Teamwork the way forward for business

Jul 11 2008 By Greig Cameron

Consultants believe relying on individual talent is not enough

The recent Euro 2008 tournament is already thought of as one of the best football competitions in living memory.

Now a management development consultancy believes Scottish businesses can use the success stories from Switzerland and Austria as inspiration for success.

Surprise packages such as Turkey, who reached the semi-finals against all the odds and only narrowly lost to Germany, depended on superb teamwork for their achievement rather than relying on the brilliance of individuals. Even teams with top stars such as Holland and Spain found success by blending the skills of their best players into a cohesive team pattern.

The Leadership Factory believes the lesson for businesses is that relying on the talent of their management team - while important - is not enough.

Working closely with individuals to weld a team is also essential. The two principals in the business, Brian Glennie and Andy Kelly, are consultants with more than 30 years of high-level experience behind them and both are also keen football fans.

Glennie said: "Football, particularly at the top level, can provide tremendous inspiration and models.

"If you were to examine the displays of Turkey at this Euro 2008 tournament, you would see a team that has demonstrated superb teamwork and team spirit to overcome the resistance of more talented individuals, such as the Croatian team.

"Whilst each of their players may be less well known, and perhaps less talented, than many of the opposition they faced, they have recognised their need to work harder and to work together, so that their combined effort more than makes up for any deficiencies in their individual abilities. Teamwork is also essential to business success.

"Even entrepreneurially-led businesses will get to the stage where a management team is required to take things forward."

The Leadership Factory has developed Goal! as a football-based programme designed to deliver high-quality training in an innovative way, with areas including teamwork, signing talent and motivation.

Glennie added: "Goal! uses a number of team analysis tools to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the management team.

"In addition, we make use of the best football teams and explain their key characteristics, identifying what it is that makes them successful.

"It is an innovative and enjoyable way to bring some important issues to life."