No Penalties This Time

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So there we have it

England are in the Euros final for the second tournament in a row.

It’s been a strange few weeks for the team and their manager, Gareth Southgate.

Some fans were so angry that they threw paper beer cups at Southgate, after a goalless draw with Slovenia, who are a lowly 57^th in the world ranking.

Lack lustre performances attributed to his cautious selection and tactics.

This is clearly not where his best qualities lie.

In the last newsletter, I argued that the greatest strengths of England Men’s Football Manager are:

Building team spirit and engaging with fans

This was evident in the quarter-final penalties win over Switzerland.

Here we saw his ability to create a sense of togetherness to deliver success.

In this excellent series of posts on X, Geir Jordet, Norwegian Professor of Sports Psychology clearly describes the actions Southgate and his players took to unite the penalty-takers in the most pressurised of situations.

Players taking the penalties have world class technical skills.

Creating his support system recognises that failing to score is more down to the psychological pressure, and the fear of letting down teammates and supporters, particularly.

Thankfully no-one had to be consoled but it would have been reassuring to the players that someone was there if they needed them.

This reflects a deep understanding of the importance of body language.

 It reinforces the need to go out of your way to help teammates feel included.

Here we see Southgate acting as a really effective leader.

This is something several players have publicly praised him for.

Pickford, the goalkeeper, arguably has most individual responsibility during a penalty shoot-out, and yet here he prioritises his team mate.

The penalty shoot-out win over Switzerland was an example of exceptional team leadership that delivered an extraordinary result.

 England again laid to rest the ghost of failures pasts.

 There was personal redemption for Saka and also for Southgate himself, who as a player missed a critical penalty in the semi-final of the Italia 90 World Cup.

 The lessons for business leaders from this story are clear and elegantly summed in this quote that Jordet uses in his book:

Creating and sustaining a strong sense of  togetherness can enable achievement of exceptional results in the most pressured circumstances.

Will Southgate’s exceptional people skills enable England to be victorious at last or will the team fail to fulfil its potential favourites? Will his caution hold England back from glory in the final?

 The more adventurous Spanish team now awaits!

I’m curious about whether reading this has prompted you to reflect on your own leadership. 

What does it suggest to you about how you need to lead your teams and how you select for those teams?

I hope you found this edition of my newsletter useful. If you have colleagues or associates who you think would also find it useful, please forward it to them.

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‘Til next time.

John