A little blog i worked on with the fantastic team at Pro-Noctis. Check them out: www.pro-noctis.com
Like every team, the England football team has good days and it has bad days, last weekend was a very good day, and we are hoping for another good day today. 🤞
The defeat to Iceland in Euro 2016, was not such a good day! 🤦
However; we can recover from setbacks, it is our mental strength and our resilience that creates a motivated team, a team that pulls in the same direction to get the right results.
Being mentally strong is what has allowed the England team to recover from its previous embarrassing defeats, and let’s be honest there’s been a few.
It is the teams’ resilience that allowed them to win the World Cup penalty shootout against Columbia in 2018, breaking a 22-year losing streak.. and it is this same resilience that allowed them to triumph over Germany earlier in this tournament ending a 55 year wait for a knock out victory over their rivals.
However resilience isn’t something to be taken for granted, rather it is something that is nurtured, and drawn from our ability to learn from our failures, and our willingness to open up and discuss our vulnerabilities.
A wise man once said:
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Through these words, Franklin D Roosevelt inspired America to put aside their fears and look forward to the future.
Of course, Roosevelt was speaking in 1933, during the time of the Great Depression, not an insignificant challenge we agree.
However Roosevelt understood how debilitating fear was, and how much like a players performance impacts on a team, individuals rushing to the banks,
was paralysing the nation’s recovery.
How does this relate to a business setting, well, let me explain…
Much like the England team prepare for a game, we too need to focus on our preparation, our mindset, and our communications.
The world is adjusting to a new remote way of working, we need to own that process and through our leadership give our teams the courage to succeed.
Much like football players, each member of our team is an individual, we need to respect their differences, and empower them with the knowledge of the team play needed for the company to succeed.
It is important that in a remote world as leaders we focus on mental wellbeing, and connection, contribution and appreciation.
This is something Gareth Southgate does well, he recognises the interdependence of players, rather than an individuals achievement, there is no man of the match, but rather it is a team effort. The goal going in the net is the result, however, it is the connection of players, the communication, and the strength of mindset that scores.
Another wise man once said:
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was quite simply saying we must push forward, it’s about lion-hearted resilience. Illustrated by the 3-lions on the shirt, it is resilience that has enabled the England team to dream, the nation to dream, and it is being resilient that will enable our businesses to succeed.
Resilience however isn’t a given it’s not something we are born with, it is something that needs to be worked on, and Pro-Noctis Human Performance can support you on this journey.