Leadership is an essential skill required to climb the career ladder in any profession, especially given that 83% of businesses say that it’s important to develop leaders at all levels. There are many ways in which one can be an effective leader and Gareth Southgate is currently setting a great example, epitomizing excellent leadership in his performance as England’s national team manager and successfully leading England to our first Euro semi-final since 1996.
Southgate has spoken before about the importance of building great leadership skills due to the weight that senior roles hold. With a range of important attributes necessary to becoming an effective leader, we’ve taken a look at the similarities between the football world and the everyday workplace.
Use your words wisely
It's pivotal that any leader acts as a role model, using their voice in the right way. Being in a senior role means having a responsibility to use words carefully and wisely as those words carry a lot of weight.
Gareth Southgate has the weight of an entire nation, starved of a trophy since 1966, on his back and hence he needs to inspire people to believe again. Like all leaders, Southgate has to build a team that is together and united in order to achieve its goals.
Creating a cohesive, confident and driven team, whether on the pitch or in the workplace, increases the chances of achieving positive results. Teams with strong leaders are hugely important because it has been shown that employees supervised by highly engaged leadership teams are 39% more likely to be engaged themselves. When a team is working together behind one cause, productivity and output will increase which ultimately results in success.
Set an example
Leaders’ actions have the power to make a big difference, which is why they should take pride in their role. This can be done by ensuring that they set up and lead their team in a way that makes it as easy as possible to achieve results.
To encourage true pride throughout his squad, Gareth Southgate also has to take pride in his position, leading and driving his team to excel.
In the workplace, leaders need to create an environment where their teams are set up to succeed and where they feel comfortable working because this makes their employees more likely to achieve results.
Create a positive workplace culture
It is also crucial that leaders clarify and promote great workplace ethics. Southgate has created a positive environment around the England camp where the players feel that they can be themselves and express themselves whilst still being model professionals determined to bring success on the pitch.
Ensuring that all individuals feel like they can be themselves, in any work environment, increases productivity and motivation to achieve success. Of course, the ultimate aim is to hit goals and accomplish targets, but this needs to be done in a sustainable way where the wellbeing of everyone is considered. This is particularly crucial because research has shown that 79% of employees quit their job due to a lack of appreciation, which proves the importance of staff wellbeing.
Consider others
Southgate also places a heavy emphasis on putting yourself in the position of others which is pivotal for any leader. For example, it’s very important that leaders consider how customers and clients want to be treated as it is their experience with the business that is key to long-term success. Southgate speaks about the ‘players also being fans’ meaning that they know what the public want and he sets the squad up to deliver.
There are many ways in which one can be an effective leader, but it’s clear that we can all learn from Gareth Southgate’s approach. He is delivering success on the pitch as well as guiding his players down the right path off the pitch, ensuring that they are role models in every way, which demonstrates excellent leadership qualities and will hopefully result in football coming home!
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