How do you arm yourself en your employees against setbacks?

Sportsmen and -women are constantly dealing with setbacks – an example being Ajax in 2019, when they saw the Champions League slip out of their grasp at the last minute. And when you are one of the stars, you then need to accept responsibility for it too. This means they are used to having to pick themselves up again, over and over. Joost tells us that the following elements are crucial in this:

a very clear goal

belief in your own ability (self-confidence)

recognition by others

A top sportsman or -woman is always focussed on the end goal, for example winning the World Cup. To get there, you need to be clear about the subsidiary goals and stages on the way to reach it. For example, getting enough qualifying (goal) points, or improving a weak spot in the game, the team or personal performances.

Because the (sub-)goals are clear, you can get the right people to add in to help them reach the goals. When you achieve goals, your belief in your own ability grows. Good performance also leads to recognition by others. This can be winning prizes, or also getting praise in the media.

If there is a setback in the world of sport, for example due to an injury, then an athlete will adjust his goals and define new, clear intermediate steps to reach them. So the whole cycle restarts from the beginning. At work, that is also exactly what is needed. How do you do that as a manager? These tips from Joost will help you along the way.

When a situation is uncertain, people hunger for clarity. Such as the corona crisis, a mighty setback for many sectors. Projects are drying up, jobs are at risk and goals are dropped. A mighty blow to office life is the least we can call it.

Employees in this situation are looking to you as manager, expecting new rules and clarity. This does not mean that you have to have instant solutions. Clarity also means that you communicate about when you will have a solution and what you are going to do to find it. 

Top level sports by their very nature include a discomfort factor. Competition is vicious, there is always someone sawing off the legs of your chair. You have to perform all the time and can't slip up on anything. It's what you chose when you became a top sportsman or -woman – and it keeps you on your toes – but you also deliberately protect yourself against it. In business life we normally look for a more comfortable, safer environment. Sometimes there is indeed uncertainty – such as that created by corona – that by definition creates a factor that affects security. Identify this factor and talk about it. In a top team like Ajax, it is quite normal for players to drop in on the performance coach and explain what the situation is doing to them. The trainers are always discussing how to keep the team at top strength. Something that you as a manager really should want to do with your team.

Have new targets been set by the organisation? Set up a time immediately to review with your team what impact these will have on the team and on individual people – including self-employed contractors.

Take a long hard look at the individuals in your team, some will be better than others in dealing with setbacks. Check in regularly and look at each person as a whole. What is going on in their professional life and what is going on in their private life?

Once you have mapped out what the impact is on your team, and on your people, define new goals and parameters. Talk to those people whose individual goal has disappeared.

Once the goals and parameters are clear, give people personal responsibility to flesh out the details. Ask them "How will you as an individual make sure that we as a team achieve this goal?". Pay compliments when someone tackles something well, and encourage each other positively. Complaining does not improve the situation, recognising commitment and results does.

In times like this, where everything is confused, it is really important to focus on whatever you are working on. So also ask your employees to give their full attention to whatever they are working on. Also be sure to tell them that they need to switch off their phone when they are spending time with their family. And do the same thing yourself. Communicate (clearly) when you can be contacted – and be available then. But switch off your phone when you take time off. Recharging is also part of your performance.

As a manager, you are expected to provide direction, but you too are being faced with some new situations. For this, it can help to talk things through with your peers. Organise some (informal) brainstorming sessions with fellow managers, share your dilemmas and help each other move forward.

Times of crisis are times when you need to help each other. If your employer looks after you, then now and again turn the question round: "How can I help you?" Something you can do yourself as a manager, and that you can encourage other people to do. No-one wins the competition if it is always one-way traffic.