GARETH!SOUTHGATE
The modern football manager
OVER recent years, Gareth Southgate has sparked heated debate, which has everyone from football fanatics to corporate CEOs talking. With his modern, inclusive way of leading, some have gone as far as to say that Southgate is the best manager England have had in 20 years, since Terry Venables led the team in the 1990s.
As someone with over 20 years’ experience in the field of HR, I have witnessed the emergence of many managerial and performance management trends.
It’s become clear that the days of authoritative, autocratic leadership are long gone. The modern leader is transparent, trustworthy and approachable - all characteristics that Southgate clearly possesses.
In fact, it has been said that Southgate’s tenure as England manager can be summed up in three words — freedom, flexibility and openness.
Southgate’s collaborative managerial style can teach us a lot about how to create and lead a winning team. Below are the most important lessons we can learn from him:
1. Give those you lead a voice - and then listen to it
There is no sense spending time and effort hiring people who are perfect for a given role and then spending your life micromanaging their every move.
This is something Southgate is well aware of — he knows the importance of getting the right people on board, empowering them to do their job while allowing them to express themselves freely.
By giving his team space to explore their limits, he allows them to build their confidence and explore their abilities without fear of reprisal.
Southgate’s philosophy lets his team express themselves honestly and openly because no one individual is more or less important than the next.
This way of thinking stands in stark contrast to more traditional football management styles, such as that of Jurgen Klopp - as a manager, he simply instructs, and his team follows.
2. Spend one-on-one time with your team
Companies all over the world are becoming more agile, incorporating the use of continuous performance management.
This style requires regular oneon-ones with employees in order to exchange feedback, motivate great performance and give recognition for a job well done. Southgate clearly knows this management trend, as he is known to spend more in-depth, one-on-one time with his players than previous managers.
During these discussions, Southgate discusses each player’s role, abilities and weaknesses, which engages and empowers his team to do better. This cycle of continual learning encourages self-awareness and promotes stronger ties between manager and player.
As Southgate puts it himself: “It’s important to recognise every player is different in their own characteristics, personality and what they respond to.
“I like to get to know the players personally because then you have a better idea of what motivates them, what interests them, what excites them, but equally different moments call for
different approaches. If you only have one way of working with players then it’s predictable and you might not get the best out of everybody [...] In the modern world, people don’t just do what the boss says because he says it and because he is the boss.
“They respect the authority but then you’ve got to get people to buy into what you are trying to do.”
3. Emotional intelligence matters
Any real football fan is aware of Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘hairdryer’ treatment. When Ferguson kicks off (so to speak) and critiques (shouts in the face of) his players, he gets so close to your face it feels like you’re being blasted with hot air from a hairdryer.
This is Ferguson’s ‘stick’ approach to motivating players, but it certainly isn’t Southgate’s. He’s seen with an arm around a player, empathising and encouraging them to persevere because he knows that the carrot is actually far more effective performance-wise than the stick.
4. Offer reward and recognition
Managers should never underestimate the importance of delivering timely, specific recognition for the efforts and accomplishments of their team. The right words at the right time can inspire people to do better and excel.
Clearly, this is a sentiment Southgate agrees with, considering his praise of his 23-man World Cup team: “I can’t speak highly enough of the whole squad and whole group of staff because it is so united in there. The level of work has been great and their commitment to each other, you don’t get through with just 11 players. They are all top people and are the reason we are in the semi-final just as much as any other.”
5. Keep long-term goals in mind
Southgate was once quoted as saying “manage every game as though you are going to be around forever”. This shows that he has a long-term plan he is working towards and wouldn’t risk short-term errors in judgement that would compromise the team. The immediate should never be so pressing that you will do anything to obtain a short-term result. Southgate always has his eyes on the prize. He is so dedicated about training and preparing his players for the future, they become stronger and more skilful in the long run.
6. It’s all about teamwork
If we’re being honest, football is a game replete with egos. There are certain stars and big names that claim the spotlight, so much so that you’d be forgiven for thinking the game is, in fact, an individual sport. Football shouldn’t be about individual icons, but group play and collective effort. When it comes to Southgate, he doesn’t play favourites - he treats each player like the next. This is the best and most notable thing about Southgate’s management style. Every decision he makes is about the unit as a whole, which inspires and gives them the tools they need to charge to victory.