Infinite is possible
Liverpool Football Club show us anything is possible
Last week, Liverpool Football Club (LFC) won when they had no right to win. The Full Story here for those that do not follow European Soccer, or Sport in general. LFC had their best players sidelined because of injury, were playing the best team (and player) in the world, and had to score three goals without allowing Barcelona to score one. The assignment was as tough as any seen in the industry.
Jurgen Klopp, the LFC Manager, simply asked his team to go out and “celebrate football”, and to “fail beautifully”. There was no focus on result, but more a focus on enjoying the opportunity and the shared experience. In the ultra-macho world of sport, we are starting to see leaders show the value of openness, vulnerability, and using the concept of love.
Even in Australian Rules Football, we saw last year’s runner-up Coach Nathan Buckley (Collingwood) declare his ‘love’ for his players at three-quarter-time in the Grand Final. They lost, but are stronger and more united than ever since that day. This would have been taboo in years gone by. And, it still may be in boardrooms today.
These men are showing us that through Social Proficiency they are gaining elite performance. They understand that technical ability and analytic ability are important and need to be worked on every day for improvement. But the social abilities are where the truly transformative results come from.
Klopp described his team as being “f*!king mentality monsters”. From what I understand there are a few ingredients that go into being a mentality monster:
Belief – knowing ‘we can do this’. Usually coming from doing the work and doing this work over a prolonged period of time. There are no short cuts.
Undistracted – is that even a word…? It is now. No matter what the world is throwing at us, we will continue to focus on the few isolated things we need to do now to drive the project forward.
Passionate Care – we need to find meaning. Otherwise it is difficult to push when all seems lost.
Shared Purpose – the elements that tie everyone together in their efforts.
When asked to achieve an insurmountable target or goal, remember Jurgen and his boys. Remember the red men, and how they sent Barcelona packing when every single rational thought told us it was not possible.
It doesn’t just happen in the movies. Infinite is actually possible for all of us.
Play Beyond Targets is a multi-discipline program with four key pillars to help professionals build rhythm into their workflows, their teams, and their organisations. It is with this Rhythm that effectiveness can skyrocket enabling people to achieve well beyond what they thought was possible. Get in touch with me directly to find out more - paul@paulfarina.com.au
