Do you find you are lonely at the top?
January 8, 2008 - As bosses plan their 2008 strategies they face the double whammy of a bleak economic climate following the credit crunch fallout and the raging talent war. Many will undoubtedly feel isolated as they consider – or reconsider – the tactics they will deploy to survive and succeed.
Business leaders, like the world’s best sports coaches and managers, build success by having the right people on the bus and each firmly ensconced in the right seats. Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger have achieved notable triumphs alongside Richard Branson and Bill Gates by adhering to that rule.
To offer some comfort and salutary lessons, I would like to compare and contrast some mixed leadership fortunes from the recent world of sport.
On 7 January, England’s football team welcomed its supremely confident new manager Fabio Capello. Renowned as a tough disciplinarian who has guided and inspired his respective teams to nine league championships, Capello is already displaying winning tactics with his receptiveness to integrate English staff into his all-Italian back up team.
Capello’s track record contrasts starkly with McClaren, whose lack of leadership skills when directing the England team would no doubt prove to be as equally catastrophic in the boardroom. A lack of confidence in his players, and subsequent failure to get the best out of them, catapulted England’s high-profile failure to qualify for the European Championships onto the world stage. No matter from which perspective we view it, the ignominy compounded the ultimate humiliation from a team which two years previously rode high in FIFA’s world rankings under Eriksson.
Compare this to the England Rugby Union head coach Brian Ashton who, like all great leaders, confronted the harsh facts head on. Tackled by his team over their disquiet at early poor performances in the World Cup, Ashton listened, took on board their criticisms, and changed the way they played. In doing so, he proved that talent combined with strong leadership can exceed expectations. Ashton’s reward is reflected in his recent MBE which acknowledged how he guided his team to one win away from clinching two consecutive World Cup titles.
So what does this teach us as business leaders? As we already know, it is lonely at the top - regardless of how tough or steep our respective summits may be. Because no matter how much advice we seek - if we are fortunate enough in the first instance to have peers whom we can use as a sounding board - we are ultimately accountable for making the best decision for the greater good of the organisation. And whatever skills, qualities and attributes it takes to be a great leader, success comprises a potent combination of unswerving self-belief, a disciplined approach - and an ability to create an environment where people’s voices can be heard and acted on. Most important of all is the aptitude to recruit and develop the right people who flourish as part of a winning team - and who will consistently produce sustained results.