We probably just experienced one of the greatest Men’s Football World Cup Finals in modern history. There were own-goals, there was controversial technology, titans of the sport fell, young-upstart-squads excelled, and we all compartmentalized the event’s unfortunate externalities, such as the corruption of FIFA, racism and homophobia of some supporters, and the authoritarianism of the host nation. Les Bleus, with stalwart defending, incredible transition play, and awesome precision finishing, won the World Cup over a resilient Croatian team. Most of us will never be able to navigate the pitch like Luka Modric or Paul Pogba, but we can certainly apply ideas and insights from the greatest sporting event on Earth to our careers. Here are four professional lessons from the 2018 World Cup Final four teams.
France
Lead with youth and win everything
All but two players from France’s starting lineup in the final are under 30. Most are 27 or younger. And Kylian Mbappe, arguably the tournament’s most electrifying attacking player, is 19. To say the least, France gave the kids – a very ethnically and culturally diverse group of kids – the keys to the car and they drove it to victory by perfectly executing their manager’s game plan, too. Contrast that with former football powerhouses like Germany and Spain. These once mighty footballing nations doubled-down on veterans and made early exits from the tournament.
Whether you’re a twenty-something who is beginning your career or a thirty-something manager like me who is hiring people and assigning work, we all have choices to make about where we work, who we hire, and how much we value youth. Organizations that effectively and authentically engage Millennial employees outperform their competition and, hey, it makes really good business sense to empower the generation of workers who make up most of the workforce. So relax, not only will Millennials not destroy your business. We make it better!
Croatia
Having grit means you’re never out of the game
I watched the game with my wife and cousin. After France netted their fourth goal my wife looked over at me and asked, “is it over?” And I looked at her and my cousin and asked, “I dunno…I mean, I think yes, but can we ever really know with Croatia?” Shortly after they scored a goal! Throughout the tournament Croatia demonstrated incredible resilience. They came from behind. Went to penalties twice. They never stopped hustling. Indeed, during their semi-final match against England, that effort paid off when they won in extra-time. Whatever the odds, they persevered and earned their best finish ever at the World Cup.
We have written about the importance of cultivating grit before. More than IQ or EQ, research finds that grit and resilience are the most important characteristics to develop in order to have a successful career. People with grit can bounce back from failure more quickly and rise to the occasion when they face adversity. Be your own version of Luka Modric and never stop persisting (until the whistle blows, of course).
Belgium
Planned happenstance is hard
Planned happenstance is a career development theory that combines preparedness (developing the Golden Generation of Belgian Football) with luck (being on the same side of the draw as France). Belgium was probably better than Croatia or England, but they unfortunately didn’t get to play either side during the knockout stage. My take on the Red Devils is that they also failed to find a consistent style with which to play – it’s almost like they struggled to plan for the happenstance befallen on them by the scrappy Japanese side or the well-organized, disciplined French team.
More than anything else, the ability to adapt and learn new ways of working will define our career development during the next decade. We will build great plans – for projects, for education, career changes – and the rate at which they will be disrupted by technology, globalization and/or economic instability will force us to adapt. On my team we have something called “The Dragan Principle” (named for our colleague Samantha Dragan) – whatever we plan, once the idea is fleshed out, it is the duty of the team to assume something will go wrong and then to brainstorm two or three suitable backup plans. We stick to our values and identity and we are fluid enough to change when we need to.
England
Under-promise and over-deliver
If I told you six weeks ago that England was going to be leading for most of the first half in the semi-final round of the World Cup you wouldn’t called me “mad”. The Three Lions probably had no business finishing in fourth place, but they nearly made it to the final! Similar to France, England fielded a young squad, which built a narrative that the team was on more of a learning journey than a winning campaign at this World Cup. It would be more realistic for them to find a winning formula in Qatar or North America in 2022 or 2026 respectively. The team also went to great lengths to tune out the tabloid culture of negativity that’s permeated and oppressed previous English World Cup squads. In spite of the high hopes for fans that the Three Lions would “bring it home” to England this year, that perspective only really materialized towards the end of their run, not throughout the tournament.
When delivering work, offering timelines or budgets, or allocating your team’s yearly development budget, under-promising and over-delivering is a classic way to manage your community’s expectations. Customers and colleagues alike are delighted when we set realistic expectations and then create opportunities to exceed them. In fact, mentors seek out mentees who over deliver on commitments to work with enthusiasm and authenticity.