Throughout our professional paths, we have all experienced different work environments, staff members, and dynamics. Some of these experiences are great, and others are poor, and it has always been interesting to me to analyze and dissect what made a particular environment great or poor. What made the staff connect so well and work smoothly in a synchronous fashion, or what made them really struggle as a unit? To me, two main factors keep on coming back to the surface: leadership and what I call “the connective tissue.”
In every club and department, leadership comes from the top down. Having great, well-versed, and experienced leaders is a game changer for an organization; not only do they have to be good at their job to earn the respect of their staff, but they must also be great managers of people. These leaders must be strong, direct, clear, and concise, but they must also have empathy and an inner sensibility for the people that work under them. Through my experience, I have had the special opportunity to feel both ends of this spectrum. To me, these moments were invaluable parts of my career, as I got to see and feel the good, the bad, and the ugly. In my world, the general manager, sporting director, and head coach are the key leaders on the soccer operation side, which is where the high-performance department operates. There is a famous saying back in Europe stating that “the fish rots from the head down;” I mention it because it is a good metaphor to visualize that poor behaviors in leadership roles will trickle down and negatively affect the rest of the team.
To give some clear examples, here is a contrast based on my experience:
On one hand, we have a leader who is punctual and has a rigorous meeting schedule with the different departments – a leader who asked questions to get full context, made clear decisions, and gave concrete direction while empowering people to execute in their own way. On the other hand, we have a leader so disorganized that meetings are all over the place, inconsistent, and never actually resolve any questions – a leader who displays a sense of insecurity, which leads to decision-making based on a self-protective mechanism and not on what is best for the team and club. This leader is focused on the outcomes and not the process.
When I speak of “the connective tissue,” what do I mean? It is quite hard to describe, but I have created my own image and feeling for it over the years. This vision starts with clear organizational values and how those align with each member of staff. For example, in one of the clubs I worked for, there was a sense of passion for the game and an unspoken value was felt through the behaviors of the people every day, and I can align with that. I am a very passionate person, especially when it comes to soccer. This example shows how one idea connects the behaviors of everyone within the club.
Another key piece is how the environment fosters the growth of strong relationships within the staff. There is a physical aspect, such as how far people are from one another in different offices and corridors. There is also an emotional aspect based on how people communicate and the strategies in place to help staff connect in the workplace. Great leaders are crucial in fostering that environment and triggering those positive behaviors. For example, there is a sense of being able to have fun at work while getting high quality work done, and great leaders get to bring that out daily; they create a healthy environment of exchange, which brings people together. Lastly, there is undeniably a social aspect of this connective tissue. Within the sports world, the physical, mental, and emotional demands are so intense that we must foster a healthy social context for the staff to connect outside of work, on a more personal basis. In a previous club, we had monthly staff meetings at a local restaurant fully covered by the club. We also established staff gatherings at different people’s homes. I personally started a weekly staff lunch that I would cook and bring in. Such small gestures show the club cares and that staff care for one another.
These approaches, paired with high passion and the drive to win in an environment that fosters relationships and growth, is what I refer to as “the connective tissue;” it is the unspoken web that connects everyone every day.
