RED HEART BLUE HEAD - Key Persons
With each step forward as a team, McGovern raised his ambitions. Like the rest of Clough's players, he began to believe they could achieve footballing miracles. When your manager believes in the seemingly impossible and then achieves it with you, that must be an extraordinary feeling. Once that happened for John McGovern at Derby County, he knew it was possible. And he wanted to experience it all over again. Following Brian Clough to Leeds and then to Nottingham Forest offered him the chance to do it all over again. Ambitious is infectious.
Brian Clough took much of the external pressure away from his players, by becoming the story himself. This allowed the team to focus on playing. Clough also used the media to deliver his powerful brand of positivity, which he knew helped to build confidence in his own players. If was so confident, why shouldn't they be?
"I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the business but I was in the top one"
Brian Clough had a very clear idea of what the team needed. One aspect of that need was complete unity. There had to be one vision, one voice. When asked about what he did when a player challenged him, he famously replied "We talk about it for twenty minutes and then we decide I was right". John McGovern knew exactly where he was with Brian Clough. Every employee appreciates consistent management.
However, that single voice approach didn't work at Leeds United. Brian Clough's managerial term there was an unmitigated disaster. In any successful team, there has to be agreement about the what (purpose) and the how (philosophy and management style). Everyone has to buy-into the same vision) and the process to deliver it. At Leeds, differences over the ‘how' produced a fatal problem.
Even where a manager is an exceptional leader, they still have to persuade their people to follow. Successful teams don't contain multiple battling egos. Successful teams work for and care about each other. They sacrifice their needs for the needs of the group. That unity can either come from agreeing to follow a single controlling mind, or from a joint commitment to a common purpose. Caring about their mission and each other is what matters most. Love is far more powerful than hate. Unity is the only answer. John McGovern understood, but he was almost a lone voice at Leeds. His chance to work with like-minds came later at Nottingham Forest.
Job Titles:
- Trethowans' Managing Partner
Simon has been ranked in Band 1 in the South by Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession employment law for the last fifteen years. These transferable skills give Simon the ability to advise, coach and support other leaders. Simon has been described as "highly-regarded", a "talented lawyer", "down to earth" and "always focused on the end result". The industry has acknowledged his skills "Clients hold him in the highest regard while peers describe him as a forthright go-getter." Chambers Guide has included a number of anonymous client quotes, including "Simon Rhodes' pragmatic and no-nonsense advice is invaluable".
In 2018, Simon was named the Hampshire Lawyer of the Year. Trethowans' Managing Partner, Chris Whiteley, was interviewed and said "Simon is hugely popular with our clients, not just for his knowledge and success within his work but for his wonderful way with people. He's a superb representative for Trethowans and we echo the commendations of the award judges."
Brian Clough expected his players to know their job and to go out and do their job. If they did, he was staunchly loyal and hugely protective of them. If they didn't, they weren't picked or they were sold. His sometimes ‘venomous verbals' kept all the players on their toes. That aspect of his management isn't fit for the modern World, nor are some of his outspoken comments about other managers and teams, but the strength of the relationships he'd built meant that he could push people to the edge and often (but not always) recover the relationship. But at the same time, he was caring and happy to give praise when it was deserved.
"As a player I was terrified of him most of the time…. When he gave you praise he made you feel a thousand feet tall"
John McGovern began his professional football career in English football's fourth tier with his local club Hartlepools United. There is nothing very remarkable about that, except that by the end of his football career, John McGovern had won two First Division titles (now Premier League titles), as well as two League Cups, one UEAFA Super Cup and two European Cups. How did a player who started at such a low level, reach the absolute pinnacle of English and European football? The answer is Clough Love.
The management at Hartlepools United at the time were a brand new double act, called Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. Spotted Peter Taylor, an exceptional judge of ability, John McGovern was signed young and given his opportunity to impress in the first team. That's all any player can ask. Everyone just wants the chance to show you want they can do.
John McGovern's father sadly died when he was only eleven and Brian Clough reportedly became a father figure to him. Just like Sir. Alex Ferguson with players such as Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, Brian Clough gave John McGovern the guidance he needed on and off the pitch. Good managers find a way to provide their people with a feeling of 24/7 support without over-stepping the mark or getting too embroiled themselves. That sense of unflagging support lifted John McGovern to reach and fulfil his potential. It brought him a belief in his own ability and confidence to play his game. Once he ran out to play he felt trusted to do his job.
However, that didn't absolve him from Clough's form of tough love. After an F.A. Cup loss to Arsenal, in which John McGovern's back pass led to the only goal, Brian Clough was furious. He reportedly faced up to John McGovern and told him "McGovern you cost me a Cup Final and don't you ever forget it." That must have been crushing. It can't have helped when Brian Clough repeated it before every subsequent cup game either. Not many relationships would survive that. Nowadays he would be in constructive dismissal territory. But John McGovern didn't walk out. He just worked even harder. Brian Clough manage to secure a player with an even stronger commitment.
Peter Taylor had an exceptional ability to find a quality player and Brian Clough had an exceptional ability to maximise that quality. At Nottingham Forest, the team they assembled wasn't built on big transfer fees. It had a mix of three kinds of players. There were existing players whose careers were languishing in the bottom half of the Second Division, such as John Robertson, Martin O'Neill, Tony Woodcock and Viv Anderson. Then there were inexpensive additions like John McGovern and John O'Hare, who cost far less than their real worth.
The final players were quality players from other teams, like Larry Lloyd, Peter Shilton and Trevor Francis (who became the first £1 million pound player). The club became increasingly attractive to those kind of players as it achieved increasing success. Each new player was pulled into the group and ‘infected' with Brian Clough's ambition and belief. They had to do things the Brian Clough way, but that way brought them praise and success.
Job Titles:
- Tribe Builder, Mentor, Leader, Author
Simon is the author of the Super-Tribe series, a trilogy of books about organisational performance, culture and becoming ready to win. ‘Build Your Super-Tribe: How tribal rituals and traditions can change the modern world' describes the twenty elements of successful modern tribes and what you need to invent, or re-invent, your own Super-tribe. The sequel ‘Lead Your Super-tribe: How to become the Pathfinder for your Super-tribe' describes how to lead your organisation like a high-performing Super-tribe.
Simon was Managing Partner (2009 to 2015) and Senior Partner (2015 to 2021) at the law firm Trethowans LLP. Simon has been described as the ‘cultural catalyst' behind the growth and development at Trethowans, which has more than trebled the law firm's turnover from £6 million to £20 million, during a period of recession, Brexit and COVID-19 pandemic. Simon instigated the firm's merger with Dickinson Manser in 2015, creating a legal Super-tribe. He has helped to create a dynamic momentum at the firm, which continues to grow and develop as a legacy of his approach.
As an employment lawyer for over twenty-five years, Simon has been part of the cultural inner-circle of many corporate and owner managed businesses. He has witnessed working relationships from every perspective (as a leader, owner, manager, employee, independent adviser and employment tribunal advocate). Simon has seen first hand the human and financial cost of poor culture.
In 2014, a Super-tribe was formed in Southampton to bring the business community and public services closer together. The city's universities, city college, Hampshire Chamber, Business South, Southampton FC and a range of businesses formed a new board under the banner Future Southampton. Simon Rhodes was appointed its Chair. Future Southampton worked closely with Southampton City Council to prepare Southampton's 2015-2024 strategy. Future Southampton also began the process that to Southampton gaining its Business Improvement District called Go Southampton!
Simon has also served as a Trustee of the Southampton Cultural Development Trust, a Board member of the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce Southampton Business Board; and a judge at both the South Coast and the South Wiltshire Business of the Year Awards amongst other business community involvements.
Simon was a qualified employment solicitor for twenty-five years until 2021, working with global, national and regional businesses across all sectors, including retail, food and beverage, logistics and leisure. Simon has a highly impressive record of winning cases at Employment Tribunals across the country (with only one loss at a final hearing on his record). Simon built deep and long-standing client relationships and won over £2M of business during his time at the firm.