains
instead of short term pain. In terms of human resource management, this case presents an
example of “putting the right person at the right place not by virtue but by the training (Nova,
2018).”
Coach, Postecoglou took his time in setting up a team. He never compromised on the individual
style of the player, instead he fixed a strategy for the team and everybody else played his role in
the team. The organizational culture of the club was supporting the coach, it depicts an
organization where the frontline managers play an active role in designing the final output. The
upper strata of the organization support the frontline players with logistics and other means.
Question 2
The facts of the case give us an idea that the change in the organizational patterns was needed
because individual fractions of the team were performing well but they were not able to achieve
the desired outcome because of a lack of coordination in the effort. The legacy of the
organization was serving as a negative factor and adding difficulties in the process of change
management. The facts of the case states that only eight out of twenty regular players continued
with the team after converting training into a full-time job, the theories of the change

management describes it as “ repulsion caused by the dynamic nature of the change and the
dynamic behavior of the parties that are becoming a part of the change (Smith, 2014). According
to Lewin’s theory of the framework, the unfreezing part of the change was the most difficult part
for the coach. This principle is also applicable to the business teams with impressive past
accomplishment records, an organization wants to redeem its strength in new environments,
however, sometimes this desire acts as a barrier in removing the existing shortcomings of the
processes (Keller, 2019).
Question 3
The role of a manager is confined to carry out the ideas prescribed by the planning team and
higher authorities, he can take a certain amount of liberties while handling day to day activities
as per the discretion. However, a leader, on the other hand, can act as a visionary, he can
negotiate with the resources and practices on a different level and bring some sea changes in the
scenarios. In the present case, Postecoglou is acting as a leader because he brought some sea
changes in the basic procedures of the team building. Apart from it when he adopted the policy
of long term gain and immediate pains, he actually set some goals for his team based on his
personal vision. A leader always has this liberty, a manager cannot set goals. He has to follow a
guideline (Arruda, 2016). The assessment where Postecoglou is considered to be a leader rather
than a manager is correct because instead of just executing the ideas of the management he
implemented a plan to change the course of the events for the team.
Question 4
Cross-functional teams can bring in an act of balancing in different teams that are working
towards the attainment of a similar goal. Cross-functional teams or the formation of divisions can

introduce a check and balance on the acts of various components. However, cross-functional
teams can sometimes bring in chaos in the absence of a cohesive approach towards a goal.
Sometimes cross-functional teams can also face the pangs of ego clashes and other issues related
to the status of pride and esteem (Carruci, 2018).
Postecoglou utilized the concept of the cross-functional teams in a different way, he divided his
core team into five small teams, each team consisting of one senior member, one supporting staff
and four young members. He made it sure to pick up the teammates on the merits of
interpersonal relationships between the players. These cross-functional teams cater to the
interface of interdependencies between the teammates and helped them in strengthening bonds
with each other.
Question 5
The SWOT analysis of the successful “Brisbane Roar” team gives us the idea that their strategy
to play with the short passes creates some unforeseen conditions for the rivals and serves as the
biggest strength. The lack of star players and experienced players can serve as a barrier for them
in the future because rivals are studying their tactics and the element of surprise is minimizing
with each victory (Alina, 2013). The rolling of the players in different roles sets an opportunity
for every player in excelling his skills in all the departments and serves as an addition to the
strength. The biggest threat in front of the team lies in the fact that rivals can offer high prices to
the members of a winning team (Helen, 2018).
The existing management can come up with SMART objectives by fixing an adequate rotational
policy for the players where they can explore themselves under different polices and play in

accordance. They can also introduce SMART objectives to add bench strength in their bench
strength and mitigate the impact of a probable migration of the players.
Question 6
The facts of the current case study that “Brisbane Roar” is a following the leadership trait of
“produce or Perish” as described in the “Blake Mouton Managerial Grid.” As a team leader,
Postecoglou never tried to retain any of his star players. After setting a vision for the team, he
only waited for the player to fix their suitability in the newly fixed roles. He hired new players
only on the same merit, where his objective was clear; he was keen to fill a spot in the team. The
fourth quadrant of “Blake Mouton Managerial Grid” works on the same lines where the leaders
pick the right personas for the right jobs, in case of the non-delivery, they remove them from the
job and try other choices (Woong, 2018).
Question 7
The organizational culture of the Brisbane Roar promotes the “culture of achievement” under
which some self-motivated individuals work hard with an intention to meet out the
organizational goals along with a goal to improve their personal performance as well. While
constructing the dynamism for the team performance, Postegoglou promoted a culture of
involvement rather than achievement; he is not demanding for personal achievements from the
teammates, instead, he is training to play them as a teammate where the highest order of
involvement with the plans of the team is required.
The high ranks of the club allowed, Postecoglou to experiment with the structuring of the team at
all levels. In spite of the backlash of the media and disappointment of the fans the heads and the

promoters of the club showed unconditional support for the plans of, Postecoglou during a poor
run. This shows that the organization has a culture to promote entrepreneurial behavior.

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