The Football Association is introducing a fast-track management development
programme to groom future leaders of the game.
The nine-month programme will be launched in September to identify and
nurture 20 junior and senior managers at the FA who have high leadership
potential.
Paul Nolan, director of HR of the Football Association, said succession
planning is vital for the organisation’s continued success, with profits
doubling since 2000 to a projected £41m this year.
Nolan said: "We are trying to ensure what we’ve achieved is
sustainable. I don’t want the whole thing to collapse just because a couple of
senior executives leave. The most successful organisations know there is an
advantage to be gained through continuity."
Last year, the not-for-profit organisation invested £65m in the development
of football.
The MBA-level programme will be run by Cranfield School of Management and
focus on strategy and management skills. It is part of a new training and
development strategy which means all 270 staff have individual development
plans.
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The number of training days for all staff has increased 20-fold to more than
1,000 since Nolan joined in September 2000.
FA technical director Howard Wilkinson told Personnel Today: "We have a
development strategy designed to bring advantage on the field through
consistency, continuity and succession. We now have a people strategy for our
organisation that replicates this philosophy."
