Image Courtesy of BBC sport

As we edge ever closer to the England Team’s forthcoming encounter with Slovenia I can’t help but notice that if we believe what we see, read and hear, we may have been witnessing a classic example of “Employee disengagement” in the wake of the team’s frustrations with the match against Algeria. There is no question that alignment of purpose is a key to excellent performance and there can be no question that Fabio Capello and the England team are aligned in as much as they would all dearly love to come home with the World cup in their hands. But effective leadership and management must rest on more than a simplistic alignment with the ultimate goal. Has anyone asked the England management team and players why they are in South Africa? Other than being sufficiently talented to be picked for the squad that by default is tasked with winning the World Cup, what’s in it for them individually and collectively? What are their motivations and aspirations and which of them do they have in common? What does it mean to be a part of the team? All these things are important in creating a journey that enriches the lives of each of the team and facilitates them achieving the ultimate goal for the organisation that is the team. When Fabio Capello talks about his team needing to “Have respect for each other” one hopes that they understand each other well enough to do this and thereby respect the integrity of the team as a whole. As we’ve seen, one very disenfranchised member can create the need for a lot of fire-fighting for those in positions of responsibility and the resulting undercurrents will undoubtedly affect the motivation of others. When any team, in business or in sport, is truly aligned it’s members will stick together when times are tough and work collectively to achieve the goals they’ve all bought in to. Goals that are aligned to their own dreams and aspirations. Has anyone heard any of the Argentinian team say anything negative about Maradonna?