Focus: healthy working environments and a focus on well-being

• The importance of staying ‘fit, fresh and healthy’ as a Technical Director

• Managing your schedule effectively to ensure a balance between activity, planning and reflection

• The benefits of assigning specific timeslots to certain activities to ensure you don’t become ‘lost’ in the role

Technical leaders should focus on time management to ensure they are ‘fit, fresh and healthy’ to face the many complexities of the role, says Alex Zwiers, Technical Director of Jordan FA. 

“The role of Technical Director can be very complex and very tough,” says Zwiers, who became Technical Director at the Jordan FA in 2019. “For many Technical Directors they are dependent on their middle management, but if there's no middle management you have a lot of responsibilities. 

“For example, I am Technical Director, head of education and head of elite youth. It means that you have to go to the ‘ground floor’ also. So, on a daily basis, you need to switch your role many times.”

To cope with these many demands, Zwiers believes Technical Directors must look after their well-being by putting a strong focus on time management. “As a Technical Director you need to be fit, fresh and healthy in order to look after all the programmes and regularly switch from different roles. If you're not fresh, if you don't take care of yourself, then it's difficult to perform 100% in your own work.

“Time management is very important,” he adds. “How you programme out your whole week is crucial and you need to reserve some days and time for yourself in order to work on the long-term programmes and not just the short-term. Your personal agenda should be very fixed. Time management is the key factor in this and can help you be sustainable and successful”

Zwiers admits that the Technical Director must be adaptable enough to change course based on daily needs, but believes time must be protected for strategic work. Especially as a Technical Director in a national association where change can take longer than in club football. 

“Of course, there are times when you have to scratch up your whole agenda and focus on the day-to-day needs.  

“Previously when I was working also as a TD with the club, the role is less complex, and your impact is much faster because you can go directly and get things done. But as a federation, the distance between you and your stakeholders is much bigger. So that needs more time also. And you get involved in so many more projects, development and strategy.

“During my first year at the Jordan FA I was involved in too many things so I realised I must make a plan for how many hours I spent on each area or else you get lost. Because when I reflected I felt like I only achieved half of this and half of that, I had lost my quality.”

Zwiers explains that many of the key responsibilities of a Technical Director are long-term in nature and must be given sufficient time in order to ensure progress. 

“Planning and preparing for long-term strategy, club licencing a pro course or implementing leagues are long-term projects. That means a lot of research and data collection and connecting all the dots for the different departments together. So that really needs time.”

• Technical Directors must be ‘fit, fresh and healthy’ to perform effectively in the role 

• Manage your schedule effectively to ensure a balance between activity, planning and reflection

• Assign specific timeslots to certain activities to ensure you don’t become ‘lost’ in the role

• How well do you manage your health and well-being in your role? What changes, if any, do you need to make? 

• How much time do you take to schedule your tasks and time? How do you ensure this remains protecting? 

• Should the time-slots for short/medium/long-term work and thinking all be the same? What can and should inform these decisions?