Focus: skill in developing increasingly capable people and teams

• Connecting and co-ordinating all aspects of the Technical Department 

• Planning and implementing a structure of departmental meetings 

• Finding a balance between guidance and autonomy in your management style

Each area of a technical department is ‘related’ and must be connected and co-ordinated together in order ensure efficiency, says Carles Romagosa,Thailand FA technical director. “For me, you cannot develop just one area that sits in a national association - that does not make sense,” says Romagosa. “Everything is related.”

Romagosa, who joined the Thai FA in 2019, points towards the club licensing process for Women’s clubs in Thailand and how the process is dependent on many other departments in the association.  

“As part of the process we follow for the club licencing in women clubs you have to define, for example, the youth teams that each women’s club has. Similarly, we state the number of coaching licences that a club needs and we have established a quota of a minimum percentage of women coaches in the women clubs. These are just three examples.

“So, in order for clubs to meet the criteria we have set, we have to make sure that women’s coaches have enough coach education courses to get the required qualification. We can push the clubs to have women coaches, but if we don't offer specific licences for them then it will not work. “If you don't connect everything, maybe you can make a lot of mistakes.”

Co-ordinating departments and planning meetings 

Romagosa, who has also worked as the Technical Director responsible for youth development at Paris St Germain and also as a youth coach at Barcelona, schedules between 10-12 meetings a week to ensure each area of the technical department is ‘connected and co-ordinated’.

“The most important part of my role is to connect the many different areas of the technical department. For example, women's football is related with youth and with education and so we try to connect them. 

“To do this, I'm trying to spend time with all the departments at least once a week and I have a regular meetings with them. I am setting around 10-12 meetings a week just to make sure that I can track every department. Then my main responsibility is to coordinate them and then try to make one step back, just to be able to look at the global structure of football. 

“This is more about co-ordinating people to ensure all the ecosystem is balanced and we are developing all the main areas at the same time. My responsibilities are more to organise them.”

Finding a balance between direction and autonomy 

As Technical Director there is a continuous challenge between giving direction and providing autonomy, explains Romagosa. “With some people in Thailand there is a gap between the expectations they have and the expectations that I have as Technical Director. Some of the time I am pushing them to follow my advice or my guidance and sometimes I have to let them grow more. In the past they have not been given opportunities to add value to the discussion. This is a barrier that must be broken.

“Quite often, when technical staff have less experience in managing the department than you, they and expect direct direction from you because you have more experience and knowledge. Finding ways to empower the staff is something I am trying to improve. That’s quite a challenge for me.”

• Make time to take a ‘global’ view of the Technical Department 

• Successful outcomes arise from connecting key teams and individuals together

• Plan a meeting schedule with regular catch-ups with key members of staff  

• How do you connect and combine teams and individuals within your department? 

• How regularly do you meet with key individuals and teams? Is this successful or requiring further attention? 

• How would you describe the balance between direction and autonomy in your management style? What aspects of performance dictates your approach?