Culture of Performance
Over the past six years, the performance of the German national soccer team was far away from the glory times. The World and Euro Cup tournaments ended early for them and questionable decisions were taken. German soccer experts, media, and fans called for a crisis state. In response to media criticism, the Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB) kept making excuses and made everything else responsible but themselves. (Is that a German thing in general?)
Things took a different turn ten days ago when the German national team won their second test game against the Netherlands, the first win was against France. With the upcoming European Cup hosted by Germany, the two victories on the international stage felt like a breakthrough and started the so-needed euphoria in Germany.
What happened? How did the team turn things around? They not only won the games but showed up as a group and supported their team members on the pitch. These two wins reminded the German soccer community of the “German Mentality” which seemed to have faded away the past few years. There was a time when Germany would show great determination by fighting harder, running more, and leaving their last on the pitch. This fighting spirit is in my opinion the foundation of successful, competitive sports across different disciplines.
Julian Nagelsmann, is one of the most talented coaches in German soccer. His track record at Hoffenheim and Leipzig is remarkable and made him the youngest Bayern Munich coach in history. Despite leading the Bayern Munich team into a successful league, Champions League, and National Cup, he got sacked by the executives last year. He was criticized for the players' inconsistent performance and not developing talents at Bayern. I think the real reason was the unexpected availability of the German success coach Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel, a more experienced coach with Bavarian roots, won the Champions League title with Chelsea and was named FIFA Best Football Coach. He seemed to be the perfect match for Bayern Munich and timing played against Nagelsmann. Six months ago, Nagelsmann took over the DFB Team. In his first four games as the national coach, the performance of the team looked like the past 6 years. They won only one game out of four, and the way they played felt uninspired and low energy.
What happened? How did he stop this negative trend?
He changed his approach and created a culture of performance. Julian Nagelsmann stopped nominating the obvious big names for the team. He didn't care if you play for Dortmund or Bayern. Just because a player has 50 national appearances, doesn't mean that he is the best (team) player at this moment for this game and the upcoming tournament.
He took a risk. He nominated the currently best-performing German players - independent of the previous successes, clubs, age, or names. He created a culture of performance and most importantly communicated his plan and the needed roles to players and media. He made it very clear why everyone is with the squad and what's expected on and off the pitch. He brought in many fresh players who are extremely proud to play for the team, who are hungry and want to prove their nomination. He communicated his goals and expectations with great confidence and made it clear to everyone, that he wants to win games.
I think Julian Nagelsmann could have been the right coach for Bayern Munich, but the “Rekordmeister” might be one of the most challenging clubs to coach in Europe. Besides the sporting goals and title expectations, there are many spokespeople. The president, managers, board members, previous players - everyone has a public voice. It´s hard to be constantly under observation by the media and focus on your job while navigating and commenting on things others say without pissing anyone off. It feels like Nagelsmann applied his learnings to the national team. After four poor performances with more or less the same players who didn't perform for the past six years - he said enough. The risk of doing the same things over and over again seemed to be higher than trying something new. He enjoys the trust of the managers, he is clear in his communication and he takes full responsibility for his decisions. Yes, his decisions. Not for the results based on someone else's decision. The path of the team feels authentic and creates a positive, performance-driven energy for players, federations, and fans. The DFB Managers and the team of coaches build a supportive unit. They have a united voice towards players and media. They have a common goal and put the success of the team over everything. “No player (and no coach) is bigger than the team”.
I respect his path a lot and I hope Germany will play a successful tournament.
I also hope, that some (business) managers look very closely and take away some learnings :)
jonasschwaer.com