Its World Cup season and hopefully by the time you read this, England will be gearing up for another big performance! After England's fantastic win against Croatia, I found myself thinking about how much football mirrors business, especially when it comes to leadership.
Earlier this year, I had the chance to hear Gareth Southgate speak at BizX, and one thing he said has really stuck with me.
"You need role clarity and you need a plan."
Simple. But incredibly powerful. And in many ways, it sits right at the heart of ActionCOACH philosophy.
Because when you break it down, the best teams (in football or business) are usually have three things in common:
- Everyone understands their role
- There is a clear plan (and a way to adapt when things don’t go to plan)
- And there is a shared understanding of what winning actually looks like
Creating a winning environment
Southgate also spoke about something just as important: creating the right environment. Because environments shapes culture, and culture, over time, shapes results.
As leaders, the standards we set become the standards our teams follow. And the things we allow to slip? They quietly become the new normal.
But here’s the part people often underestimate in both football and business…Protecting culture often means making difficult decisions, even when they’re uncomfortable.
Make the hard decisions
Leadership means making hard decisions. Decisions that aren’t always popular in the moment. Decisions that might upset people. And decisions where there’s no perfect option... only the best one available.
We see it in football all the time:
- Squad selections
- Dropping big-name players
- Sticking with a system when pressure is building.
And we see it in business too:
- Hiring and firing
- Restructuring teams
- Saying no to the wrong work
- Changing direction when something just isn’t working.
The truth is, avoiding hard decisions doesn’t remove pressure… it usually just delays it.
So while we're all watching England today, it might be worth asking:
“Does my business have the clarity, culture, plan - and courage - to win?”
Because in business, just like football, leadership isn't having all the answers, it's how you create clarity, consistency and trust, especially under pressure. So even when the scoreboard isn't going your way you can be confident that things will turn around.
If that’s something you’d like to strengthen in your business, feel free to book a discovery call and see how ActionCOACH systems can help you build a winning team.
Nottingham: https://actioncoach.co.uk/nottingham
Lincoln & Newark: https://actioncoach.co.uk/lincoln
Enjoy the games over the next few weeks and fingers crossed England bring it home!
In the meantime... Make great things happen!
Richard Esau
ActionCOACH, partnered with Santander
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardesau
ActionCOACH Nottingham, CUBO, Standard Court, Park Row, Nottingham, NG1 6GN
0115 704 2603 richardesau@actioncoach.com