What can we learn from the world of football as project managers?

1. Clear, unambiguous goals and vision that are known and agreed by the team - Just like in football, in projects it is important to have a high-level goal that the team wants to achieve. In football, this could be winning the World Cup, it could be progressing from the group stages, but it only works if the expectations are clear to the team members, something they can identify with. Let's be realistic, setting an objective of podium finish for Saudi Arabia would only demotivate the team, as they would know that these are unrealistic, frivolous expectations.

2. Put the team before the individual (stars) - While it is important to capitalise on individual strengths, it is not advisable to build the operation around one player. This would be taking a big risk, as one bad day or performance could seal the fate of the match. Individual skills are important in projects, but focus on the team rather than the individual, for example Sweden's performance at the 2016 European Championship, where Ibrahimovic clearly underperformed, while Swedish fans expected him to perform miracles.

3. The team is not just about the players - The team also plays an important role in achieving the team's results, e.g. an IT project is not just about developers. Involve them, show them their importance and reward good performance. Pál Dárdai commented a few years ago on the contribution that the staff and the head coaches of the clubs can make to the work of the national captain, for example by providing medical examinations or predicting form deterioration.

4. Use an objective performance evaluation system - Good coaches in football also communicate the bonuses available to the team in advance, and this should be done in projects, but also indicate in advance objective criteria that can be clearly measured. Before and during every World Cup, we read about the bonuses that players of a team receive for achieving an outstanding result, which can be a major motivating factor, especially for players from smaller clubs.

5. Plan at the right level - The teams are not preparing for the finals before the first matches either, with the group stages and knockout stages to go through first. Use milestones in your projects too, it is not necessarily worth planning the whole project in too much detail as life can bring surprises. Try rolling wave planning, focusing on the first obstacles and stages with detailed planning. As several successful coaches have said, you should always focus on the next match first.

6. Be able to change, have a plan B – If in a match, the national team captain feels that the predefined strategy is not successful or the team is at a disadvantage, he changes the tactics. This is also the case in projects (using the agile approach in particular), dare to redesign and modify unsuccessful practices and of course think about the risks. You may remember the 2014 World Cup match between the Netherlands and Mexico, where Dutch captain Louis van Gaal made a brilliant substitution and tactical change that allowed the Dutch to come back and win the game.

7. It's not the coach who should play the best football - The coach's job is to manage the team, he doesn't have to be the best player. In projects, the project leader should not be the best professional expert either, but should be responsible for guidance, motivation and coordination of teamwork. Sir Alex Ferguson was not respected by the players because he "coached" them off the pitch even before he retired, but because he was brilliant at leading the team.

8. Clear roles and responsibilities, everyone's performance is needed - Looking back to the 2016 European Championship, Iceland didn't make it to the quarter-finals by luck alone. It took an incredibly clean, rehearsed structure and precise role distribution to succeed. Everyone knew exactly where they were supposed to be, where their teammates were positioned, and it was an incredibly organised team. The same can be applied to projects, if team members know exactly what their tasks are and what is expected of them, the chances of success are higher.

9. Ongoing communication - It makes a big difference whether the players understand each other on the pitch and whether they understand the instructions of the captain. In 2016, it was clear that the English players did not understand each other on the pitch (they were beaten by Iceland, to their surprise), or if we recall England's poor performance at the 2006 World Cup, several English players complained that England captain Eriksson could only say "Come on, come on" at half-time instead of giving tactical instructions. 

10. Past poor performance doesn't necessarily mean failure, but overconfidence can be a revenge - When it comes to projects, avoid overconfidence, as this can lead to failure, and even for projects that seem simple and routine, be careful and plan conscientiously. There are many examples of this in the world of football, for example in 2002 Senegal beat the defending champions France in their first World Cup match.

+1. If possible, avoid replacing the project manager 3 days before go-live 🙂 - Although the Spaniards could be in with a chance even with the last-minute sacking of the national team captain, it is clear that the events of the past few days have not been good for the team. A leader who is looked up to and accepted by the team is always a huge advantage. We've seen more than one project where 2-3 project managers have been replaced on the go, which has incredibly set back the team's performance and delayed the project.

Football and management

The video below shows how the job of the national team captain is very similar to business and management processes, it is worth listening to Louis van Gaal's presentation, he tells us about his experiences and his job from an interesting point of view, but we also recommend Sir Alex Ferguson's book Leading.
And what is our guess on the outcome? We think the Belgian team is ready for a final victory. 🙂