I suffer from an affliction. Having spent the better part of my life studying management and organisations, I am unable to switch that part of my brain off. Even when I am enjoying myself on holiday, I find myself observing the processes, systems, leadership and strategies that underlie the excellent (or dire) experience I am having. And so, while I was whooping and leaping during the recent FIFA World Cup, a part of my mind was engaged on the vexed question of what underlies international footballing success and failure.
This Sunday I am about to inflict my affliction on you – but with good intentions. There are lessons to be applied to our own organisations, large and small, from observing football teams.
A minor observation first: European teams largely have local coaches and foreign-born players these days (Germany’s eye-catching players were called Ozil, Khedira, Boateng); South American teams have local coaches and local players; and African teams have foreign coaches and local players. The team that finally won, Spain, had a local coach and local players.
Success, I often say, is largely linked to spirit: those organisations that can generate great enthusiasm and ‘buzz’ in their people generally excel. In the World Cup, host South Africa had a whole nation (and continent) behind them; they were playing for the higher cause of putting Africa on the map; they were in the grips of a vuvuzela-driven frenzy. Could they go all the way? Not at all. In the group match against Uruguay, the SA team sang their national anthem in the tunnel before the game, to whip up their spirit and dishearten their opponents. Those opponents then comprehensively thrashed them 3-0. SA became the first host nation in World Cup history to not get past the group stages.
So spirit alone can’t do it. What SA lacked, patently, was footballing talent and expertise. Argentina had more talent on paper than any other team, and were led by the iconic Diego Maradona who hugged and kissed every member of his squad and thumped his patriotic chest at every press conference. But he was undone by superior tactics by the Germans, and left scratching his new beard in disbelief.
So is that the vital ingredient? Consider the immensely talented French team, whose stars excel in club teams across Europe. They suffered perhaps the greatest humiliation of all, their tournament imploding amidst internal strife, accusations and ego-mania. They were whipped by minor opponents and left to go home and face national outrage at their antics. So talent and skills alone do not take you anywhere: leadership and unity of purpose is also needed.
England appeared to have that. They had one of the world’s highest-rated coaches (certainly the highest-paid) in Fabio Capello, and four or five top-rated players. They also seemed to possess great unity and commitment. Yet they failed to string a pass together and went home humiliated by Germany. What was evident on the pitch was that England’s star players are reduced to nonentities when playing a different system and surrounded by mediocre support players.
Germany seemed to have it all: youthful zest and enthusiasm; an adventurous new system of play; a thoughtful and popular coach; and bags of fresh footballing talent. They stormed the tourney early on, seeing off England and thrashing the top-rated Argentina. But they too were undone in turn by eventual victors Spain, when their inexperience and naivete were on painful display.
So what do we learn, people? Why did Spain win, and why did so many thoughtful pundits think they would? Despite a stuttering start, Spain actually possessed all the necessary ingredients for organisational success. They had a strong ethos; a winning and familiar system (“tiki-taka” – quick passing and movement); outstanding talent; and very good leadership at all levels.
So ask yourself this, as you consider your own organisation: do you possess the four key drivers of organisational success? Is your ethos strong enough – do people have a higher cause that gives them great energy and drive, and the resilience to weather reversals of fortune? Do you have your ‘groove’ – an established strategy, tried-and-tested systems – or are you always experimenting and reinventing yourself? Do you have sufficient talent on board – is there a core group of employees who are amongst the best in your industry? And finally, look at the leadership: are there leaders present who can show the way, demonstrate a vision and set a vibrant example?
If you have those things, you are on your way. If a key factor is missing, you will struggle. Africa, for all the hullabaloo that preceded the first world cup tournament on its soil, stood still. It has still never sent a team past the quarterfinals; and those who have reached that milestone in the past have generally gone backwards. African teams have great talent (we see it displayed in Europe all the time), but they have yet to develop a united ethos, inspirational leadership and a consistent and proven playing style. With three out of four ingredients missing, we still have some way to go.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Sunny,
Sad, If I analyze this, it still boils down to one thing which ‘some influential’ chooses to always ignore. Passion, drive for success and standing up for something. We have leaders who have never stood up for what this country truly needs.
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Michael:
We have talent, but we deploy it in ever-changing systems. We also fail in building ethos and spirit, and fail to inspire through leadership.
That summary was not just about football teams, it applies to companies and countries as well…
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Most times the real story of the worldcup is not the football but the staging of the event. SA managed the process impeccably to getting stadia ready to ensuring matches were on time match times were ideal etc. if you compare this with other farcical tournaments eg mexico 86, italy 90, you realise what an amazing job SA did. so rather than most people who said Kudos spain, I say kudos South Africa!
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Andrew:
As I wrote last week, SA’s achievement off the pitch was remarkable – a real reason for Africa to be proud.
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Great article and outstanding insight Mr. Bindra. I ,however, am at whims with the point that it is inexperience that kicked Germany out of the World Cup. Maybe it is because I fall into that age group myself (I happen to be 20 years) making me prone to a confirmation bias. Instead, I think it is the ‘inexperience’ that took them that far. Not only did their youthfulness provide them with the continuous stamina that was lacking in the other teams, but also their status as ‘inexperienced’ made them play as a team. Point is, when people believe they have the experience they are prone to believe themselves to be better than they actually are. Had the likes of Ballack been playing, the outcome would not have been so different from the ‘experienced’ Les Bleus. Experience, I believe, has been overrated too many a time.
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I wonder if this principals can be used in a self help group?
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Edwin:
Those are principles I have gleaned from a lifetime of observing organisations. They can be applied to any group or team.
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Nyamweya:
I quite agree: the best thing that happened to Germany was Ballack being injured. He would have kept them chained to the past and slowed them down 20%. But against Spain inexperience told. Instead of maintaining their youthful zest and attacking style, they were clearly scared and played into Spain’s hands by retreating. After that they were toyed with by the masters of possession football. Had they tried to go for broke and unsettled Spain with an early goal, history might have been written differently.
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