Change Management in the News, Issue 2:

The Football Association announced today that Gareth Southgate will step down from his role as manager for the Men's senior team, following the Final match of Euro 2024 in Germany, where Spain inflicted a 2-1 defeat of the Three Lions, to lift the trophy.

The initial reaction is one of shock and sadness - which is remarkable considering the reputation Southgate earned in his tenure for boring, safe, and unadventurous decisions...

So what do we learn when we view his time in-role through the lens of Change Management?

1. There is no change without cultural change

England fans of a certain vintage will remember how toxic the culture around the team was at tournaments the term 'WAG' (standing for Wives and Girlfriends) conjures memories of tabloids splashed with stories of cliques and distractions - even when the team were based in the most far-flung and remote locations (again, engineered to reduce the pressure of media and press attention.)

There were rifts in the squad (although players like Theo Walcott have come out on record to say that they did not witness such things when they were in the group) and constant discussions about who should play alongside whom... In short, the manager wasn't really in charge.

Southgate's first victory, then, was to reclaim control of the narrative around his team - fostering a culture of camaraderie, friendship, and mutual respect gradually deflated the PR-balloon that flew over every England camp - and this most recent group of players could be heard talking about how proud they were of their teammates for stepping up, how happy they were when others made their mark (such as Harry Kane, when Ollie Watkins replaced him and then scored agains the Netherlands.)

2. Culture change doesn't require plastic surgery

It is tempting sometimes to conclude that a team or group won't tolerate change, and therefore need to be replaced entirely and force a 'clean break' with the issues of old...

One of the hallmarks of Southgate's tenure has been the consistency of his decisions around personnel, and the longevity of their England playing careers - in fact, of the XI who started in his first squad back in 2016, the only 2 players still playing top-tier, senior football started every game in Euro 2024 (Kyle Walker and John Stones.)

Much ink was spilled about Harry Kane and the extent of his inclusion in the squad - despite his record-breaking season at FC Bayern München where he outscored every player in @UEFA's top 5 leagues.

Many will look back at his performances (which earned him the 'Golden Boot' for joint most-goals scored in the tournament, alongside 5 other players) as below his exceptional standards and will look at players like Watkins and Toney, who made their mark respectively in the fleeting opportunities given to them to do so - but Southgate stuck with his Captain - retaining a spine of a team that has remained throughout.

(In contrast, in the 4 years of Roy Hodgson's tenure, not a single player who started his first match in 2012 was picked for his final game in Euro 2016...)

3. Change Management can't always be measured in results...

If you don't understand the significance of 1966 for England football results, you miss the generational trauma that has accompanied the national team for over half a century...

Southgate's tournament results are as follows;

Euro 2024: Finalists

World Cup 2022: Quarter Finals (losing to France, the eventual tournament winners)

Euro 2020: Finalists

In elite sport, little credence is given to 'non-winners' of tournaments, but Southgate's teams have evolved over this period, with a whole crop of young, talented players emerging under the leadership of those senior players that have spent their whole England careers in Gareth's charge.

This, in turn has provided him the opportunity to pick players from a more diverse pool of clubs based on character, rather than on profile.

For this tournament, controversial decisions were made to exclude players like Jack Grealish and James Maddison, in favour of giving emerging talent the opportunity to break into the International fold; Kobbie Mainoo, the teenager who emerged in the latter half of the 2023/24 season at the heart of the Manchester United team played a pivotal role in all of his matches - contrasted with the inclusion of Theo Walcott as a teenager and the ire to which he was subjected, Mainoo has been heralded as a fabulous success and gave performances that have cemented his place in future squads.

So a lack of silverware is still a lack of silverware - and expectation from fans and the media is still as pressurising - but the flavour of this pressure has been altered from that of a baying crowd, to a proud family - and that has been carefully engineered by Southgate and his team.

So while Wembley Stadium doesn't need a new trophy cabinet just yet, Southgate has achieved a transformation in expectation - not in results, but in performances, approach, and culture.