I am convinced Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England head coach will become a quirky case study in leadership textbooks in years to come. I’m equally certain that history will look back incredibly kindly on someone who was such an unlikely (and, initially, reluctant) head coach of England men’s football team.
Putting results records (outstanding) and tactics (at times uninspiring) to one side for a moment, there is a bigger lesson to be learned from Southgate’s record-breaking tenure. A lesson that relates to reputation.
When Southgate took over the role it would be unfair to suggest English football was at a nadir, but it certainly wasn’t a million miles away either. ‘Big’ Sam Allardyce had just been dismissed after one game following an undercover journalist ‘sting’. Allardyce succeeded Roy Hodgson, who departed after England’s ignominious exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of minnows Iceland amidst widespread accusations of a lack of passion and desire among players.
In 2016, the men’s England football team was neither popular nor respected. And it certainly wasn’t successful either.
Aside from seeing a dramatic and consistent improvement in on-field performances and results, Southgate quickly sought to address the team’s reputation and rebuild the bond between the national team and its fans. This is something the management of the 2000s and early 2010s – despite the exceptional playing talent at their disposal – had consistently failed to do.
Away from the dugout and training ground, there were three key things that Southgate did to transform the reputation of the England men’s football team and that mean he will long be remembered as one of English football’s all time most influential people. These are lessons that any leader – in business or in sport – could keep in mind when faced with a reputational challenge.
Improve the culture
Southgate immediately recognised that to be successful he had to change the culture within the England men’s set-up.
Southgate had been part of the England playing squad for nine years between 1995 to 2004. During that time, he had seen a pronounced generational change and culture shift. The hugely popular but pre-peak professionalism squad of Euro ’96 (think Tony Adams and Paul Gascoigne) had been replaced by the mega-stars and mega-money of the ‘golden generation’ at the turn of the century (think David Beckham, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand). He had observed firsthand how playing for England shifted from a career pinnacle to at times a burdensome obligation, where club rivalries often overshadowed national unity.
He knew that playing for England had become an inconvenience to many players. This was in part due to the increasing pressures of the playing schedule but also because the enjoyment had been sucked from it in such a high-pressured environment. Southgate sought to remind players of where they had come from and how hard they had worked to get to this point in their careers. As he pointed out so elegantly in his famous ‘Dear England’ letter in 2021, players too had started off first and foremost as England fans, just like the rest of us.
After Southgate took on the role it was quickly noticeable how players started to talk about enjoying playing for England again. That connection with the boy-hood fan inside them was remade and players would even begin to talk positively about their teammates from rival clubs. They were happy to be photographed messing around on swimming pool inflatables while on England duty without fear of media backlash. This overt sense of enjoyment immediately made them more likeable with and sympathetic to fans.
Empower those around you
“I have never believed that we should just stick to football,” Southgate famously wrote to the nation. He recognised that to get the best out of the players as footballers on the pitch, they needed the freedom to express themselves off it.
Under Southgate’s tenure, players felt comfortable and free to speak out on social issues away from football. They took the knee, campaigned for political change, had the confidence to question apparent media biases and began to use their tremendously influential platforms to progress causes close to their hearts.
None of this happened by chance – it was by design. It happened because Southgate – despite being in one of the most high-profile and impassioned jobs in the country – always remembered and reminded those around him that there was so much more to life than football. He recognised that by liberating his players to be their true selves, he – and we as a country – would get so much more out of them.
Leave a lasting change
For most football managers legacy is measured in trophies. While Southgate would undoubtedly have cherished silverware, his most significant achievement lies in redefining the role of the England men’s football head coach forever and for better.
The conversation topics in Southgate’s press conferences in recent years have been broad and wide-ranging. He has been put on the spot by the world’s media about the UK’s supply of arms to Israel, the war in Ukraine, and the Government’s response to the pandemic amongst countless other controversies. The easy option would have always been for him to say he’s ‘just focused on football’ and move on. But he has always (and increasingly) recognised the cultural importance of his role. He has rarely tried to shy away from these questions even when he has struggled to articulate answers. Future England managers will be expected to be as dignified, open and act with as much integrity. They will no longer be able to be robotic in their press conferences. They won’t be able to just ‘stick to football’.
Knowing when to go
Southgate recognised that – for his legacy to be remembered positively – this week was the right time to go. He flirted with the idea of leaving the role two years ago after England’s World Cup exit but was convinced to stay on. After missing out in last week’s Euro 24 final, he recognised that this time he needed to depart before the countless successes of the last seven years became intoxicated by the ups and downs of the last seven weeks.
Sport is the most curious of industries. It is one where a reputation for success or failure is so often defined in the most binary of terms. But even in such an overtly results-driven environment that is always a mistake, and whilst Southgate’s win/loss record talks to being an overwhelming success, his effectiveness at changing the culture and reputation of English men’s football screams it far louder.
