QA with Jon Stemp, Chief of Infrastructure, City Football Group Viewpoint careers advice blog

QA with Jon Stemp, Chief of Infrastructure, City Football Group Jon Stemp joined City Football Group in 2008 as the Chief of Infrastructure. Prior to working with City Football Group, Stemp founded Proleisure, his organisation that works globally with elite sports to vision, create and operate sustainable world-leading infrastructure. 1. Can you talk us through your career journey to date and how you reached your current position? I started out at the age of 22 in the sports, recreation and leisure sector. I now have 35 years’ experience working in this area. In the late 1980s/early 1990s I worked in London in Local Authority Sport Leisure, which, at the time, were unfortunately facing budget cuts, meaning that they were faced with the prospect of closing four of seven Leisure center’s sites in the London Borough of Greenwich. However, the management team found a way to keep them open by creating our own non-profit Leisure Management company with five other people, Greenwich Leisure Limited. Now, 25 years on, the business is the biggest non-profit sport and leisure organisation in the UK, employing 16,000 people. I spent 15 years of my career growing that business until 2007 when I left to start my own ‘for profit’ business (Proleisure) which specialises in developing sports infrastructure and working with leading sports businesses and government agencies globally. In 2008, I had been undertaking some work for some Proleisure clients in Abu Dhabi. I got a call from them to tell me they were soon to be the new owners of Manchester City Football Club. They challenged me to evaluate what I could do with their buildings and spaces to improve the Club. I have been undertaking a leading Chief Infrastructure function for them now for over 11 years. I focus on creating the right physical environment in which the organisation and the Clubs it owns can win and be successful from the training facilities, to the pitches, to the offices. I focus on creating places where people are inspired to be better and be the best that they can be. My role is not just about hardware or physical space â€" it’s about creating an operational culture, a culture in which our people can be the best they can be. 2. Have you actively planned your career/followed a career plan which has helped you get to this point? I would say that I didn’t actively plan my career per se. However, I’ve sought new skills and qualifications in the areas of business that interest me, never shied away from challenges and have always jumped on opportunities as they arose. This entrepreneurial style has led me to where I am today. 3. Would you recommend readers explore opportunities abroad as you have? I think it’s important to understand what you are trying to get out of an international working experience and what skills you could possibly develop as a result. In my view international work experience, although extremely fulfilling, also comes with its challenges. For example, your practised approach and style that works in one country for one organisation, doesn’t necessarily work in another country for the same organisation. The reality is that you have to land in the country and listen, understand and study the culture. Each country is unique. To be local, you need to approach opportunities with humility and, in my case, build an environment that would work for that specific place. Also, you need to be humble and willing to learn â€" you need to get used to being out of your comfort zone. Constantly pushing yourself in this way needs to become something that comes naturally to you. You have to develop the skills, learn, listen and build relationships with people you don’t really understand and know when you first land. Lastly, I’ve always tried to balance my international career choices with how it affects my family and loved ones, but not always getting it right.  After all, your personal life transcends far beyond your work choices and your choices affect others and this needs careful thought and collaboration with your loved ones. 4. What are you most proud of in your career and why? Most people would probably think I’m most proud of the buildings and environments I’ve helped create. However, I would say that I’m most proud of the teams I’ve worked with and in, learning from some incredible and talented people. I’m very proud of the relationships and friendships I’ve formed seeing people grow and acquire new skills along the way is so very rewarding. I also take pride in winning. I am humbled to work with a top sports organisation with a history of success and goals for the future. The key to helping an organisation win, is a skill. It’s important to focus on what you have to do and not get distracted by the game being played. I describe it best by telling people a great football coaching nugget “don’t look at the scoreboard, look at the ball, concentrate on that and result will look after itself”. 5. What has been the biggest struggle in your career so far, how did you overcome it, and what did you learn from it? A constant struggle for me is juggling home and work life. If you’re passionate and engrossed in your work, the people who love you the most will many times suffer. It’s a constant struggle to be successful in a work environment, and also to be a good Husband, Parent, Grandfather and friend. There’s only so much time in the day, and the constant struggle is creating the right balance. Everyone has to find their own balance. This is a personal battle we all wrestle with and resonates with everyone. Those with successful careers put a lot of time into the workplace, but also, crucial to their success is the support of their family and loved ones. 6. How important is upskilling and personal development to you, and how do you prioritise your own learning as a busy leader? The first job I had at the age of 19 was a lifeguard. At the time, I chose that job because I thought it was the coolest job you could have. I worked for a local municipality and they said I could do any course I wanted and they would pay for it. They then proceeded to send me on some coaching and management courses. That was an organisation which was committed to training and helping their people, which benefited me immensely. I like being part of organisations that help their people to better themselves. But I’ve also spent a lot of time on the side developing myself, through degrees and education. I essentially went back to college because I felt I’d not followed the right educational route originally. I also believe that learning on the job is just as important, as sitting in a classroom. In terms of the people on my team, although they didn’t necessarily join with the exact qualifications or skills required at the outset, I know they’ll leave more qualified and experienced than when they started. The people that work for me invariably are given more responsibility, because I want them to try themselves out on the challenges without the fear of make mistakes. After all, mistakes when they do occasionally occur are how you learn and find out what you’re capable of and where you need to be better. I’m also a strong advocate of people moving periodically to various roles and different departments in order to develop their skills. 7. On a similar note, what skills do you think are most important for your employees to develop, which would allow you to continue to drive your business forward now and in the future? I think it’s incredibly important for everyone to think about how they’re not just helping their direct team, but how they can be a positive force for good with everyone they meet. The way you interact with people, the way you represent the organisation you work for and the way you make people feel welcome, whoever they are, are all important. You need to ensure that every person you meet knows that they are an important part of making the business successful. If you do this, you’ll have a better chance of the best people wanting to work with you and to stay with you, now and in the future. 8. How do you think technology will impact your role and the roles of your team members? The ways in which tech fits and collaborates with people and humanity is fascinating. I strongly believe that people, and the way they behave is the most important ingredient of success â€" and tech should serve as an amplifier of that. Technology should help people be better at what they do. Although I’ve obviously seen changes in tech and automation, the focus for me still boils down to people â€" what do my people need to be the best at their jobs? I believe the cornerstone of our organisation’s success is recognising that it’s all about people. Whether they’re fans, elite athletes or professionals behind the scenes â€" it’s humanity that inspires the workforce to the next chapter in the story. 9. How important do you think workspace is to employee engagement, and have you found anything at NYCFC that is particularly effective in this area? People in the global soccer industry would probably see us as a benchmark in terms of our professional environment, but it’s important not to get complacent. We feel we are always learning, particularly looking at the needs of new generations of employees. Physical environments and workspaces help our people to do their best work â€" this is core to our business. To ensure that happens, we need to understand each person and their job, both on and off the pitch, and understand what they need. Once understood we need to build inspirational and functionally excellent workplaces. Our new training facility for NYCFC is a great example of this transformative workspace thinking. 10. There are fewer people entering the construction market so attracting the best people is getting more difficult. What recommendations do you have for other companies which could help them stand out and attract top talent? My advice here would be that you need to tell a different story â€" one about the impact of the projects they will work on versus the role itself. People want to be a part of a movement and something impactful. If you’re trying to recruit construction people focusing on job title alone, you’ll fail. If you try to recruit successful people who can successfully impact a project, you’ll succeed. People need to be feel like they’re a part of something bigger. So, stop selling construction, and start selling the transformative impacts they’ll have the opportunity to work on and impact. The City Football Academy in Manchester changed the neighbourhood forever and people wanted to be part of that. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves â€" it’s a simple human trait. 11. What’s the best piece of career advice you have ever been given? When I was a young, I had a tough boss. I was working for a brand-new sports centre and we needed to recruit 25 assistants. We had six weeks to train them, but 16 of them couldn’t swim. I had to teach them to swim and get them qualified as lifeguards in 6 weeks. Once the project had been successfully completed, I went to see my boss, expecting praise. However, he just went straight onto what he needed to be done next. He sensed my disappointment, asked what the problem was and explained that if I was the kind of person who needs someone else to praise me or tell me how good I am at what I do, then I wasn’t the kind of self-driven and talented person he thought I was. It was tough love and it kind of worked for me. So, if I do things I need to do them well. I need to do them for me, not anyone else, because those are my values. Don’t be the person who needs the pat on the back to be the best you can be. This was a difficult lesson I learnt when I was younger. I don’t necessarily treat my people in this way now in my own coaching style, but I have always remembered it. The pursuit of excellence is a permanent state of discomfort. If you really want to be excellent at what you do, you’ll be at the end of your capabilities, constantly trying to get better. Aim for that and normalise it! 12. What do you think are the top three qualities that make a good leader? Honesty â€" be honest with yourself and everyone around you live in the truth Positive energy â€" be positive about what can be achieved, this enthusiasm is infectious. Be organised and receptive to change and ideas â€" a leader must be organised to take an idea and build it into something. They must also be receptive to hearing where things are going wrong and when their idea is a bad one. Did you enjoy this blog? Here is some related content that you may be interested in: Six qualities you need to be an inspirational modern leader QA with Brad Sims, CEO, New York City FC QA with Fred Bunker, VP of Finance, New York City FC