The World Cup: The accountability of managers to build highly effective soccer teams that get great results

Like many of you, I am currently on vacation and enjoying the lead-up to the finale of the World Cup tournament. Yet, again like many of you, I find that my “business” brain does not shut off while vacationing; indeed, as I watch the football matches, I find myself becoming frustrated at what I see as clear examples of managerial ineffectiveness. Take, for example, the recent piteous performance of Portugal; a team that, on paper, looks exceptional yet cannot translate those credentials into actual results. The “star” of managing this disappointing performance is Portugal’s manager, Paulo Bento. His team gave a stunningly poor performance despite a roster comprising myriad experienced superstar players.

So, what happened?

My suggestion is that Bento appeared to ignore the fundamental management tools for assessing the ability of his players. In my estimation, there are three criteria he should consider to help him place the right players on his team:

1. Do they have the cognitive capability to understand the game strategy their manager wants to implement?
2. Do they have the skills and knowledge to play at the required level to implement the game strategy?
3. Do they value playing for the team, supporting their manager and team members and will they play their hearts out in support?

My view of Portugal is that most of the team members qualify as highly capable on points one and two above, but fail miserably on point three. Key players seemed more interested in their own agendas than that of their team. The incredible behaviour of the experienced Pepe resulted in him being sent off the field! The bickering amongst members, the petulant behaviours, and the lack of synchronized attack doomed this team.

Bento has a golden generation of younger players who would have given their all to take place on this team and would have funded it with energy and a renewed will to win. What was he thinking in keeping those players out of the game?  I can’t say for sure, but I can suggest it was a decision made due to poor management ability.  

Mapping this football analysis onto the office, it behooves managers to regularly “take the temperature” of their staff and how they value the work. Do they understand the strategic playbook? Do they have the necessary skills to fill the position they are assigned? Are they playing on the organizational team? Do they want to win?

A team still in the tournament with a similar makeup is Belgium. They seem to suffer the same symptoms as Portugal – listless, unenthusiastic playing, playing with individual vs. team effort, strange bench choices – despite which they have scraped through to the last eight. Can their manager pull them together to victory? To do so, he will need to evaluate them on the points above. Currently, I think they’d rank low on number three (value the role). It will definitely be worth watching to see what happens this weekend and who the manager chooses as a team to do the job.