The Day I Faced Rooney and Ronaldo

What can business leaders learn from elite sport — and from moments when everything changes in an instant?

That question sits at the heart of working with Michael Duberry: former Premier League footballer, Chelsea European Cup winner, and now a high-performance coach to CEOs and senior business leaders.

Michael has a rare ability to translate the realities of elite sport into practical, grounded insights for leadership and business. One story he often shares captures this perfectly: being asked mid-game to switch from marking Wayne Rooney to Cristiano Ronaldo — two very different players, requiring two very different approaches — and having to adapt immediately, under intense pressure, with no margin for error.

That moment mirrors what many leaders experience in business. Strategies change. Markets shift. A competitor appears. A crisis hits. And suddenly, what worked five minutes ago no longer applies.

The ability to recognise the change, reset quickly and perform under pressure is central to Michael’s approach — and it sits at the core of his forthcoming book, RAISE Your Game, which explores how leaders can raise their performance when the stakes are highest.

In the meantime, Michael shares some excellent insights in his regular column for Startups Magazine, offering practical lessons drawn from his experiences at the highest level of professional sport and applied directly to leadership, decision-making and performance in business.

👉 Read Michael Duberry’s column for Startups Magazine here:https://lnkd.in/eKzxAyQw