If productivity in the UK's workplaces is different today, we might be wise not to attribute it to the Monday blues. In fact, the employees may have been exhausted from a great weekend of sports.
Yesterday, Manchester United defeated arch-rivals Liverpool in a thrilling FA Cup match, but there was a perceived difference in quality between the two clubs, so much so that even Manchester United's most ardent supporters were disappointed. No one would have expected Manchester United to win. The passion and courage shown by some of the young players in the United squad, which is set for another disappointing season, was extraordinary and such comparisons were invalid. Now that they have shown what under-pressure manager Erik ten Hag calls a “strong belief”, the big question is whether they can maintain it. But for now, they can rejoice in the fact that they implemented a bold plan and regained the most important hope in the workplace and in the field of sports.
Meanwhile, Saturday was occupied by the final day of rugby union's Six Nations Championship. Although it rarely involves the world's top teams (you usually have to travel to the southern hemisphere to see them), it is held annually between England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. Ruko contests are always full of surprises. Although the pre-tournament favorites ultimately won, the road to the title was not always smooth. Especially after last weekend's crushing defeat against an English team like Manchester United. This team, rather like Manchester United, has given them few chances to win and underperformed despite making the most of a favorable draw at last autumn's World Cup to take third place. Ta. someday. To be fair to Ireland, they didn't see such a performance coming. So how did it happen?
Strangely, its origins seem to lie in an error-filled defeat at the hands of Scotland. In such a situation, England's coaching team reacted to the team's apparent inability to play attacking rugby by adopting a more restrictive, safety-first policy that seemed unstoppable. It was understandable that they were trying to contain the Irish team. Instead, they put aside their mistakes and encouraged themselves and their players to perform as their coaches were confident they could.
The fact that they were able to do that is what makes sports so appealing and beneficial to other aspects of our lives, especially business. As Bob Skinstad, former captain of South Africa's Springboks rugby team and now a partner at management consultancy Elixir, says, there are many business lessons that can be learned from sport, such as making impassioned speeches and leading the way. It's not an obvious lesson to teach. They are more subtle messages about teamwork, accountability, and responsibility, especially when things go wrong. He points out that the relationship between a sports team and its fans is similar to the relationship between a company and its investors.
It is unclear whether England head coach Steve Borthwick is aware of these issues. But Jamie George, who took over as captain following Owen Farrell's decision to withdraw from international rugby, and some of what he has done in recent weeks suggest a similar mindset. George led his players into the crowd at one of his home games in an apparent attempt to reconnect with fans, while Borthwick directed supporters who had until recently been kept away from the team. called it “amazing.”
But after a slow start, the real difference Borthwick and his coaching team have made is a focus on progress and learning from mistakes, which is also important for business. Professional sports people often talk about fine margins. Yes, we made a lot of mistakes in the game against Scotland, but they came from trying new things. Another week was spent on the training ground and the result was a performance that won the match against Ireland. A reminder of just how significant the difference is was the weekend when England could not quite hold out against a French side who also had a lot to prove. Just as sports teams are rarely as good as their admirers claim when they're winning, and often aren't as bad as they seem when they're losing, companies are not always as good as they seem. You need to understand that you don't have to. With hard work and dedication to the right things, you can go from underachiever to overachiever.
How they deal with this is important. Companies increasingly talk about values, mission statements, purpose, and more. But these things are worthless if they are just words and not principles in practice. This is another area where sports teams can teach businesses a thing or two. In the best teams, each player knows his role. This is more obvious in rugby than in other sports due to the variety of physiques involved, but this idea applies across the board. And on the best teams, every player knows that they are no bigger than the team, even the star players. Skinstad cites this example when talking about the principle introduced by South African players that if they are not fit to train on Monday, they cannot play the following weekend. He says coaches tried to bend the rules to allow key players to return from injury, but the players themselves rejected the proposal, pointing to the need to maintain team cohesion. This shows that this principle is now widespread. Compare that to a company that continues to promote people who make a lot of money even though they don't live the values their employer espouses.