Soccer, Community and Purpose
We know that Millennials and Gen Z populations tend to seek work that has community-oriented meaning and opportunity. They also enjoy finding places to “serve” or feel useful in on-line communities that keep us connected outside of the workplace—something that has certainly increased during our stay-at-home confinement during the pandemic. Many of these recent generations to join the workforce want a “blended” existence where what they care about can be more easily integrated into their working day and where they are not solely defined by their work. This development of an integrated life, with purpose and a set of values we choose to live by, ideally adds to the hope and optimism that as humans we most naturally seek.
Recently we have all been experiencing deep levels of isolation and loneliness. And while we have made efforts to understand solitude, and even benefit from it, our inability to access friends and family easily has taken its toll. At the same time, we have learned a lot about communities that matter, such as essential workers and health and care workers. I believe we all hope that when the time reverts back to more normal interactions, we will strengthen those community bonds that we have so sorely missed in recent months.
As we seek to build and join communities that matter, and do work that matters and has purpose, there are questions that come up: What does my ideal community look like? What kind of leadership shall I undertake to help create and nurture places of belonging? I tend to choose action, collaboration and teamwork, believing that we can always make a difference together. Certainly, in my role as a leader I like to focus on sowing the seeds for strong community and belonging. That’s why, in my opening remarks at the beginning of a past academic year, when I was a school principal, I shared a story from my native country, England, about football (or, as it’s known here in the U.S., “soccer”). In my remarks, (below is an excerpt) I asked everyone to consider the power of our commitment to the concept of community that makes positive and productive change happen.
“In May of 2015, Leicester City Football Club (the Foxes) won the Premier League (the equivalent of the Super Bowl or the World Series in the U.S.) with odds of 5000 to 1… 5000 to 1. These are not good odds! How did this happen and why is it a story I want to share?
Leicester is a city in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom (about 35 miles from where I grew up in the West Midlands), with a population of 300,000, making it the 13th most populous city in the UK. It is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country. Leicester City FC is not one of the super-rich UK football teams (like Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal or Chelsea). In 2015, the 26 players on the Foxes winning team hailed from Germany, Denmark, Spain, Argentina, Jamaica, Ghana, Japan, Nigeria, Algeria, Poland, France and England.”
Why is all this noteworthy and relevant to reflections about the role of community in our lives today? I believe that models of effective teamwork will help us see what is possible—and necessary—as we re-build our world after Covid-19. Leicester changed the way a team succeeds by focusing on teamwork and collaboration —creating a star team, not a team of stars. It wasn’t magic.
That’s what draws me to this story. That it was not magic—it took guts, hard work and a belief in what was possible. It took people from a wide range of backgrounds coming together and creating a rich and vibrant atmosphere of inclusion and respect and working toward a common goal.
As you read in our previous Words of Wisdom, Careers in Chaotic Times, we all think about our work in different ways. For some work is “just a job;” for others it is a career, a vocation, a life-choice. For this latter group, in particular, joining a vibrant, engaging community as the place where you work is important. An integrated life, with purpose, working with a diverse set of people who form like-minded members of an inclusive team, provides satisfaction and builds the resilience and fortitude to face the challenges of the workplace. And ultimately creates a more successful, and smarter, organization.