Algiers ; they were mistreated not only at the airport but in their entire stay by hotel staff , locals and officials . This was because Kenya had clobbered them 3-1 on their pre 1998 world cup qualifiers at the Nyayo Stadium . The mental torture is what makes many teams fail abroad . Henry Motego is said to have quipped “ Lazima tushinde hii group , hatuwezi dharauliwa hivi , tujipikie , tujifulie halafu tushindwe ”. Reinhardt Fabisch the coach was an inspiration to them pushing them to not only win that group then but many games against legendary sides like Nigeria and others . What do you need to do to remain calm and sober as everything threatens you to give up ?
As The Owner Be A Coach And The Magical Substitute That Inspires The Best Out Of Your Team
Coach Jo Bonfrère spent time to understand each of his players . He had a personal relationship with each one of them . He knew their ups and downs . He knew when to rebuke , when to admonish and when to encourage them . He knew Amokachi was distracted by woes at his club . He won him over and one of his goals made a huge difference in the final tally in the group stages . He pushed Kanu since he knew too well his European club was doubting his form ; he psyched up Victor Ikpeba to shine for his future as scouts were watching ; Babaginda , Babayaro and Jay Jay Okocha too . In fact it is taunted that he was the creator of many of the players ’ nicknames .
In the reality of working with a team to grow your business it is imperative to play certain roles at crucial crunch times . Once you have a team to work with , empower the team by your output . Let all the things you do inspire them . Good team members know a good leader . If they find out you are weak , the good players shift camp without remorse . When they know you are learning and pushing yourself to be great , they stay so that they grow with you . These are some of the roles I have come to learn as an entrepreneur :
Coach
Take time to know your team members . What is their background , what makes them tick ? How is their relationship life ? What are the challenges they are facing ?
The team has to buy into your cause : Let the business have a cause bigger than the cumulative issues in the team or their individual challenges . It is true the economic environment is a problem nationally and worldwide . Government policy is not encouraging either but don ’ t use these as excuses to underperform . Get your team rallied unto the greater good .
This knowledge is not supposed to be used to taunt them , No ! It is to be used so that you understand their predicament and work round as a family to help them be all round winners . This could be the key to unlock your team ’ s victories which will translate to their performance .
A while back I was hard on one team member that we had a privilege of working with . This changed when I got to know his struggles . The team member was an only child , whose mother was diabetic and had another lifelong ailment . He was obliged to tend to his mother before he left for work and had to always go home early or on short call whenever an emergency arose . The regular eight-hour shift could not apply to him . Our 8:00 am work report time policy was unfair to him . Thanks to him we introduced flexiworking hours and the work from home policy in 2012 . These changes not only helped him but enabled us harness the best out of the whole team . I am humbled to say that their performance boosted our overall output fourfold !
The changes were not easy , to move our workflow systems online , to create new policies and the remote collaborative culture of accountability was not easy . We kept on adjusting and we have to keep at it for the team ’ s sake .
Captain
Leadership is not easy . The team will provide ideas , options and professional advice but you are the ultimate decision maker . As an entrepreneur , it is worthy to note that you require to be decisive . There is nothing as fence sitting . Pick an option then go with it . Work around it , make it work . If it requires fine-tuning or otherwise please do it . For heaven ’ s sake make the call ! The sooner you realize this the better for the team . If you always hesitate to commit to a decision , be sure your team is watching and their patience will run out . Start with the obvious and be decisive on them and it will be less stressful to do the same on difficult ones .
The Substitute Player
Learn each of your team members role . It is your duty to do the roles mapping before hiring so it is prudent to learn what they do . This an open secret . In the beginning of this article , we are reminded that we are all human . That means we will miss work occasionally and sometimes we will have to move on as a result of sickness , relocation etc . When a role is vacant for whatever reason you have to be ready to be the substitute . As a substitute you can then train another team member to hold fort for a while as you recruit or as you wait for the return of the other . When a role is left unattended then the overall performance of the team is affected . The reverse is true , if you do not know the roles and tasks of your team members then you can never know a good fit . Sharp and shrewd entrepreneurs know this too well . This explains why when they see the talent required in their team , they cherry pick them without hesitation .
Let us keep learning , growing and sharpening ourselves for the greatness that beckons at us .
Lunani Joseph is a Technology & Governance Analyst . He is the Managing Director of Insynque Solutions a technology & value addition firm that helps clients leverage on ICT to deliver on their mandate effectively and efficiently . He can be reached at : JLunani @ in-synque . com .