Leadership and the own goals

June 14, 2018

By Dan Hammond, Chief Disruption Officer, LIW

As the football (soccer for our North American readers!) World Cup kicks off in Russia, a lesson from the ‘beautiful game’ comes to us from Portugal.

In April, Sporting Lisbon’s president Bruno De Carvalho harshly criticized the team’s performance against Atlético Madrid, and pointed out mistakes by individual players on social media. This has triggered the resignation of six players and possibly stirred fans into violence.

What does this mean for leadership?

This matter goes to the heart of leadership: your job is to create the conditions for success for your people. If they fail, the first thing to look at is yourself – how could I have created better conditions for them?

It takes courage but it might help you to avoid putting the ball in the back of your own net.

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