by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“Feel the market; don’t go by meaningless numbers,” was President Trump’s December 2018 reported refrain to the Federal Reserve Committee as it considered the next interest rate hike. Like Trump or not, the New York Times financial reporter was on his side.

 Feeling the numbers, as opposed to just accepting their rational logic, is something that often spells the difference between leaders and managers. That could be said for the most recent match-up between two famous soccer clubs – football in English parlance – Liverpool and Manchester United. The latter has usually held sway over the former during the past 20 years. But now the Liverpool team had a different feel about it. It had put much effort into re-invigorating its franchise over the last couple of years with a leadership approach. United’s team, meanwhile, appeared to be in somewhat disarray and were losing ground to their neighboring arch-rival, Manchester City; although that seemed livable to United’s executives owing to their clubs roaring success on the commercial side.

In fact, the numbers – management’s primary focus – on the commercial side were so good that United’s top executives may not have even sensed what its soccer fans had been feeling for some time now: that their team was not playing to its full potential – perhaps because it had insufficient leadership focus? So it takes a game of some considerable rivalry to generate a great example in Enlightened Momentum Building, alongside another rival which seems to be falling behind.

After 28 years without winning a Premier League championship, Liverpool once again appeared to have the-bit-between-its-teeth. It seemed to possess a clear strategy for winning and had just emerged at the top of England’s Premier League. Only recently were soccer gurus crowing about Manchester City’s invincibility – based upon its numbers of course. Maybe they hadn’t noticed Liverpool’s recent upgrade of all its facilities – its stands, its executive boxes, and spectator facilities. Or watched its offensive players in action, complemented by its very tough defense and a goalie who’s conceded the least amount of goals. It showed that it had assembled a talented team: a likely leadership mode.

More importantly, it had invested in a terrific team coach, Jörgen Klopp. When you watch him being interviewed by sports reporters, he’s much at ease. Once the game was over, he made a point of hugging all his players individually for a job-well done…no doubt they’re looking forward to the next hug. He was also highly attentive on the sidelines during the game – encouraging, acknowledging positive team plays, and showing great interest in on-field developments. He was not way up in Anfield’s Kop stadium looking down from on high.

With its United opponent that day: since Sir Alex Ferguson – United’s highly successful coach – had retired in 2013, the soccer side of the club had reportedly lost its way. It was now on its third coach since Ferguson’s departure. The third one, José Mourinho, was present that day against Liverpool. He sat sour faced near the sideline for much of that fateful December match. He was not a happy camper. Neither were many of his reserve players or assistant coaches, who either sat next to or behind him – stone faced. Commentators dramatically announced that Paul Pogba, the up-and-coming talented French player, was sitting on the sideline, too, for reasons reporters couldn’t understand. His United team mates badly needed Pogba’s talent on the field, especially as the numbers went Liverpool’s way: 3-1.

So in contrast, Liverpool seemed to have its act together that day: a game-play strategy that was working, with players that were happy to step-up to the plate, and a coach and executive team that was functioning well. Meanwhile, reporters reckoned a technical director was needed to address United’s team and strategy issues – someone who would have a feel for the game – relative to its great numerical, commercial success. Its player morale did not seem to be where it should be, and the team coach (Mourinho) was apparently having a hard time with the club’s key executives. The latter factor was underlined after the game, when Mourinho was fired. United has won three key matches since then, by big margins, and Pogba was clearly part of that renewed success.

When it comes to coaches, they don’t always get the credit they deserve. When a team is playing poorly, people are pretty quick to point a finger at its coach. When the team is doing well, then it’s generally individual players that get all the credit. Which begs the question about what it takes to be a great coach? Even more important, ‘Do you see yourself as a coach or a player?’ If you have a player mindset, then you’ll be likely meddling in every daily issue, because you don’t trust either yourself or your people. That’s what supervisors-managers do. With such a style neither you nor they will grow particularly well.

On the other hand, if you are a true coach, then you’ll spend your time preparing your players before they go on the field – or onto the shop floor – to enable them to run with the ball on their own once the game starts. Now you are on the sideline to cheer whenever they deliver; much like Jörgen Klopp. That’s what team leaders do. While they refer to key numbers to provide clarity, they don’t obsess over them. They give their players a feel for any statistics rather than just roll them out to sound impressive.

Also, you can watch a highly successful leader like Bill Bellichick, the New England Patriots’ football coach, when he’s on the sideline. He’s there to be seen in support of his players; while he allows his specialist coaching staff and players to take hold of the game. He just watches and absorbs everything that’s going on and then probably makes suggestions at half-time or after the game. You rarely see him throwing tantrums or interfering in the game once it’s up and running. Such observant behavior allows a team to build its own momentum and find a way to win; assuming it has enough talent to do that. He will use numbers to provide his players with insights, rather than bamboozle them.

So your potential takeaways on building momentum will include:

» You have to decide whether you are a player (supervisor-manager) or a coach (leader) at heart? Even if you are a senior executive, you are still the coach or mentor to your immediate team, so the above thoughts still apply. Having leadership-management balance, according to your situation, is critical.

» The three leader requirements for building momentum are: having a compelling team vision-strategy, sufficient people talent-motivation, and utilizing an enlightened leadership touch – tempered by an appropriate degree of management, when required.

» Get close to those frontline players – that doesn’t mean being intimate – because they’re the ones that hold the torch once they’re on the field – or shop floor.

» Building momentum is about using numbers intelligently: giving your people a feel for their situation rather than blinding them with cold, heartless facts.

» As someone once said: The numbers that can be counted often don’t count: whereas the numbers that do count often cannot be counted.

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