Ben Lyttleton

Ben Lyttleton is a football journalist, author and keynote speaker who works with some of the most prolific sports teams in the world to develop elite performance and refine competitive edge.

Through extensive interviews, access to insiders at Premier League giants and a life spent watching some of the most successful (and not-so successful) teams and managers, Ben has developed a comprehensive picture of leadership, teamwork and talent improvement.

In his first book Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty, Ben examines how individuals understand and manage their anxiety to perform at their best under pressure. Drawing from the hard-won lessons of legendary games, in-depth statistical analysis and the first-hand experience of coaches and players from around the world, Ben analyses the diverse attitudes, tactics, and techniques that separate success from failure in one of the highest-pressure situations sports has to offer.

In 2017, Ben followed up Twelve Yards with Edge: Leadership Secrets of Football’s Top Thinkers. Interviewing some of football’s top coaches, including Thomas Tuchel and Ralf Rangnick, to learn how to foster talent and build empathy within a team, help individuals adapt in order to realise their potential, and find power in developing a social purpose.

Having learnt first-hand how football has adapted and innovated in the search to get the best from individuals and teams, Ben’s talks focus on what can be learnt from football and how that translates to business.

Revealing what can be learnt from the common traits not just within football, but anywhere that leaders and teams operate, Ben speaks on how best to communicate with a team to get results, how collective performance is measured and influenced, and how to develop resilience in new and established groups.

In looking at the key challenges, behaviours and lessons for leaders in any sector and with teams of any size, Ben illustrates the surprising and insightful aspects of leadership and teamwork in football whilst making it relevant and enlightening, even to those that aren’t fans of the beautiful game.

As well as his work as a speaker, Ben is the co-author of the best-selling children’s book series Football School, which uses football to open up the school curriculum and inspire a generation of children to develop a love of reading.

Ben’s latest project is as co-owner and board member of the Danish professional football club, Akademisk Boldklub, using his lessons from a career in football to take the team to the next level.

Leadership
What makes a great leader? Why do we find leaders fascinating? What can we learn from those leaders and how can we apply those lessons? Ben has interviewed and studied some of the most successful coaches and managers in football, including World Cup and Champions’ League winners in order to understand their approaches, ideas and methods.

Key lessons
Finding new ways to measure motivation and success; how leaders get the best from their people; drawing together lessons in communication, resilience and decision-making; building cohesion, motivation and diversity.

Talent Management
How do leaders get the maximum out of their teams? What role does communication play in building and maintaining a high-performing team? Ben has spent time with football’s most successful coaches discussing the secrets behind their winning management styles.

Key lessons
The language used around talent and the importance of listening; how successful coaches have redefined communication and management; the Champions’ League-winning coach who developed his own scales of motivation and measures of success.

Pressure and Risk
How do we make decisions, execute tasks and manage risk under pressure? Ben explores possibly one of the highest-pressure situations an individual can experience in team sport – the penalty shoot-out. Using a combination of sport and behavioural science, he explains the psychology of performing under pressure – and how we can all improve our performance when the heat is on. This incorporates how we evaluate and manage risk, and the importance of resilience when the stakes are at their highest.

Key lessons
How we cope with anxiety; challenging our reliance on individual superstars; the influence of body language and how just one extra breath can make all the difference; the challenge of evaluating and managing risk.

Resilience
What is resilience and how can we build it? How can we best prepare for the tough times ahead? Ben has gone behind the scenes of football’s most successful clubs and spoken to sports scientists and coaches to find out how players are trained to develop resilience.

Key lessons
Understanding our reactions to adversity; Chelsea’s Me? Always? Everything? method (or Intent/Frequency/Impact – am I the focus? Does this always happen? Does it affect everything?); the difference between Confidence 1 (the likelihood of something happening) and Confidence 2 (your reaction to it happening); the resilience of success; the difference between authentic or hubristic pride.

Teamwork
How can we build teams that get the best results? What unifies a team? What sets the most consistently high-performing teams apart? Ben has investigated the people and ideas behind some of the most successful and innovative clubs in football.

Key lessons
The connection between cohesion and performance in a team; why talented performers in one team may not excel elsewhere; the secrets of Radar Couples and collective functioning; how a team of over-achievers turned a global disadvantage into their competitive edge; the power of culture, comfort zones and why one football team performed Swan Lake to fans.

Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Ben Lyttleton. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.