I wrote this post back in March 2012, and the message came hurtling back to me this week, when I read some comments about key learning experienced by Sir Alex Ferguson in his early days as a manager. When he was a young manager with Aberdeen, in the days before he came to global prominence, he hired an assistant called Archie Knox. After working together a short time, Archie stunned Alex by asking him why he had hired him. At first the question stumped him, but Archie explained what he meant by it. He believed that the leader’s job was to be less involved in the detail but to stand back on the sidelines, watching and observing. This came as a surprise to Alex, as he liked to be in control, and giving that control over to Archie did not sit well with him. He did, however, decide to give it a go. He handed the detailed control of running training and practice over to Archie, while he removed himself to the sidelines to watch. He claims it was the most important decision he ever made in the field of managing and leading. Being removed from the game, he saw things he would not otherwise have seen. His field of vision had become widened, and he was able to observe players ‘off the ball’ with a fresh perspective. Archie continued to work with Sir Alex later in his career, including at Manchester United. Although never going on to have major success as a leader in his own right, he had a hugely successful career as an assistant, someone who made the leaders he worked with even more successful.