Who were the real World Cup winners – leaders, teams or fans?
Well, it appears that after nearly a month of high drama and excitement Football has now gone home. It felt a little bit like the Olympics, a little bit of a buzz around the place and although it was France who walked away with the trophy, I think that Football is the winner here.
Football was able to bring people together from different backgrounds, religions, genders and continents together in one place for 4 weeks. I can’t help but think that’s a good thing at the moment. Who can forget the Japanese fans staying around after the game to help clean the stadium? Panama scoring their first ever goal in a World Cup (against England) and reminding us that pride can just come from being part of it. In Mexico, during the South Korea-Germany game a crowd met with the consul general, Byoung-jin Han (wearing a Mexico shirt) and downed a bottle of tequila – Lad. And one of my stand out moments was Gareth Southgate consoling Colombia’s Mateus Uribe who missed a penalty. Football can be very tribal but in that moment it showed its humanity.
What can those of us with normal jobs learn from all this?
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Well, just look at the team dynamic when a manager believes in their potential – Gareth Southgate has spent significant time nurturing the talent of his young players and getting them to connect, communicate and collaborate as one team
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Southgate’s style is very authentic – he role-models ‘human leadership’, not afraid to give his players a hug and recognise their emotional experience; and able to balance celebratory feedback with growth feedback
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See how focusing on the ‘employee experience’ as much as the result, builds team agility and resilience
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Notice how the culture of the England team has shifted and the positive impact on their ‘brand reputation’…
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Every player; every fan (almost) is enjoying the productive energy that comes from adopting a growth mindset
It seems that leaders, teams and fans are all winners when they play together.
And to those who are new converts to football and thinking “Ahh, when can I get my next fix of sweet joy and disappointment?” the Premier League starts again in 4 weeks.
Paul Chamberlain