Marc Guéhi shares leadership lessons with South London students
What makes a great leader? How do you earn the captain’s armband at a Premier League club and keep your teammates motivated under pressure? Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi joined students at Riddlesdown School this week for a Q&A on leadership, resilience and finding your voice on and off the pitch.
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi joined students from our Premier League Inspires programme at Riddlesdown School this week to take part in a Q&A about his leadership style, handling pressure and what it takes to get to the top.
He was joined by Palace for Life Chair of Trustees Paul Cleal, whose day job is overseeing operations and strategy for the England Men’s national team at the FA. The pair discussed Palace’s journey to the FA Cup Final, how the squad kept their cool under pressure, Marc’s rise to the England national team and how he’s developed as a composed and thoughtful leader.
In this 50-minute Q&A with Paul and a group of students from year’s 9-13, we hear about Marc’s background – moving to South London from the Ivory Coast at the age of one and how his parents wanted him to put his education before everything else. That changed when he was picked up by Chelsea’s Academy at just six years old.
And now he’s the captain of a Premier League football club. What makes him a good leader?
“My faith is a massive thing for me, a constant in my life. I really love caring about people. I’m interested in other people’s stories, where they have come from and what makes them, them. So for me as a captain, that’s one of the most important things for me – to have those values.”
Tom, a student at Riddlesdown and a huge Palace fan reflected on the day:
“The teachers kept quiet about the identity of the player, as they all wanted it to be a surprise for the students. After Marc was secretly escorted on site, the small handful of students fortunate enough to be selected for this amazing opportunity really showed their excitement.”
Some difficult questions were asked, and all were answered brilliantly, leaving no student or staff member wondering. After the Q&A, Marc kindly gave up his time to sign shirts, take photos, and even offer one-on-one advice to those who asked.”
Elsewhere in the Q&A, Guéhi speaks modestly about the culture that took the team to the FA Cup final and the role of the wider club and community.
“We’ve got such a good group of people. Not just the footballers, the staff, the club, a good group of people who want to help and be there for one another. Similar to the community of South London as a whole, people just want to be there for each other, people want to help.”
No player reaches Marc’s level without facing challenges along the way. He was asked how he gets through tough moments and how he supports his teammates when they’re struggling too.
“As long as you have the person next to you picking you up and telling you ‘it’s ok, we go again’ and building those connections on the pitch, off the pitch, it’s so important so when you see results getting better, it’s no coincidence, it’s just people going through the same struggles, but sticking by each other.”
In 2022, Guéhi became Palace’s youngest ever captain since 2012. His style?
“In the world of football and in life, there is this perception that you need to be a certain type of way. You have to be the sort of person who is chest out and shouting and those aspects are good in certain moments, but not every single moment.
The most important thing is just be yourself. If you’re not acting like yourself, people are going to notice. The best thing is to be you and find ways to develop your leadership skills within yourself.”
Since making his England debut in 2022, Marc has earned 23 senior caps. What was it like stepping into that dressing room?
“It was a bit scary at first. It’s massive honour to be called up to your country. You’re coming into a changing room where you’ve got Harry Kane, Phil Foden – all these top players. You have to try and show them what you can do – the most important thing for me was to just be myself and not try to be any other person.”
And on facing the pressure of an FA Cup Final and imposter syndrome:
“That sense of belonging and belief. I know it’s hard. Loads of people go through imposter syndrome. I’ve been through it. You tell yourself ‘I’m not meant to be here’, but that’s a lie. They’re mental battles that you’re facing. If you’ve done the work to get to where you are, then you belong there.
And it’s just about changing that. Not just me but every single person in the team, the manager played a massive part in that, the staff. You felt that sense of belief.”
Watch the full Q&A on the video above.