The rules of sports management can apply just as well

As managements across the Gulf region work to counter some of the biggest challenges to their businesses in recent times, a good starting point maybe staring them straight in the face.

Against a backdrop of low oil prices and the threat from serious conflicts within and outside the Middle East, the biggest test for any CEO is how to motivate and enthuse his staff. The problem for many will be exaggerated by the fact that they have waited until the arrival of the current economic climate to give any serious thought to this issue.

It’s never too late, however, to start building or reinforcing the team culture within your business, and those who do this most effectively and consistently will reap the biggest benefits. Teams that bond together and work well together share and take on challenges just like they share, enjoy and celebrate success.

As a former professional sportsman in the ultra-competitive world of rugby league, I often take note of how some of the great managers and coaches of the present time go about motivating their teams. While all have their own style of management and personalities, they share an ability and determination to ensure proper coordination in the way their team performs.

This means getting the best out of each and every member of the team, and also recognising that some individuals need to be motivated in different ways, and taking the time and trouble to do that. It was interesting to hear some of the top TV pundits recently turning the spotlight on one of today’s most successful and high-profile football coaches, Jose Mourinho, based on a difficult start at Manchester United in the English Premier League following his departure from Chelsea in less than glorious circumstances.

It has been suggested that Mourinho’s downfall at Stamford Bridge was largely brought about by his lack of communication with some players, his avoidance of some of the lesser talents and a loss of respect from the biggest stars.

Whether that is fully accurate or not, a picture emerges of a disjointed team, and one which fell from great heights in a remarkably short period of time.

In business as in sport, the best leaders make sure that every single member of the team feels part of it from the beginning.

One of proven ways to motivating members of your team is to make them feel wanted and special, and give them a feeling that they are part of the big picture. Sometimes, it’s the senior members within the hierarchy who are perceived to be more important than those who are just starting off in the organisation whom, as a result, feel neglected and even unwanted.

In the most successful businesses, young talent is given opportunities to work closely with the most experienced and successful members of the team. As a result they are obviously motivated, learn quickly and their level of performance improves.

Like many of my contemporaries — and this is something we share with successful team managers in sport — I take the time regularly to mentor the junior staff in the organisation. They thrive when presented with opportunities to succeed and go beyond the normal boundaries of their pay grade and basic job description.

Challenging them in the early stages of their careers is the key to creating the best performers and business leaders of the future.

Hold them back, block their opportunities, and you’re in danger of preventing them from achieving their full potential, or losing them to another team which places greater trust in young talent. The comparisons with top-flight professional football today are obvious.

As a young man starting out in his career, I worked shifts as a lifeguard at a sports centre in the north of England. At that point I had already started to think ahead to the days when I’d be a leader, and I was given enormous help in this by my manager at the time, a guy called Chris Sutcliffe.

He challenged me by pushing me into leadership positions, encouraged me to start running events in the centre, and really opened my eyes to the potential I had within me to go on and take up leadership roles.

All this had a huge effect on me, and it made sure that I carried forward a desire and commitment to give young people who join my team more responsibility, and early opportunities to prove themselves.

Not all business leaders, or football managers, are as comfortable with this notion. But it seems to work for the best.

The writer is Head of PA Consulting Group, Middle East and North Africa. All opinions expressed are his own.