The Key to Corporate Success - The Leadership Spine

In the UK we have just seen the closure of the mid season, soccer transfer “window”.  Traditionally this window, and especially the last day of it, provides a perfect opportunity for club owners and managers to participate in a spot of over-priced, panic buying in order to bolster their squads for the rest of the season, as they bid to either avoid relegation or enhance their promotion or league/trophy winning potential.

This season’s merry-go-round has been much calmer than normal but that hasn’t stopped the usual flood of media rumour and counter rumour as agents and clubs look to bolster their positions in the market.   Interestingly there is always constant argument between the pundits and commentators as to the merits and demerits of each individual player and their “fit” with the new club’s pattern of play and the likelihood of the player single-handedly delivering success.  However, one thing that is almost universally acknowledged by the pundits, is that the successful clubs are those that have quality leaders and that those clubs that are very successful have a “spine of leadership” (both on and off the field). 

Now when it comes to defining the specifics of what is meant by “leadership” or even a “spine of leadership” in the context of a football club, it is again a matter of great debate.  However, what is clear is that it is generally agreed that having a spine of leadership is about the creation of positive relationships between individual leaders that runs from the Boardroom onto the pitch.   It is therefore not just the quality of the individual leaders but also the quality of the relationships between the leaders that is the determinant of overall success.   A club will not be very successful if it merely has good individual leaders who are locked in constant ego battles and arguments with each other – it needs to generate positive, value adding relationships between the leaders.

Now, this concept of a leadership spine provides a rich theme for discussion and analysis when applied in a business context.   It really does suggest that the key to running an effective business is to ensure that you have “good” leaders deployed from the Boardroom, through the C-suite and out into the functions charged with the day-to-day delivery of the business.

Imagine an enterprise where, not only are individuals recruited at all levels based on a combination of their individual technical capabilities, their leadership capabilities and their ability to work as leaders up and down the organization, but also an enterprise where the development of positive bonds and interactions between the leaders at all levels is developed and managed.   These would be the enterprises that are truly investing in developing a leadership spine and sustainable success.

However, what I can quite happily say, without fear of too much contradiction, is the holistic view required to recruit and develop the leadership spine is as haphazard within the corporate enterprise as it appears to be within so many of the UK’s leading football clubs.  Why?  Well I guess it all gets a bit hard, particularly given the demands on both the senior executives/Chairmen to demonstrate success almost instantaneously.  Unsurprisingly it therefore becomes much more prudent to attempt to sign a single new messianic leader, who can deliver results from day one, rather than look to build a balanced, leadership team and ethic throughout the business.   With this approach the good news is that when it fails there is already a built in scapegoat to take the blame.