Jordan FA’s Alex Zwiers: The importance of the Technical Director-General Secretary relationship

• The benefits of developing a strong working relationship with the General Secretary 

• The importance of regular communication with the General Secretary 

• Understanding the plans and goals of the wider organisation in order to inform the work of the Technical Department 

Technical Directors must develop a strong relationship with their General Secretary to ensure they do not ‘stand alone’ within their association, says Alex Zwiers, Technical Director for the Jordan FA. 

“As a technical director it is very important that you're not standing alone,” says Zwiers who joined Jordan FA in 2019. “Because, from a technical perspective, you're alone and, at times, it can feel like there's nobody there to support you or to talk to.”

Developing a strong working relationship with the General Secretary can give the Technical Director much needed support as well as reassurance that efforts are being directed into the right areas, says Zwiers. 

“From an organisational and strategic perspective, you need support from the General Secretary,” he explains. “If you're ambitious and driven and you want to move forwards, then you need the General Secretary to be with you. If they are not and if they are blocking or delaying your work, then it will impact on your psychology and sense of responsibility. So, the relationship with General Secretary is crucial for mutual understanding. 

“It's also important that you understand the plans of the member association and your own plans are realistic and achievable. The General Secretary has the full responsibility of the finance and he or she has the total picture about the other departments and where the money is allocated. So, the relationship is very important.

“It means you have to be aware of your own position in the organisation. The Technical Director is not the leader of the ship, you are just part of the of the organisation. You deliver your work but it is the GS and the president that decide if a project is approved or not.” 

Effectively communicating “upwards, across and down”

Regular communication with the General Secretary can provide Technical Directors with the reassurance and direction to complete their work, says Zwiers. 

“For me, communicating upwards is very important,” he says. “I'm the kind of person who likes to carry out responsibility, so I need to feel that trust and confidence.

“I like to communicate with the General Secretary all the time and ask ‘what do you think?’. It’s good to get a quick response and allows you to move on and go forward. The General Secretary and the Technical Director need to have the same ambition and the same drive at the same time.

It is not only with the General Secretary where Zwiers puts a strong focus on regular communication, but also with each of the departments leads across the association.

“I do a lot of individual meetings with my staff but you also need moments collectively all together,” he says. “Once every three or four weeks we bring all the area directors together have discussions about our work. 

“When you have all the area directors together, you can find our more about what the overall member association plan is. Sometimes you can have your own technical department plan but not be aware of the bigger picture in the association. It’s so important to have one style, language and identity as an association. 

“In these meetings we learn more about the goals of the member association and then break that down for the technical department. So, it helps bring harmony. Most of the time, misunderstanding comes from miscommunication and not being clear on where each other wants to go.”

• Ensure you do not ‘stand alone’ in your organisation by developing a strong working relationship with the General Secretary 

• Regular communication with the General Secretary can help ensure support for strategy and projects 

• Develop a clear understanding of the plans and goals of the wider organisation in order to inform the work of the Technical Department 

• How would you describe your relationship with your General Secretary? 

• What do you need to do to improve or maintain this relationship? 

• How closely aligned is the Technical Department strategy to the overall goals of the organisation?