Building a Team is always hard, specially from scratch.

I’ve been directly involved in many similar situations – whereas by a recent past with a single moment of trauma or at Clubs where the deliveries suffered from a continuous decline in their delivery quality over the years…

Are these situations the same?

No.

Do they need the same kind of Approaches and Strategies?
Definitely, NO!

But the story is greater than that…

Let’s explore two examples — starting with the Club that may be in shock after a traumatic event! 

The time spent in the shock state is always different, from Club to Club, from person to person, from Coach, Admin or Director to another. It may be caused by a Coach or Director (or any relevant person) leaving the Club, a Relegation, a Law case, etc.

There are many events that can create a Trauma at a Football Club!

In similar situations, where a shock occurs, it may be needed to replace People and/or Behaviors that remain stuck in the Past – that can’t see beyond the shock.

Sometimes, as hard as it can be, you need to do it to preserve your Organization.

Understand the shock, assimilate the Process that took to that shock to happen (if possible), but although shaken, don’t let the Club (or the People) leave the trajectory that the Club has – keeping moving forwards is key!

On the other had, the challenges associated with a Club that is facing that continuous Process of declining the Quality of their Deliveries have a Culture problem, most likely.

Somehow, that’s the benchmark now – the low quality, low deliveries.

And, most likely low levels of Commitment, Competition or even Performances.

Although it also involves a Change Management Process, there are key considerations here, related to a rigorous and Comprehensive Analysis on the current status, and the Hierarchy of Events that need to occur to make things back on track.

It may be more challenging to identify where the problem started, but from my experience, the relevance of that finding may be less important that we may think.

What is the advantage of spending time finding someone to blame ?

Therefore, the most important is to have a clear idea of Current Status, from Staff to Procedures and Processes.

What does the Culture of this Organization look like?

What is needed to Change first?
What is needed to implement immediately?
Defining a set of Hierarchy Events is fundamental, but just as important to set the Expectations towards that Process.

Nothing will change immediately, just as the Result of the Current Status was a Process filled with many Moments of Poor Decisions, accumulated over time – it’s the small steps, the day to day way of resolving challenges, the small talks and resolutions accumulated over time that will make you either great (or not), always!

However, here are the example of two different situations where Change Management gains an immeasurable importance, on providing the support that people need to follow the Path.

Change Management is a term that has gained more and more importance over the years, across different Industries and Organizations, specially when times are getting more exciting, transitional and also unexpected.

In general, Change Management is basically the art of helping People, Teams, and entire Organizations adapt to something new — whether it’s a Strategy shift, a new Leadership Structure, a different way of working, or even just a fresh idea. It’s about Guiding People through Change in a way that reduces Resistance, Builds buy-in, and makes the Transition Smoother and more Successful, hopefully. 

In Football Clubs, what we are discussing here, that might mean Introducing a new Playing Philosophy, Restructuring Departments, Business Expansion or evolving the Club’s Identity, making sure everyone moves forward together, avoiding at our best any type of confusion or conflict.

On a final note, I was once part of a situation where I was the one left in shock – I was the Coach sacked when nothing would predict that scenario to happen, as the team was very stable in the League table and improving their Game and Performances week by week! 

The result of that action was very detrimental to all involved, mainly because it was unexpected (therefore, the shock!), but also because it created an anger in the players that eventually couldn’t be surpassed over the remaining months of the Competition, ending in a unprecedented and unexpected Relegation by the end of that Season.

It wasn’t the Coach that came to replace me fault they were relegated, just as it wasn’t the Players fault that they ended up declining almost 10 positions at the League table – it was just a poor Decision, with a complete absence of Change Management included.

That moment was also crucial for me, and my career, as it gave me a clear idea of the side of things where I wanted to be positioned from that moment forwards, although I needed a considerable amount of time to understand that.

The most important here is to understand that we are managing people!
And understanding that is crucial to create a Plan Of Action that includes not only a projections  how people will react, but also what to do with those reactions – how to convert them into something greater!

From the lens of a Director of Football, it’s more than acknowledging what happened, reacting fast or even to predict the next steps.

You must focus on realignment, rethink Strategies and Evaluation metrics, making sure all are involved in that Process, as it must be tailored around the ones with you in this Journey!

It’s about people, always.

Focus on your people, and you will be fine!