Innovative companies often look at sport for new ways of operating and improving. The British Cycling/Team Sky’s philosophy of making multiple marginal gains rather than trying to change a single big thing is the perfect example. You can also take a look at the speaking circuit to see how many ex-sports stars make a comfortable living talking to business people about their experiences.
As we move into a busy year for UK sport, with the Cricket and Rugby World Cups and qualification for the European football championships, what can businesses learn, particularly when it comes to managing people? When it comes to the current form of the England men’s cricket team there’s probably nothing positive to glean, but I was struck by some of the techniques Roy Hodgson is using with the England football team, particularly when it comes to engaging with ‘Millennials’ – those born in the 80s and 90s.
Roy Hodgson – breaking new ground
Prior to the England 2-0 victory in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland last September, Hodgson did something that no other England manager has done before – he allowed the players to have their own meeting without coaches being present and come back with their thoughts as to how to make the team better. His assistant, Gary Neville stated – “this is not the players taking over, this is the manager allowing the players to take responsibility for what he wants them to do”.
Furthermore Neville also talked about the ‘homework’ some of the players have mentioned in press conferences and revealed they are encouraged to think about being an England player all year round. Part of this means asking them to look at videos, offer feedback and think about how they might improve – the onus is on players to find answers for themselves.
Applying sports management to engaging staff
So what has this got to do with the world of work? Quite a bit actually. There is a lot of talk at the moment about engaging Millennials in the workforce. According to Deloitte, three quarters of all employees believe they could do more to develop future business leaders from this group. Combine this with a shocking statistic from the Harvard Business Review showing that only 13% of employees globally are ‘engaged’ then there’s clearly more to do given that Millennials will constitute 75% of the global workforce in just ten years’ time.
What is striking about Millennials is their desire for constant feedback. According to Deloitte, Millennials want feedback four times a week (or over 200 times a year) versus the rest of the workforce who only want it one to four times a year. It would appear that in actual fact Millennials feel they are simply not getting this feedback often enough since only 28 per cent of them feel that their current organisation is making full use of their skills.
Evolving management over time
Roy Hodgson started his managerial career in 1976 – before any of the Millennial generation (or his current squad) were born. Few managers in any field can match this longevity or success. The only way they can sustain this is to evolve their methods in order to take account of the current needs of those they work with. Even one of Hodgson’s contemporaries, the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson said that he had ‘mellowed’ over time and that players had changed over his 25 years in charge so he finished his career taking a tailored approach to different individuals.
Businesses face many of the same employee engagement challenges as sport and managers are often tasked with handling talent that needs careful nurturing if it is to perform to its potential. Taking feedback on board, as well as providing it more regularly, is something that both the sport and business worlds need to do if they are to get the best out of individuals. Whether you follow football or not, all managers can learn from Roy Hodgson’s example.
