I only had the shirt on loan

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Last night I found myself unexpectedly moved by a scene in Dear England.

The BBC drama tells the story of Gareth Southgate's transformation of the England men's football team.

A Number

In one scene, Southgate stands before the squad and reminds each player of their "legacy number".

The captain, Harry Kane wasn't simply Harry Kane.

He was England player 1207.

The 1207th person to wear the England shirt.

Each player had their own number. Their own place in a story stretching back more than 150 years.

The idea stayed with me.

Not because of football.

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered why such a simple idea had such a powerful impact.

Why would being told you were England player 1207 rather than Harry Kane matter?

How would it help a group of players overcome decades of disappointment and finally win a World Cup penalty shootout?

Belonging

As I explored the story further, I discovered that Southgate's thinking had been influenced by Owen Eastwood's book Belonging and the Māori concept of whakapapa.

At its heart, whakapapa is about lineage and connection. The idea that we are part of a chain stretching back before us and forward beyond us.

Viewed through that lens, the legacy numbers take on a deeper meaning.

They weren't about asking players to carry England's history.

They were about helping them discover their place within it.

When they stepped forward to take a penalty, they weren't standing alone. They knew they were one chapter in a story that had begun long before them and would continue long after they were gone.

On Loan

The idea reminded me of the late Philip Sorensen, founder of Group 4 Securitas.

I first worked with Philip more than twenty years ago during a period of significant change in the business. Following a series of major acquisitions, it had become the largest security services company in the world, employing more than 300,000 people.

Several years later, while interviewing him for a book on leadership, I asked him about the most important lessons he had learned in life.

His answer surprised me.

He told me that when his mother died, he realised that "everything was on loan".

As he spoke about being a parent and later a grandparent, it became clear what he meant. We play our part for a while. We care for what has been entrusted to us. Then, in time, we pass it on.

The more I reflected on Southgate's legacy numbers, the more I realised he was making the same point.

Letting Go

Many of us spend years building something.

A team.

A business.

A reputation.

It’s natural to become attached to what we have helped create.

Yet Southgate's legacy numbers and Philip Sorensen's insight point in the same direction.

We play our part for a while.

Then others take their turn.

The challenge is not simply to build something successful.

It is to leave it stronger for those who follow.

So they can take it somewhere we never could.

That may be true of an England shirt.

And of every leadership role we hold.

The challenge is to ensure those who follow inherit something stronger because we were here.

If reading this has prompted thoughts or questions , I'd love to hear from you.

And if you know someone who is building, leading or preparing to hand something on, please feel free to share it with them.

The best conversations often begin that way.

‘Til next time.

John