Great Performance - driven by the Greater Purpose.

Glorious FIFA world cup championship winner Argentina is the perfect example of how ‘great performance is driven by the greater purpose.’?France was a favorite in almost every aspect on paper. They were playing ruthlessly professional football. Almost crushed every opponent till the historic final game. On the other hand, Argentina started their campaign by losing to a much weaker team. They even struggled against the Netherlands in the quarter-final. But the team has a much greater purpose- fulfill the dream of their leaders!?

Lionel Messi undoubtedly deserves the championship. He had the skills. He has got the experience. He decent performing team. But he had all these tannates even in the past! In fact, he had a much better team on paper in 2014. Even the missing link for Messi was – Purpose!

He tried everything in the past but could not win any major tournament for his nation. Probably his purpose to win the world cup was glory and glamor and nothing wrong with it. But when he lost the Cop American final in 2016, he just gave up. He was frustrated as he could not fulfill the expectations of the Argentinian people! However, he rolled back his retirement and joined the Argentinian squad after a short time span. He won his first big international title for his nation- the Copa America championship in 2020 and two years later he fulfilled the greatest dream of his people – the World championship.?

Didn’t Messi face losses and obstacles after he came back? The answer is yes! Argentina was rolled out from the world championship in the 2018 world cup at the first knock-out match itself. So, what was the missing inspiration when he retired but found it after he rolled back his retirement? I believe the answer is – Purpose. He rolled back his retirement because the team was struggling to qualify for the 2018 world cup after his retirement. His purpose was to help his national team to sustain and prosper. By the time he announced his retirement, had already achieved almost everything that an individual soccer player can dream of. Now he started playing to support and help his team, not for the glory and glamor.

That was probably the magic moment when he transformed into a leader from a star performer. Throughout the championship, he played a role of a catalyst rather than going for the score. He knew opponents are going to focus on him. Hence, he created opportunities for his young teammates Julián álvarez and Enzo Fernández to perform. Messi strategically used his seasoned teammate ángel Di María in the final to surprise the French team in the final. The moment Argentina won the semifinal, everyone rushed toward Lautaro Martinez?who scored the final penalty. It was Messi who went to the goalkeeper - Emi Martinez and give him his due credit. Even after winning the most glorious championship Messi was the one who consoled French striker Mbappé.

As an HR professional and a sports fan, I am thrilled to witness the transformation of the great Lionel Messi from a star performer to an inspirational leader. It is an amazing case study of how purpose-driven teams are built and what glory they can achieve when led by an inspirational leader.

#leadership #purposedrivenlife #purpose #HR #teambuilding #organizationalculture #organizationaldevelopment