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Kill the Unicorn
How do you get the best out of people? What does it take to make a team thrive?
Few people know the answers better than Emma Hayes. As the coach of Chelsea FC Women, she has led the club to 14 major trophies. She is a widely celebrated figure in sports media as a woman starting to get equal recognition in this space, and has been named TV pundit of the year by both Broadcast Magazine and the Sports Journalists Association. In 2021 she was named Best Football Coach by FIFA, in 2016 she was named MBE in the Queen’s 90th birthday honours list, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE for her services to football.
In her first ever book, written in collaboration with internationally best-selling author Michael Calvin, Emma shares her experience of managing a high-performance football team to draw out life lessons and techniques that listeners can apply to their own professional and personal circumstances.
Narrated by Emma herself, it’s also a fascinating look into the world of women’s football told by a woman at the centre of it, with frank, entertaining anecdotes from on and off the field.
Few people know the answers better than Emma Hayes. As the coach of Chelsea FC Women, she has led the club to 14 major trophies. She is a widely celebrated figure in sports media as a woman starting to get equal recognition in this space, and has been named TV pundit of the year by both Broadcast Magazine and the Sports Journalists Association. In 2021 she was named Best Football Coach by FIFA, in 2016 she was named MBE in the Queen’s 90th birthday honours list, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE for her services to football.
In her first ever book, written in collaboration with internationally best-selling author Michael Calvin, Emma shares her experience of managing a high-performance football team to draw out life lessons and techniques that listeners can apply to their own professional and personal circumstances.
Narrated by Emma herself, it’s also a fascinating look into the world of women’s football told by a woman at the centre of it, with frank, entertaining anecdotes from on and off the field.
Audible Audio
First published August 31, 2023
18 people are currently reading
201 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 6, 2025
started and finished in 1 day listening with my dad on our way to Wyoming. we both really enjoyed it, and had a lot of lessons regarding leadership that we weren't expecting, but both learned a ton from. ch 12 will forever stick with me about ACL injuries and their correlation to menstrual cycles. so cool that she's one of the pioneers of this research/implementation. so happy she's with the USWNT now!
February 16, 2024
Can’t wait for Emma Hayes to lead the USWNT, she can make a real difference.
December 3, 2024
Audiobook. I really enjoyed this on two levels; firstly for the soft leadership skills she talks about and secondly because it was interesting to listen to her talk about the development of the women's game and the challenges of developing women's sport against a patriarchal industry.
November 1, 2023
I'm all about bringing values in a culture to life. In my opinion that doesn't happen enough. That exposes me as a leader to the obvious retort "well what do you do about it at Chelsea then?"
I hyped this book up a bit too much I think. Not that I didn’t enjoy it. But for starters Emma Hayes’ narration felt slow, so I listened to the audiobook sped-up. Also (this is a case of it’s me, not you) I wasn't in the headspace to take good notes, BUT it did inspire me to rethink how I'm reading non-fiction at the moment. I'm loving it, but is it in one ear, out the other? Am I learning and remembering things from the books I read and, if applicable, am I acting on their advice?
Emma Hayes is so good at digging deep into why she acts the way she does, why she believes the things she does and why she values what she values. And is so good at articulating that. Or her co-writer is good at articulating it… or more likely a mix of both. Even things or perspectives I didn't understand at first or agree with, I got such great insight into and wanted to listen to Emma explain why she thinks what she does. This book has a lot of good wisdom throughout about managing people holistically and good leadership. I loved all the parts about self-reflection, values and action.
I enjoyed the parts about the differences in coaching women versus men. The physical and psychological differences. How we are letting female footballers down with the lack of proactiveness on multiple issues. One of the most obvious is ACL injuries, and it’s the tip of the iceberg. I have always admired how menstrual-cycle aware Chelsea FC have been under Emma’s management, so to hear more about that was fascinating.
Emma goes into how she feels about the constant questions about "taking the next step" to coaching men (ergh). And what would go into her considerations about when would be the "right time and right place" for her to coach an upper-tier men's team. For example the spotlight and judgement that will be on the first female manager of an English Premier League or Championship team, when the time comes. And how Emma predicts / suggests it would be good for it to be a woman who knows the club inside-out, who has progressed coaching through the club’s academy set-up for example.
This is a book I would get more out of with a re-read, I mean I suppose that’s every book, but particularly in this case as I listened to it at a faster speed and didn’t take notes. Although it’s great to hear the author read their own words I think a physical copy would be more beneficial to me for this book. The title is a reference to the myth (the idea of a unicorn) of one great leader working alone, responsible for a great success, when actually to be successful (at football and at life) requires a team-effort.
"Define your achievements by your challenges. Visualise your legacy. Take time out to reflect."
I hyped this book up a bit too much I think. Not that I didn’t enjoy it. But for starters Emma Hayes’ narration felt slow, so I listened to the audiobook sped-up. Also (this is a case of it’s me, not you) I wasn't in the headspace to take good notes, BUT it did inspire me to rethink how I'm reading non-fiction at the moment. I'm loving it, but is it in one ear, out the other? Am I learning and remembering things from the books I read and, if applicable, am I acting on their advice?
Emma Hayes is so good at digging deep into why she acts the way she does, why she believes the things she does and why she values what she values. And is so good at articulating that. Or her co-writer is good at articulating it… or more likely a mix of both. Even things or perspectives I didn't understand at first or agree with, I got such great insight into and wanted to listen to Emma explain why she thinks what she does. This book has a lot of good wisdom throughout about managing people holistically and good leadership. I loved all the parts about self-reflection, values and action.
I enjoyed the parts about the differences in coaching women versus men. The physical and psychological differences. How we are letting female footballers down with the lack of proactiveness on multiple issues. One of the most obvious is ACL injuries, and it’s the tip of the iceberg. I have always admired how menstrual-cycle aware Chelsea FC have been under Emma’s management, so to hear more about that was fascinating.
Emma goes into how she feels about the constant questions about "taking the next step" to coaching men (ergh). And what would go into her considerations about when would be the "right time and right place" for her to coach an upper-tier men's team. For example the spotlight and judgement that will be on the first female manager of an English Premier League or Championship team, when the time comes. And how Emma predicts / suggests it would be good for it to be a woman who knows the club inside-out, who has progressed coaching through the club’s academy set-up for example.
This is a book I would get more out of with a re-read, I mean I suppose that’s every book, but particularly in this case as I listened to it at a faster speed and didn’t take notes. Although it’s great to hear the author read their own words I think a physical copy would be more beneficial to me for this book. The title is a reference to the myth (the idea of a unicorn) of one great leader working alone, responsible for a great success, when actually to be successful (at football and at life) requires a team-effort.
"Define your achievements by your challenges. Visualise your legacy. Take time out to reflect."
August 9, 2024
This is one of the best leadership books I’ve read in a long time, and not just because I’m a fan of the game or Emma Hayes’ move to the USWNT.
She gets it. That intangible “something” that few leaders have innately and most don’t ever truly realize, that allows them to relate to their team on a personal level and inspire them to achieve professional greatness.
Her ability to compare sports to corporate scenarios for us non-athletes is helpful… she makes a compelling case for how to be empathetic while controlling one’s own emotions in a leadership role.
There is useful, actionable guidance within this book on managing multi-generational organizations, managing through change, and treating people as humans first and employees second.
And after all the applicable takeaways for work, I further appreciated her approach to science and physiology of women’s bodies in sports.
Her commitment to soccer and women is commendable.
As a leader, a sports fan, and a mother, I highly recommend this audiobook.
She gets it. That intangible “something” that few leaders have innately and most don’t ever truly realize, that allows them to relate to their team on a personal level and inspire them to achieve professional greatness.
Her ability to compare sports to corporate scenarios for us non-athletes is helpful… she makes a compelling case for how to be empathetic while controlling one’s own emotions in a leadership role.
There is useful, actionable guidance within this book on managing multi-generational organizations, managing through change, and treating people as humans first and employees second.
And after all the applicable takeaways for work, I further appreciated her approach to science and physiology of women’s bodies in sports.
Her commitment to soccer and women is commendable.
As a leader, a sports fan, and a mother, I highly recommend this audiobook.
December 2, 2025
An honest and surprisingly relatable autobiography/memoir from Chelsea women's head football coach. The main takeaway from this book is that there are still major gender-based disparities in football, and sport more generally, when it comes to training, mental health, respect and so on. I appreciate how Hayes spoke so openly about her struggles with endometriosis, PCOS, and her hysterectomy, as well as how her team's menstrual cycles affect their play. She highlighted how women aren't just smaller men when it comes to sport and the training and play should be adapted accordingly. Hayes also spoke about the respect, and lack thereof, that she received as a coach and how she dealt/deals with that, and then draws it back to how people can use those skills she's learnt as a coach in their everyday life.
Overall, an insightful read and entertaining.
Overall, an insightful read and entertaining.
September 12, 2024
I got a lot out of this book, though I admit skimming through sections getting deep in the weeds of managing high-performance athletes. Still lots of great lessons and management approaches worth considering and implementing if possible.
November 15, 2025
من الكتب الي نزلتها لأنها مجانية في اوديبل (كلاسيك حاتم) ويتكلم عن القيادة.. واتضح ان الكاتبة هي مدربة نادي تشلسي للسيدات الي تعتبر من أنجح المدربات في العالم وقادت النادي للفوز بعدة بطولات.. كتاب ممتع وفيه دروس جميلة 👍🏽
September 19, 2023
Emma Hayes has led Chelsea women to domination in England as well as becoming an insightful co-commentator across men's and women's football.
More a leadership manual than a memoir, the book draws on her experience of high-performance management to argue that the perception of a single great leader is a myth, and that the key to success is creating a team of staff with the right culture.
It's full of fascinating anecdotes and background to the growth and professionalisation of women's football. Narrated by Emma herself.
More a leadership manual than a memoir, the book draws on her experience of high-performance management to argue that the perception of a single great leader is a myth, and that the key to success is creating a team of staff with the right culture.
It's full of fascinating anecdotes and background to the growth and professionalisation of women's football. Narrated by Emma herself.
November 27, 2023
I need this to come out in print!
June 2, 2024
Emma Carol Hayes, OBE, is, a mother! a coach, a global icon, but not a unicorn! 🦄
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2024
I'm a bit of a football fan. A friend told me to give this a try, get out of my normal reading comfort zone. I found it pretty good.
August 24, 2024
Loved this. Can't recommend it enough. Echoed a lot of what I feel as a coach and learned so much that I can apply to this upcoming season.
January 3, 2025
Excellent guide book for leadership in soccer and in life. Takes the leader as servant to the end.
December 31, 2023
I LOVED this one. From the next head coach of the USWNT, this is such a great book on leadership. It also makes me incredibly hopeful for the continued elevation of our national team in women’s soccer. Emma Hayes, job very well done.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews