A Return to Normal

A Return to ‘Normal’

Tonight at Wembley Stadium, the England football team have the chance to win an international tournament for the first time in 55 years.?It’s been a long wait and like so many journeys for organizations and teams before them, there have been an awful lot of trials and tribulations along the way.?But where before, there was always a sense of anxiety watching them play, this time it’s different.?Even when they went behind in the semi-final, there was no panic, for either the players or supporters, just confidence that things could be turned around, inspired by the coach, Gareth Southgate.?As a long-suffering supporter of the national team, this time it really does feel different. We are just a couple of hours away from kick-off and the team will be focused only on this next game, but the coach’s strategy is and always has been a much longer one.?He has his eye on the next world cup and his vision is building a team to win it.?

Much has been written and will continue to be written about Gareth Southgate’s leadership style, and like most people I can only see and hear what is in the public domain, but one thing is clear, he is a leader with values and a commitment to stick to them.?There has been a great deal of clamour from certain sectors for the team to abandon taking the knee before each game as a mark of anti-racism, with many advising him to stay out of politics. He is the kind of leader that sticks to his principles. Not in a stubborn “I’m not listening to anyone else” kind of way, but in a balanced and thoughtful manner, always open to the opinion of others, but resolute on what he believes in. ?This is an extract from a letter to the nation before the start of the tournament.

I have a responsibility to the wider community to use my voice, and so do the players.

It’s their duty to continue to interact with the public on matters such as equality, inclusivity and racial injustice, while using the power of their voices to help put debates on the table, raise awareness and educate.

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He speaks eloquently and with respect about topics that matter and is not afraid to use his position to influence others.?Whatever the outcome of tonight’s final, we can be sure that he understands the strength there is in diversity; he has the ability to inspire the team and gain the respect of them all whether playing or on the bench and he is focused on their individual growth and development as well as the team’s success.?He has gone from being a vilified figure, having had his penalty kick saved in the World Cup, to being one of, if not the most admired leader in the country. There is much to admire about his leadership, which is a refreshing change to some of the previous incumbents.

I’m not going to draw any parallels between Gareth’s tremendous team and our own, but I am going to address one particularly popular narrative that has arrived with the return of fans into stadiums.?Although no one can predict what the virus’s next step might be, we are all having to figure out how to live with this new reality. Olympics with no spectators, sporting tours and tournaments cancelled and countries taking turns to lock down and counteract each rise in cases. It’s unpredictable at best. ?What I hear a great deal in anticipation of the 19th July (this is the date when Covid restrictions will mostly be lifted in England) is that people can’t wait to return to normal.?Well, just for the record, I don’t want things to go back to normal at all.?I’m not sure ‘normal’ was ever that great.

Under normal conditions there was terrible inequality – racial inequality, gender inequality and perhaps most divisive of all, social and financial inequality.?Many of the extraordinary events of the pandemic years have shone a spotlight on these inequalities, so rather than return to ‘normal’, as many profess, I am in favour of making progress and not going back at all. I think normal means accepting the status quo and not making a fuss, even when things are clearly not right. ?I don’t think that attitude has got us very far and I think we might be better to adopt the philosophy of author and TED speaker Luvvie Ajayi Jones, who describes herself as a ‘professional trouble-maker’.?She sees her job being to ‘critique the world, the shoddy systems and those who refuse to do better”.?I don’t think for one moment that Ms Ajayi Jones supports going back to normal and neither do I.

The murder of George Floyd has kick-started a journey of awareness for millions of individuals and companies and I’m happy to be one of them.?It may be beyond my lifetime that the colour of your skin does not automatically present you with a disadvantage in life, but what is certain is that the actions we take now to instigate change will pave the way to a different future.?In many ways, whilst the main endeavour for the national football team is to win a trophy, their success playing together as a team, and speaking out strongly against race hate and social inequality has made them individual and collective role models for a better future. I don’t want to go back to normal, where normal was racist chants and street violence hidden under the guise of patriotism. I want to see things get better.

There are lots of other ‘normals’ that we shouldn’t accept and I am hopeful that many of them are experiencing change or at the very least being placed under scrutiny.?A recent survey published by Women-On-Boards shows that the gender pay gap has actually worsened across the FTSE All-Share companies in the UK.?It shouldn’t be ‘normal’ for women to be paid less than men for the same role, plain and simple. The other ‘normal’ is the obscene difference in what people are paid for work.?At one end of the spectrum, the growing group of billionaires, many of whom have prospered during the pandemic and at the other, those who barely remain above the poverty line whilst in employment.?Anyone who knows me will know I follow Dan Price on social media, who is consistently outspoken on this matter. He did something radical in his own company, paying the same basic $70,000 salary across the board to all his staff. It cannot be right that some of the people who are working for the billionaires can’t afford to live, whilst they themselves have small armies of accountants around the globe ensuring they pay minimal tax.?I don’t pretend to have the answer to this problem at all, but I do believe corporations can lead the way here and find ways to redress the balance and create a fairer society. ???

I could go on and I know, I have already, but it will be time for kick-off before you know it and I don’t want to miss any of the game – unless it goes to penalties, in which case you’ll find me behind the sofa. ?If England win tonight and end their 55 years wait, we can be certain that things will not be back to normal, since normal would be losing.?In fairness, there have been longer waits, such as the 107 seasons for the Chicago Cubs to win the world series, but it is a long time.?I was 7 years of age when England last won a major trophy. The very best news though, is that win or lose, we will not be going back to normal.?The team and the country will have moved on in many ways and Gareth Southgate and the national team will be aiming to get better and do better, in every way.

Come on England!??