What Can we Learn from Gareth Southgate as a Leader?
With World Cup fever consuming the nation, could Gareth Southgate, and his calm approach, be the key to a winning performance?
A football frenzy is sweeping the country for England’s World Cup performance, with nearly 24 million viewers tuning into their knockout performance against Columbia.
However, England’s Manager, Gareth Southgate, is also stealing the nation’s hearts having provided England with one of the most successful campaigns since 2006.
So, what is his secret? “Writing our own story” has been Southgate’s message since the start. His point was proven when England finally broke their penalty curse for the first time in over 20 years. The curse had been all too familiar for Southgate after he himself had missed a penalty 22 years ago leading to England’s Euro 96 dreams being crushed. However, it is his attitude towards the game that has really won the fans over, after Columbia’s defeat he was seen comforting some of the devastated players. This has led to the Twitter hashtag #GarethSouthgateWould going viral with England fans expressing why Gareth is the perfect leader
“GarethSouthgateWould give you his portable charger whilst he’s on 1%”, “#GarethSouthgateWould Know exactly at what angle to PIVOT when helping you upstairs with your new sofa.”
This got us thinking, what can we learn and take from Gareth Southgate?
- How to smash your goals
With England’s golden boy Harry Kane on track to become the top goal scorer of the World Cup, a thing or two can be learnt from the England team in how to smash your goals. The key to any marketing campaign is setting goals. This enables you to create a clear strategy and craft key messages you want to communicate. Write your own story and let the world know it!
- Keeping a cool head
As Gareth says, don’t be “bowed down by pressures of the past” whether you have hit the bar, or missed the goal all together. Staying level headed when under a huge amount of pressure can sometimes be a challenge. Set yourself, and your business, realistic expectations to alleviate pressure. You will then take away the pressure of being let down by unrealistically high hopes.
- Let your story be heard
Taking a leaf out of England’s campaign and “Writing our own story” could be the most important tip we take from Gareth Southgate. Quality is key in making sure your copy is creative and captures your audience. However, an idea for a new campaign, brand or business, is nothing if your story doesn’t get heard. Making sure your content goes through the right media channels is essential to catch the eye of key influencers.
- Always be proud of your team
After England played its first game against Tunisia, Southgate praised his team’s positive attitude and said “Even if we had drawn, I would have been proud of us.” Celebrating the results you and your team have achieved, whether this is client wins, innovations or a great piece of coverage will keep a positive and motivated feel-good factor throughout the wider team.