Managerial Postmortem
And so it starts again the two yearly cycle where England enters a football tournament. Whether it’s the European or the World Cup competition the cycle begins again with the inevitable media hype and the over promotion of hopes and ambition where individuals and the team are built up where the only way they can go is down.
As there are so many parallels between sport and business I force myself to watch the odd football match and the England versus Algeria match was a great example of these parallels.
With minutes to go before the end of the match the post-mortem began and who gets the blame.... The Manager.
Is this Justified ?
Yes........
In principle as the manager is charged with leading and managing the national side through the tournament with the best outcome possible.
Those of you who are either working through the Management Academy or who have graduated will know that we discuss this during module one and we gain the appreciation that management is about being accountable for all outcomes. The reality is that managers tend to be held accountable when things don’t go so well as opposed to when they do go well. The recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is another example of this. This is a fact of managerial life. A fact where we have two options of response.
Resign. This causes more disruption within the organisation or team and sets progress back even further, yet here we are again with calls for resignation.
Stand up, take it on the chin and work at resolving issues, building a more productive and effective future outcome. This future can be the very next minute, week, month or years ahead.
Part of the cycle is the media frenzy that is responsible for selling the stories and stirring the emotions. This is not too dissimilar to those of you who work in organisations that are constantly under the microscope from external bodies and inspections.
So what has been the initial reaction of the manager in this situation ?
Even in his broken English you could hear the optimistic words “I can Change” Admitting mistakes and practising humility is a character strength of an effective manager as it clears the way to move forward, it proves you are in fact human and you are aware and willing to change.
It was pleasing to hear the factual truth when questioned instead of the usual media trained responses which we are used to hearing from the rehearsed mouths of players, captains and managers of late.
Leadership in battle
Steven Gerrard lead the way in this honesty by openly admitting things were not right and things need to and will change for the next battle. There was no fluffy stuff, he stood up and was prepared to be counted. This accountability demonstrates ownership and a willingness to carry on the fight and improve. Winning the war is about taking on each battle one at a time.
The Future
The team must spend the next few days remembering why they were successful in games leading to the tournament and start to work together. This is steered by the team manager and driven by the captain. This may well require a new approach, a new structure to get the best from the team made up of talented individuals playing their specific role with particular tactics to fulfil the strategic intent.
Review the success formula that created the team that has enjoyed victory before. Determination and conviction in decision making is a recipe for success through improved performance. Injecting passion back in to their performance with the self belief and self expectation will lift morale and repair the leaks that appeared in the last couple of weeks.
Customer Satisfaction
We all know our customers are fickle. The travelling fans have expectations as customers, after all they contribute to the player’s wages. Typical British customers are quick to judge and allow their frustration to fuel their knee jerk reactions with many voting with their feet. Some customers will go out of their way to tell you their views like the fan who was waiting in the changing rooms that night. Delivering what you promise is the basic element of achieving customer satisfaction. When expectations are higher, we must react positively and meet these new heights. One young England fan emailed the BBC breakfast news on Saturday morning switching his alliance to a different nation. Sound familiar in your business ?
Times are tough is every aspect of life – the question is how are you dealing with it ?
For more information on The Management Academy and other answers to these challenges click on the link below or give us a call 01483 741333. For those of you who have already graduated from the Academy, keep in touch as we are planning Advanced Management Academy modules for the Autumn.
The Expressions 5 to Thrive
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Ensure the structure in your team meets the needs of your customers and the business. Structures are flexible
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Get to know your people so you can get the very best from them. Move them around the team and organisation, but allow them to play the game to their strengths
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Your role is to lead and inspire your people through the difficult times tapping in to their motivation so they believe they can achieve success
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Pay attention to your competition. What are they doing and how successful are they. Be careful not to over analyse them, but gain a healthy perspective so you can compete and stay ahead of them. Customers will choose who they use. Why would they choose you ?
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Allocate time with your people to review why things went well, not just when things didn’t go well. Then you can build a success formula that you can return to after every performance and see what was on and what was off. Learn from this valuable time and focus !
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