A winning lesson from defeat (on team work and team development)

We got this analysis of one of our clients. A very interesting insight! Thank you Radesh and Peter!

As we watched Netherlands (2:1) come from behind and bash Brazil out of World Cup on Friday, Argentina became favourites for many and it was only when the German team crushed them in the most closely-watched match back home, there is a much-touted leadership lesson that came to life here: "teamwork", a word beaten to death and yet so seldom found in its complete manifestation.

Nothing exemplifies the importance of a good Team more than the humiliating 0:4 dismissal of Argentina. Running on hype, coached by a former star Maradona and dribbled by current shirt number 10 and superstar Messi (what a Mess), it was way past half-time that it realised the importance of teamwork. The stars concentrated on stellar individual performances; curiously, that’s what was expected of them. But they couldn’t make their way through an impermeable German defence as strong and resolute as the country’s exports and economic conservatism. Germany moved like one organization, one body with one mind.

How could any star fight that organisation? As Argentina gets dissected and blame flies from one moving goalpost to another, Maradona’s leadership that fought off player selection or his obstinacy will be the first to fall. In the smug leadership signal he provided, we expected entertainment, anytime Messi got the ball we looked forward to poetic dribbling, not winning. Wasn’t it the same with Ronaldo and Portugal (too much on one man's poor shoulders) and many others? Spare a thought for those classic misses that converted possible heroes into zeroes in a matter of seconds.

The focus of the German team, on the other hand, was clear: to win and no star came in the way. It moved like an efficient machine towards a singular goal, all parts offering their bit to that goal.

A week before Brazil’s defeat, an Officer with a fantastic track record upon taking on a new assignment, gave this leadership mantra over a cup of tea: Secret to leadership requires three connects: 1) to connect with all stakeholders; 2) to get all stakeholders to connect with one another; and 3) take that connection and connect it to the company’s goal.

If we look at the football field as a proxy for a marketplace of constantly-shifting client preferences, unpredictably-disruptive innovations and invisibly-dangerous threats, there are tricks and secrets that leaders of corporations and countries can take away once they’re done cheering or mourning their favourite teams. Of all these, there is one that underlines the complexities of our world today and strikes at the heart of today’s leadership: the ability to turn an organisation of disparate experts from around the World (stars, if you please) into a living, working team. Working either towards sustenance or growth in the current economic scenario that is easier said than done.

Don’t know whether Germany will go on to win this World Cup or not. Amongst the four teams in the field, it’s widely thought that they are very well placed. Play-on-the-day, Teamwork and Stars may convert chance into certain success. The coming days shall bear witness.

What’s our team like?

Is it like Brazil or like Argentina?

Or is it like the German team that played on Friday?

Or Oranje?

With or without Zwart?

With or without a dash of White, Yellow and Brown?

Or Global Oneness?