If you’ve ever seen five-year-old children play soccer, you likely remember the image of a cluster of energetic young players chasing a ball down the field. None of them really know what they’re doing yet, and no one wants to pass the ball. They’re far too young to understand the importance.
While I miss those days, watching my son, Ward, play competitive club soccer reinforces the fact that passing is a proper art form. It’s a fundamental skill that every player on the field must master. And those who do can develop into heroes, even legends.
Similar to professional soccer teams, successful business teams acknowledge the importance of a great passing sequence or when the entire group moves a project around from start to finish.
Passing the ball is the quickest, most effective way for a team to maintain control and win the game. Not passing is the fastest way to lose.
Andrew Carnegie said, “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”
Successful organizational design begins by developing a framework that aligns business strategy with people strategy, allowing you to zero in on how individual team members can work together to accomplish more by leveraging their unique strengths.
At Ignite, we believe there are five essential policies to organizational design: Strategy, Structure, Processes, Rewards, and People. Just like coaching a soccer team, you have to recruit the right people, put them in the right roles, align their goals with the company’s goals and build an organizational structure that executes well by knowing when to pass the ball.
We’ve all heard it before, but it’s worth repeating. Strategy isn’t a solo sport, even for a CEO. By embracing the art of the pass, you can build a winning team and a company culture high in trust and superior performance.
In closing, never discount what you can learn from the sidelines. Whether it’s on the soccer field or in the board room, you can always accomplish more with a team than you can alone.
If you’re interested in having a conversation about organizational design or passing strategy, contact us.