HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER
Title: Business Lessons from a Football Team
Competencies: leadership, team development, coaching talent, strategic planning
Who benefits: people interested in organizational development and business models
Consultant Usage: good read for organizational consultants, possible useful in leadership and management training classes
What’s it about? Today’s post is dedicated to my good friend and faithful reader Matt in England. It comes with a few well aimed jabs at Matt’s expense … but hey, that’s the price you pay because Matt and I suffer from the same malaise. We are both addicted to football (that would be soccer to you US readers). And a reminder to Matt (barb #1), we have a comment section if you would like to reply.
You see, I am going to recommend an article in The Economist … an unusual source for information on football. However, the article is written from a business perspective. It uses as a metaphor the best club football team in the world, FC Barcelona (barb #2). (Note to Matt, at least I am not writing about Arsenal; but then we would both agree there isn’t much to recommend about Arsenal!)
What makes this recommended article relevant to this post is that addresses several issues that are frequently discussed by writers on this Blog. Here are a couple of the several topics addressed:
Is it better to have an organization led by a few Stars or by a cohesive team?
Is it better to bring in talent from outside your organization or develop your own?
The article’s conclusions are that if you are looking for long-term results, while some balance is necessary, organizations are for the most part better served by developing their own team within their own culture and emphasizing a cohesive team. This is further emphasized by reminding readers that the best football player in the world, Lionel Messi, was coached and developed within the Barcelona system and plays the team game to perfection (barb #3) while still managing to shine individually.
One of the most telling supporting arguments against constantly recruiting stars from outside of the system is a brief report on a study that shows that successful Wall Street analysts who moved from one firm to another see an immediate decline in their performance.Â
This is true in football as well. The new season is about to begin for many of the leagues around the world. By international football regulations, the “silly season†is just ending. The summer months are when teams buy and sell players. In football crazy countries the mere rumor of a star player coming or going can get headlines in the media, sometimes ahead of real news.  But stars on one team don’t always shine on another team (culture shock is just one of several possible reasons).
The Barcelona business model is not perfect, but the vision, strategy and culture is inculcated within the organization.  Players and fans know what to expect.  Long-term results beat quick fixes every time. As the article concludes “…the club is on the top of the world: an example not just of sporting prowess but of smart management.â€
Look for Barcelona to be crowned best-team-in-the-world again next year (barb #4). Sorry Matt!!!
Catch you later.
[tags] leadership, team development, coaching talent, strategic planning, FC Barcelona, football, soccer, envisia, envisia learning, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
Bill, you put forward an interesting article and thanks for the mention too!
If I keep to the football (soccer) theme then I think here there is also another dimension too and that is direction and leadership at the top of the organization. If I take my own team, a few years ago despite much optimism we started a new season with 0 wins in 8 games. There was a change of leadership. A new coach came in and changed strategy and direction, installed confidence and a series of wins and a quick rise up the division followed. The talent (team) didn’t change but the performance did.Â
Each organization (team) needs their stars for creativity and ideas, and a cohesive team to make things happen effectively. Sometimes an organization (or team) becomes stale and needs to evolve. Outside talent coming in can bring new ideas and create new impetus, but there could be emerging talent within the team already waiting for a chance to shine. With appropriate support and development these potentials can be given a chance to become stars.
As for this season, I would like my team to bring in some new talent from outside with proven experience that can hit the ground running and to give one or two home grown rising stars a chance. Your prediction of Barcelona bring crowned best-team-in-the-world again next year will make my Spanish father-in-law happy! (and you’ll probably be right). Sadly there is a huge gap between them and my own team.