As a life-long student of futbol, I am engrossed in the 2023 Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. But this experience is not without short-term personal cost. My sleep schedule has gone to hell as the televised start times of most games fall between 12:00am and 6:00am eastern. My daily coffee consumption now includes a second iced mocha in the early afternoon so I can stay awake for the remainder of the day. Yet both are small prices to pay for o jogo bonito.
A new world order in women’s football is emerging before our very eyes. The expanded format of 32 nations–including 8 first-time participants in 2023—is producing competitive matches, contrasting styles, and a few stunning results. It too is bringing much-welcomed winds of change to a tournament which had become predictable and stale in recent years. Say goodbye to the days when the same 5 national teams—Brazil, Germany, Japan, Norway, and the United States of America–are pre-tournament favorites and advance to the quarterfinals or beyond with little difficulty. Clearly there are signs of shifting sands down under.
Prior to the start of the tournament, it would be unimaginable to predict that Germany and Brazil would crash out of the group stage. Or that the United States of America and Norway would exit with a whimper in the knockout round of 16. Now in their place are the likes of Columbia, Jamaica, and Morocco–all in the round of 16 for the 1 st time in their women’s national team history.
These Gen Z upstarts are achieving remarkable results though courage, commitment, and conviction to their futbol philosophies, strategies, and tactics for this World Cup. These teams are showing the world that they will not be held back nor silenced by anyone. They are knocking the door down rather than waiting to be invited to the party. Sound familiar with some of the dynamics in our organizations right now?
When FIFA, the international governing body of football, announced this expansion back in 2019, some pundits openly questioned the decision. They believed the expansion would lead to more blowouts in the group stage and the dilution in the overall quality of play throughout the tournament. But nothing could be further from the truth. The 8 first-time participants—Haiti, Ireland, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Vietnam and Zambia—more than earn our respect for the way they represent their countries on and off the pitch. They are bold, brave, committed footballers who are playing offense on their own terms and consistent with their core values. They are role models for all of us.
The Gen Z teams are also teaching us about the transformative power of belief, courage and conviction in the face of change, inequity, and injustice. The teams are embracing a more expansive and inclusive vision for the future, one that could serve as a planning model for our organizations as we prepare for 2024 and beyond. That model can be best summarized as (1) dream big; (2) plan creatively; (3) commit to execute the plan; and (4) play offense even when it feels scary or unsettling.
Playing offense brings creativity, joy, and positive energy to our efforts to shape or influence key moments in a futbol match, within our organizations and communities, or in own our lives. Pragmatically, it is a healthy, proactive, human response to what is happening all around us. It is forward movement and future oriented. And from a leadership perspective, it represents a more hopeful vision for the future at a time when many leaders are constantly playing defense, being reactive to events outside our control, or resorting to outdated messages about resource limitations, organizational hardship, or victimhood.
Today’s leaders can also benefit from reflecting on how the Gen Z teams are charting their paths forward despite long odds and limited resources. For starters, these teams embrace belief, courage, and commitment in pursuit of a common goal. For some teams that means simply qualifying for the World Cup while others seek to advance to the knockout rounds. Regardless of such goals, every team recognizes the importance of having a tactically sound and achievable game plan as well as an unwavering commitment to execute the plan. Every player on the team understands that they may need to sacrifice some of their needs and wants for the good of the team. Of course, hard work, timing and luck can influence the outcome of any game. And futbol can be unfair or cruel at times. But like life, futbol favors the prepared.
Now in preparation for 2024 business planning, we encourage leaders to think big and bold about what it means to play offense.
- Is our organization’s mission relevant and responsive to those we serve? If not, what is our most impactful path forward?
- How are ever-increasing expectations for accountability, impact, and overall service levels from patients, clients, customers, and funders influencing our strategic thinking and our operations?
- How can we be more responsive to our teams’ needs regarding compensation and benefits, work-life balance, health and well-being, and professional development?
- What are the known financial and operational risks in our business model that are no longer masked by COVID-emergency funds? And what are our responses to such risks?
- How can we apply the lessons learned from our COVID-related operations to better inform future facility and technology investments?
One thing is certain. The leadership test to develop our post-COVID strategy is at hand. Authenticity and intentionality will be in great demand over the next few months as leaders assess the three fundamental choices before our organizations. Do we choose to revert back to our pre-COVID strategy and operations mindset in an effort to restore long-lost security or stability? Or do we choose the status quo—the path of least resistance—to protect what we have built over time while the forces of unrelenting change continue to buffet us? Or do we choose to create an aspirational yet achievable vision that embraces the many lessons learned during the pandemic and seeks to advance mission impact? For today’s leaders, there are no right or wrong answers here—only choices.