The curious case of Gareth Southgate
Whilst I’m not an avid football fan, as a recruiter I do enjoy watching the managerial merry go round (and sadly know more about who’s the manager at a particular club than I do about the game itself).
Watching this seasons hiring’s & firing’s however one in particular stood out: Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough. Why? Two reasons:
- The timing seemed amiss. That is – I would have understood when on route to relegation, or indeed in the closed season having been relegated. However to do it after a third of a season with the team one point of the top of the table seemed a little strange.
- Off the pitch Southgate helped to bring some order to the financial chaos of a club in £85m debt by delivering £12m profit (from 3 ½ years of transfers) & a £7m saving on the wage bill last season (whilst painstakingly turning an ageing team into one with an average age of 22).
What can aspiring managers (regardless of industry) learn from the unfortunate Mr Southgate. A few things stand out:
- If you’re made responsible for something do what you can to control the key decisions: Given the importance of playing staff in football hiring and firing decisions would are critical. And yet Southgate clearly didn’t have 100% control of these areas during his time in charge, as evidenced by the sale of the clubs most important defender, Robert Huth (5 games into the season to make another down payment against the financial sins of the past) or by the his chairman’s decision to by Alfonso Alves for £12m.
- Build strategic alliances: The reason quoted for Southgate’s sacking in some circles was the fact he was not universally admired / loved by the teams fans. Whilst we’re not saying that a manager should seek universal admiration determining the key allies you need to be successful is critical. Whilst Southgate seemed to inherently understand this, hence the strong relationship he had with his chairman, he seem to discount some key stakeholders i.e. most notably the fans & the media. Indeed after the home defeat by Leicester some fans booed him, and whilst he didn’t like it, neither was he bothered by it.
- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Should the fans have been more aware of the restrictions Southgate was facing? Debatable. Should Southgate have been surprised by the news of his sacking? No. Should everyone & anyone associated with the club know the strategy for promotion (i.e. how they would achieve the goal of their season)? Definitely. As many a politician or CEO will testify the key to successful management, regardless of field, is communication. Perhaps Southgate’s greatest failing therefore was his inability to effectively communicate his vision, emotion, and desire to the key stakeholders of the organisation.
Clearly the primary goal of a football club is to win games. Unfortunately however whilst Borough did brilliantly off the pitch under Southgate’s management, as relegation from the premier league highlighted, on the pitch there simply weren’t enough wins. This is not to say that Southgate’s goal was not to win games, but rather that due to failings across the three points highlighted above Southgate was neither able to ensure enough victories in the short term nor buy sufficient time (off the key stake holders) to change this.
Although i like Gareth Southgate i never eally rated him as a manager. I agree the timing of his sacking was bit off.