What can we learn from Tiki-Taka of Barca.

Learning Swarm Intelligence from Tiki-Taka Soccer

Business can learn five lessons about using swarm intelligence from soccer teams using the tiki-taka style.

Create a common vision.
Until a few years ago, soccer teams looked down on the vision thing, regarding it as too airy-fairy, but there is increasing openness to the concept. Coaches now get together with players at the start of every season and decide what they want to accomplish, often couching objectives in emotional terms: how they want to feel at the end of the season, what they will be proud of etc. The goal is not just winning, but playing attractive soccer that excites fans, qualifying for the Champions League, sending as many players as possible to the World Cup, making every kid in the region proud of the team… A club’s mission statement is quite likely to include concepts such as pride, enthusiasm, and player development.

If you’re the head of a department in a company, which is the size of a modern soccer team, surely it can’t be that difficult to get your staff to develop a common vision. Studies however show that less than 10% of departmental managers develop visions that guide their staff. More often than not, they argue that the company should come up with an overarching vision and let it percolate down to the employees. It’s helpful to be singing from the same hymn sheet, but having a departmental vision gives employees a sense of purpose and direction. They’re also more likely to respond in the form of generating swarm intelligence.

Design flexible roles.
For many decades, soccer teams used a clear line-up: goalie, defenders, midfielders, and forwards. Many teams still do, but floating formats have been common in the past five years or so, with fullbacks often launching attacks and forwards forming the first line of defense. Players also change position more often: the right wing will suddenly switch to the left, or an experienced defender may move into the midfield for a while. These variable, open-play systems enable teams to interact with one another in constantly changing ways and make it difficult for opponents to predict their moves.

By contrast, there is little openness and cooperation in the corporate world. Under the constant pressure of competition, companies look inwards rather than out, engage in self-serving actions and point the finger at others. The production and design departments will complain that the marketing and sales departments aren’t selling enough of their high-quality products, and vice versa. This egocentric mentality is still present in soccer, but it’s less prevalent, and no smart coach will stand for it. Corporate managers too need to realize that their rivals are other companies, not their colleagues down the corridor.
Be a teacher, not a boss.
Football coaches used to be like Felix Magath and Louis van Gaal, who believe in order and obedience. They always know what must be done and how, and anything resembling a personal relationship is a hindrance. That leadership style is effective as long as you’re always one step ahead of rivals, and know what’s best for your team. It may be appropriate during periods of crisis, but in an increasingly competitive, fast-changing and complex environment, players must be able to think for themselves.

The best coaches today are more like expedition leaders, engaged in an educational and mutually supportive journey of exploration with their players. The exponents of this school include Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, and Thomas Tuchel, all of whom believe that team effort is all that counts. Bayern’s Guardiola is always saying how proud he is of his team’s achievements; Dortmund’s Jürgen Klopp has promised to support his players more than they’ve ever been supported; and Schalke’s Jens Keller says he gets a kick out of seeing his players develop in front of his eyes.

Sadly, in the corporate world, the old guard is still alive and well. A mechanistic management style relies on the carrot-and stick approach, and companies have been slow to realize that employees don’t respond well to it. Professional soccer learned this lesson long ago, not least because many players are young. CEOs should look in the mirror, and ask themselves: “Is my style like Magath’s, or like Guardiola’s?”

Set collective objectives.
Once, soccer players used to earn bonuses for scoring goals, but those were abandoned when managers realized that was an incentive to shoot — regardless of distance and position. Teams now set collective objectives that affect all the players, and include the maximum number of goals scored against the team; the minimum number of goals scored by the team; and how many kilometers players run during the course of a game. Moreover, bonuses are awarded to the team; players win together and lose together, so they are offered the same incentives. Some coaches, like Pep Guardiola, focus not so much on titles won or goals scored as on perfection in attacking or defensive play — learning targets that motivate and contribute to all-round performance.

Companies, by contrast, still go through the nerve-wracking ritual of performance evaluations, during which executives set goals for direct reports. The aim is to create a sense of accountability, so that people are motivated by goals and are rewarded for attaining them. This makes top management feel in control of a well-oiled machine, but there has been increasing discontent with this practice. In an increasingly complex and volatile environment, it is becoming difficult to define goals clearly and decide when they have been achieved. Employees also engage in low-balling, setting themselves unambitious targets so there is no longer any incentive to perform above and beyond the call of duty. As a result, companies operate below their potential. download (11).jpg

Managers should have the courage to manage in a less compartmentalized manner, moving away from individual goals and embracing collective ones. Employees will identify freeloaders and motivate one another to accomplish common objectives, so executives should think past the next milestone and decide which aspects of the business they really want to manage. That way, they’ll quickly achieve learning objectives and open new horizons for their people.

Be a full-time leader.
Good coaches spend their time being leaders. They don’t play the game on the field themselves. They devote all their energy to getting the best from their 40 or 50 players, spending all day inspiring, teaching, developing, and guiding their teams, resolving conflicts, conducting daily meetings, and speaking to dozens of people. This is the true task of leadership.

The average executive, on the other hand, spends only 20% of his or her time leading. The rest is devoted to answering email, attending to financial matters, negotiating with suppliers, or resolving customer issues. Employees’ concerns come well down the list of priorities. They are the equivalent of player-coaches, who juggle both jobs simultaneously and were common in soccer 20 years ago. However, it became clear that that was not effective; a seasoned leader who focuses entirely on the team achieves better results and enjoys greater credibility.

Many top executives we talked to admitted they weren’t spending enough time leading, but claimed their other responsibilities would be adversely affected if they did. Not everyone needs to be a full-time leader, but having one can reap big rewards in terms of team performance. It’s a better use of the leader’s time, and it pays rich dividends in terms of generating achievement and commitment. download (12).jpg