Last Sunday’s 2^nd Round debacle for England in the World Cup was a chastening experience for a lot of us who harbour hopes of witnessing football success for the national team in our lifetime.  On the past two weeks’ evidence, we’re going to be waiting a long time!

To some extent, Saturday’s 4-1 defeat by Germany wasn’t a surprise, following the poor performances of the group stage – and the epithets ‘abject’, ‘inept’, and ‘disastrous’ which were to the fore in the aftermath, were pretty well justified based on what we saw on the pitch.  One commentator, ex-England winger Chris Waddle, who made it to the semi-final with Bobby Robson’s England in 1990, has judged that the England team performed acceptably for about 45 minutes out of 360 en route to their failure.

I know I’m not the only person thinking about this, but I do find it astonishing that individuals of such proven pedigree (a lot of them are stars at some of the best clubs in Europe) should have looked anything but world-class in this tournament; and it set me thinking: was there something about how they functioned as a team (or a squad) that contributed to this?

Anyone who’s read Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (an excellent book, quick to read and full of insights, but avoiding the infantilising tendency of many in that bracket), will know that he posits five things that get in the way of building a successful and performing team:

1. Absence of Trust
2. Fear of Conflict
3. Lack of Commitment
4. Avoidance of Accountability
5. Inattention to Results

So, I thought I’d just look at the England football performance through the prism of Lencioni and see if anything chimes.  Of course, the only people who currently know the truth of the matter are within the England camp, and for now that hasn’t been shared with us (no doubt a tell-all book will follow), so don’t phone, it’s just for fun…

Dysfunction 1: Absence of Trust — This occurs when team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with one another and are unwilling to admit their mistakes, weaknesses or needs for help.  Without a certain comfort level among team members, a foundation of trust is impossible.

In relation to England, one might briefly highlight the following as having been damaging to trust within the camp:

-          John Terry’s infidelity with his England and Chelsea team-mate’s partner.  Although as one of England’s best players JT’s team-mates were never going to want him out of the team, t was clear that many regarded this as ‘crossing the line’ and will have regarded his actions as a breach of trust.

-          The Capello Index.  Only a month before the tournament, Fabio Capello signed a contract with a media company to participate in a website by ‘marking’ his players game by game, based on their performances in the World Cup matches.  It’s hard not to laugh when one imagines what scores he would have given, hindsight is a wonderful thing!  However, as was pointed out at the time, it smacked of an error of judgement and will have damaged the ‘comfort level’ among the squad members.

Dysfunction 2: Fear of Conflict — Teams that are lacking on trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered, passionate debate about key issues, causing situations where team conflict can easily turn into veiled discussions and back channel comments.  In a work setting where team members do not openly air their opinions, inferior decisions are the result.

-          After the second match, against Algeria, John Terry spoke out in an interview, and said that there would be a clear-the-air crisis meeting that night at which everyone would speak their minds, good or bad, and get things off their chest.  At the time, I remember thinking ‘good’, that will help them to overcome whatever inhibitions or problems there are, which clearly there must be.  However, tellingly, Terry was smacked down by his manager publicly (through ‘back channels’?) told he had spoken out of turn (Absence of Trust again), and 24 hours later Frank Lampard denied that any ‘crisis talks’ had taken place.

-          It is well documented that Capello has an authoritarian streak, and a command-and-control management style, so from the outside it looked like he had prevented any dissent being aired.  Not good for the team by Lencioni’s theory.

Dysfunction #3: Lack of Commitment — Without conflict, it is difficult for team members to commit to decisions, creating an environment where ambiguity prevails. Lack of direction and commitment can make employees, particularly star employees, disgruntled.

-          Wayne Rooney was explicit in saying that he preferred to play a lone striker’s role up front, something which was denied him by the manager.  John Terry revealed explicitly (whether with tacit support of others I can’t say) that he thought Joe Cole should be starting the games, again overruled.  Steven Gerrard was asked to play wide on the left (not his natural position), and Frank Lampard was expected to play more of a holding role (not his natural one either).  If these four were the England ‘star employees’, would it be a surprise if they showed a lack of commitment, if they felt they were not listened to?  Wayne Rooney in particular looked disgruntled.

-          As a postscript here, I was struck how Joe Cole, in an interview the morning after England’s exit, prefaced his comments about the team’s exit by saying that ‘on a personal level, obviously I’m disappointed I didn’t play more’.  Not the words of a committed member of the squad; rather, someone thinking about himself first.

Dysfunction #4: Avoidance of Accountability — When teams don’t commit to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven individuals hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviours that may seem counterproductive to the overall good of the team.

-          This dysfunction is less obvious in relation to the England team.  There was no lack of ‘taking responsibility’ in words at least, with every poor performance followed by interviews in which the captain or others shouldered the collective blame.  However, there is always a suspicion that that is lip service, and Wayne Rooney’s outburst “Nice to see your own fans boo you, that’s what loyal support is” after the Algeria game smacked of someone not admitting accountability to me.

Dysfunction #5: Inattention to Results — Team members naturally tend to put their own needs (ego, career development, recognition, etc.) ahead of the collective goals of the team when individuals aren’t held accountable.  If a team has lost sight of the need for achievement, the business ultimately suffers.

-          Need I say more?!  The tournament ends, and the players head home to their lovely lives, their lovely wives, and their lovely weekly pay-packets, playing in teams where they are completely valued and the systems of play are built around them.

-          The England players looked beaten down, uninspired, and afraid to express themselves.

-          Meanwhile, we see in the South American sides (4 out of the 8 quarter-finalists are from there: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay), and in Germany also, a very evident relish for representing their country, with sparkling team play and performances that are greater than the sum of their parts.

At least the next 8 games should be more fun to watch!!