‘Where People Matter And Results Count’

Introduction?

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a worldwide reunion of Gemini Consulting in London. Not only was it lovely to reconnect, but the working sessions gave me a chance to reflect on how Gemini shaped my career and a reminder of how Gemini worked with clients.??

I learnt a lot about consulting and delivering change during my time there, but I learnt the most about people, the importance of shared values and culture, and leading people through change.?

Results count but it wasn’t just the delivery of the outcome that was important, but that we helped people in the client organisation form high performing teams to deliver that outcome and set themselves better able to deliver change in the future..?

At the weekend, I watched my high performing team Benfica win the Portuguese League for a record 38th time. So given this piece of serendipity, and that most people have some concept of football (or ‘soccer’ as our US friends call it), it seems appropriate to talk about the characteristics of high performing teams and why people matter.??

Results Count?

A high-performing team typically exhibits several key characteristics that contribute to its success. The first and most obvious characteristic is to have clear goals and objectives. Any team needs to have a shared understanding of their purpose and have clearly defined goals and objectives that align with the organisation's vision and mission.?

Benfica are the largest club in Portugal and one of the largest clubs in the world in terms of supporter base (although sadly not money). The clear expectation from the fans is ‘ganhar’ (to win), certainly the league but also to compete for the other domestic trophies. There’s more a hope to win the Champions League rather than an expectation, due to money. Benfica will regularly lose their best players to richer leagues but the sales of those players has generated over €1bn in recent years.?

The next is accountability and responsibility. Each team member takes ownership of their own tasks and responsibilities and accountability foroutcomes. They hold themselves and their teammates to high standards.?

Football teams play to a system both when attacking and defending. Each player supports their teammate by being in the right position to receive a ball in attack or to close down space for the opposition when defending. You’re where you’re supposed to be or not and, if you’re a striker, you’re supposed to take your chances.?

These really are the hard measures by which players and managers are judged. If expectations aren’t met, players get dropped and eventually managers are sacked. However, when there is success, it’s important to celebrate and recognise individual and collective achievements. Not only is the title celebrated in the stadium but also at one of Lisbon’s landmarks Marquês de Pombal where a few hundred thousand supporters join the party. It’s a chance for those players to appreciate the scale of support for the club and what their achievements mean to others.

Soft Skills?

Most of the success of high performing teams comes from soft skills, the most obvious of which is strong leadership who provide guidance, set expectations, motivate team members, facilitate decision-making, and foster an environment of trust, respect and collaboration.?

Players need to have huge self belief in themselves but they also need to trust each other's abilities, judgement, and commitment. In football, this is extremely important. Tactics break down and the game is lost unless players play as a team rather than as individuals.?

Benfica has enjoyed mixed success since their last title win in 2019 and new President Rui Costa, himself a former Benfica and Portugal player, wasted no time in bringing in Roger Schmidt, a German managing Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, to manage the side this season. Improvements have been made to provide a clearer direction of play and to bring through some of the talented younger players from the academy, with good results.

Like most major clubs in Europe, Benfica is made up of players from not just Portugal. At a wider business level, high-performing teams consist of individuals with diverse backgrounds. Each team member brings unique perspectives and strengths, which fosters creativity and innovation but it brings challenges of managing that diversity of disagreements and cultures.?

Effective communication ensures clarity, reduces misunderstandings, and fosters collaboration. Knowing what to communicate and when is a fine balancing act, which very much depends on the level of trust between parties. Where levels of trust are low, it becomes difficult for people to communicate, especially when the news is not going to be welcome.?

Learning from Failure?

High-performing teams are resilient and adaptable in the face of setbacks. They demonstrate the ability to bounce back, adjust strategies when needed, and maintain focus on their goals.?

Benfica lost one of their best players to Chelsea during the January transfer window and suffered a dip in form including a home defeat to main rivals Porto. The team needed to adjust to that loss and find a way to compensate for the skills that were lost.?

How players and teams bounce back from poor performances in training and in subsequent matches is important. This is part of continuous learning and improvement, which has been instilled from a very early age at football academies. Players must be open to feedback and best practices as part of their professional development.?

Where People Matter

The work that goes into creating a high performing football team off the field is rarely seen by the public but the results are readily visible on the field and directly measurable against their opponents. This is less true for organisations but those that want to be truly successful over the longer term need them more than ever.?

If we look at the Top 10 skills of 2023 according to the WEF (Figure 1), we can see that these skills are predominantly about people rather than technology.?

As technology accelerates, it is taking over functional roles and tasks. However it is becoming more about the ability of organisations to leverage that technology for success rather than just operate it - collaboration, learning, improvement, resilience, adaptability.??

In that context, investment in creating and sustaining high performance teams within an organisation is as important as any technological one. It’s equally important to get teams up and running quickly and effectively in a world with fractional and remote workers and with subject matter experts brought into work on specific projects.??

In a follow up, I’ll explore some of the ways in which we can go about creating high performing teams. But hopefully this article has given you an insight into ‘what good looks like’.

Until Next Time (e for?a Benfica!)?

Pete