With the World Cup now over, and congratulations to Spain, we look at how the world of football and success compares with teams within business.
First of all, we start with psychological safety…people feel comfortable taking risks, admitting mistakes, and voicing dissenting opinions without fear of embarrassment or punishment. Google’s Project Aristotle found this to be the single strongest predictor of team effectiveness. We see plenty of this on the football pitch with both manager and fellow players happy to shout instructions and on occasion dissent at each other…but is the latter effective in the workplace? Football is different in the sense of the dynamics and speed for action!
How about clear, shared goals? Everyone understands what the team is trying to achieve and why it matters. Ambiguity about purpose breeds misalignment and wasted effort. Imagine Spain going into the final without a game plan or a mental picture of what was needed!
Then, defined roles with flexible collaboration…people know their responsibilities, but boundaries aren’t so rigid that members won’t step in to help each other or contribute outside of their defined role…on the pitch players will have instructions, but must also have the instinct to jump in and help when required, even coming up with some magic that was not in the game plan!
Dependability is critical. Team members reliably complete quality work on time. Trust erodes quickly when people can’t count on each other. Players rely on others when they decide to make either a vital tackle, or that cross into the box…the run timed to perfection! In a way this links into open & direct communication! Information flows freely. Problems surface early rather than festering. Feedback is specific and constructive, not vague or personal.
After the game, at half time, the following week in debriefs…sport and business, its no different! In the same way, disagreement is treated as a tool for better decisions, not a threat. Teams that avoid conflict often settle for mediocre ideas…teams that handle it well sharpen their thinking. Players owning the problems! In this way, while a football manager owns the plan, players and particularly the global stars, will have a degree of autonomy but with accountability for an “off the cuff” action that could throw the opposition!
Thinking first of football, the variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and cognitive styles creates a special bond and a togetherness…in the workplace this reduces blind spots and improves problem solving…provided the team has the psychological safety to actually make benefit of those differences.
Eighty thousand people were in the stadium passing judgement plus a global television audience…are you under that much scrutiny?
Jack Welch
