Leadership. It’s a team game

It occurred to me this week that much of the work I do has parallels with England’s run to the Euro 2021 final.

Not so much the technicality of playing the game, obviously, but certainly in terms of the success journey the team went on, the way the side was led, the breadth of skills that got them as far as they did, and – crucially – the challenges they faced.

I’m not going to spend much time talking about the despicable racism aimed at the three amazing young men who missed their penalties in the final shootout.

It’s enough to say the abuse was vile and unforgivable, and that the players concerned have much to be proud of in the way they reacted and responded to it.

Hopefully, the wave of support they received will inspire all of us to call out and report that kind of abuse when we see it. But until then, it’s clear the process of education around race and skin colour must continue.

I do, however, want to devote some of what follows to the issue of discrimination and explain why businesses to either allow it or experience it are poorer for it. But first let’s look at another parallel my work has with the England journey to the Euro final.

Identify a strategy – then follow it through

Most people I’ve spoken to broadly agree on one thing: that England were less than convincing in their group matches. A sneaked win against the Czech Republic was followed by an unexpected draw with Scotland that left the nation’s place in the so-called ‘easier’ side of the knockout phase hanging on results in the final round of matches.

Another narrow 1-0 win against Croatia sealed what had been a workman-like performance across the three games.

And then, the side started to put their mark on the tournament, despatching the Germans with an efficient and assured display, before overrunning Ukraine like a well-oiled steamroller and finally using tenacity and determination to ease past the neutrals’ favourites, Denmark.

What we saw, in microcosm, was similar to how a business grows success over time.

The early days are about finding the right processes, changing things when they’re not quite working, dealing with setbacks, and reconfiguring the approach to squeeze the best performance out of the team.

For all the plaudits Gareth Southgate rightly received for England’s showing in the competition, he would be the first to say the Euros success was not solely down to the players or himself, or indeed a combination of the two.

Behind the scenes at Euro 2020 specialist coaches, mentors, psychology experts, dieticians, personal trainers, physios, chefs, nutritionists, doctors, and performance coaches were all working flat out to create an environment in which success could thrive.

Ditto that in business. Successful businesses have specialist teams that contribute hugely to success, and having an effective, experienced, and expert HR consultant or team is only one part of the puzzle.

Add in finance, marketing, sales and other functions and it’s easier to see how business performance is dictated beyond the boardroom.

A good HR team will help you to see the weak spots in your team and identify strategies to deal with them, ensure everyone is treated in a way that helps them to feel valued, so they perform to the best of their ability, and help you to recruit new players who’ll add something new to the way you go about your business.

Ageism is bad for business

I come across so many companies that place a premium on finding young dynamic people to fill vacancies. Often business leaders will tell me that having youth in the business means they have the most up-to-date thinking or skills.

Others tell me that young people are more likely to stick around (not true, by the way – younger people are far more likely to leave your business once they’ve acquired ‘enough’ experience in pursuit of better prospects or more money).

A few say that young people have more staying power and can contribute more in a shorter period.

None of any of that is actually borne out by research or my experience. And what businesses risk in pursuing an ageist recruitment and retention strategy is an office full of bright young things who are strong on theory but totally lack the experience needed to drive profit.

How well, I wonder, would England have done at Euro 2020 if they’d left Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Jordan Henderson, and Harry Kane out of the squad?

Walker, with his pace and experience, who dug his central defenders out of difficulty on several occasions. Trippier, with his ability to understand when discretion in defence was the better part of valour in attack. Henderson, the wily Liverpool skipper who brought calm to an anxious midfield when they most needed it. And Kane, who even at times when his own contribution was misfiring kept the team around him focused on the task at hand.

We’ll never know what the effect of leaving age out of the squad would have had. But I’d be prepared to bet that England’s tournament would have been over long before they were likely to meet Italy at Wembley.

Leadership is key

Finally, how people are led matters, and it matters a lot. Leadership style has a direct impact on how we perform as employees.

It is the difference between someone feeling valued, or not. Between being fairly rewarded, or not. Between staying an extra half an hour to get the job done and leaving at 5pm on the dot because that’s what our contract specifies.

None of us really get to see exactly how Gareth Southgate leads the England squad. What we do know is that it will be harder for his style to have an impact at international level than at club level because unlike a club manager he doesn’t spend all his time with his players.

But we get an insight into the kind of leader he is by watching him in media briefings and post-match interviews.

It was telling, after the semi-final against Denmark, that his first priority was to pay tribute to all the unused squad members and backroom staff for the contribution they had made to the culture of the camp and the on-field successes the team had enjoyed.

His calm, measured, elegant demeanour on the touchline and in media interviews showed an assuredness that was only highlighted further by the impassioned fist-pumping celebration with the England fans at the end of the semi-final.

Likewise, businesses also thrive on inclusive leadership that recognises it’s not just the sales team or the product development team or the marketing team who are the poster boys and girls for success.

In HR, our job is to support managers to become leaders by developing growth strategies that place everyone at the heart of success.

And just as it is with the England football team, while it may be the players on the pitch who must win the games, businesses can’t grow and become successful without the right backroom team to guide strategy and performance.

If you’d like to know more about how Constantia Consulting can help you to develop your leadership and growth strategies, please contact us for an informal chat.