Total Football and why it is so hard to play

The World Cup is in full swing and many of the top HR bloggers like Kris Dunn and Paul Hebert have shared some insights on how aspects of the World Cup experience relate back to HR and workplace issues.  Heck, even the HR Happy Hour show this week is doing a special 'World Cup' themed episode.

When the World Cup comes around I usually look for a few teams to support, aside from the USA (who usually crash out relatively early), and one of the sides that has always been a favorite is Holland (or the Netherlands).  Getting past the relatively minor annoyance of never actually knowing what to call them - is there a difference between 'Holland' and 'The Netherlands' - they are almost always a competitive side, that plays interesting and attacking soccer/football.Johan Cruyff

The Netherlands have a rich legacy of football success, mainly stemming from the concept of 'Total Football', a style or rather a philosophy of football popularized by the legendary Ajax Amsterdam teams of the early 1970's that was then revolutionary.

From Wikipedia:

In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organizational structure. In this fluid system, no player is fixed in his nominal role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The only player fixed in his nominal position is the goalkeeper.

Total Football's tactical success depends largely on the adaptability of each footballer within the team, in particular his ability to quickly switch positions depending on the on-field situation. The theory requires players to be comfortable in multiple positions; hence, it places high technical and physical demands on them.

Total Football produced some remarkable results for the Ajax club, as well as spurring a the national side to the World Cup final in 1974 where they were ultimately defeated by West Germany, 2-1.

The requirements and the philosophical attributes necessary for success at 'Total Football' have resonance today, reflected in the demands that the modern business environment that places on organizations and individuals. 

Creativity

Developing such an innovative style of play required a level of creativity from the manager as well as the players.  Devising such a system meant forgetting the traditional methods and the 'that is the way we have always played' mentality that is common, particularly in leaders and organizations that have had success in the past.  To succeed the system required looking forward not backward.  Organizations and leaders often fail to adequately break free from these restraints, and more openly embrace entirely new ways of working and leading.  

Adaptability

Total Football required not only skilled and capable players, but ones that had adaptable skills. Since at any time in the match a player could move forward into an offensive role, control play in the midfield, or retreat to a defensive position, the system hinged on a set of players with adequate skills in what are traditionally discrete and differentiated roles.  From relatively early in a player's career they are labeled a 'defender' or 'striker'.  The label does focus them for sure, but it also limits them on the field, and for a certain kind of innovative and creative player may also limit their potential.  I think organizations often do the same with employees, (and too many employees allow it), getting labeled into one particular role, and not being afforded the opportunity to adapt, to extend or stretch themselves into new areas or disciplines.  

Trust

In Total Football the manager has to let go of the ideas of traditional control and strict direction to the players of how to play and where on the field to position themselves.  The system developed organically and collaboratively,  it was not down to manager to make every decision.  The manager has to trust that the players have the right set of skills, capability, and understanding of the mission, but after that he must trust that they will perform on the fields.  And the players must trust each other as well.  In the scheme if one player vacates a defensive position to move forward in attack, another player will need to adjust and make sure the overall team defensive responsibilities are met.  Each player is not just responsible for their small set of tasks or ground to cover, they each individually and collectively are accountable for the overall success of the team, winning becomes the shared and only important objective.

Conclusion

Total Football enjoyed a successful spell in the 1970s in the Netherlands and in the Ajax club, but has largely faded from modern football in the ensuing years.  Why?  It is a hard system to master, requires looking at problems in new ways, demands the most talented players, with leaders that are not afraid to change the status quo, and a level of trust and commitment between management and players, and among players that is very hard to develop.

The same reasons that hardly anyone plays Total Football anymore are seen in organizations as well.  It is hard to forget the 'way we have always done it' mindset.  It is easy to slot talent in roles, coach them to high performance in those roles, and leave them there for ages.  It is hard for leaders to set a general philosophy and broad parameters of strategy, and them step back to allow employees to exercise their own creativity and judgment.

I wish someone still played Total Football on a high level.  Trust me, it would drown out the sounds of the Vuvuzelas.

When Jobs Can't be Filled

Last week's White House 'Jobs Summit' brought together an assortment of corporate executives, academics, organized labor, and politicians to discuss the current state of the job market in the United States, and brainstorm ways to spur job creation.

Most of the comments and opinion pieces that came out immediately after the summit highlighted a number of potential strategies to create jobs; tax credits for employers that increase payrolls, a 'cash for caulkers' program meant to increase construction demand, reduced regulatory burden, and some classic large infrastructure projects for highway, bridge, and port repairs.

But the next morning I heard a brief interview with one of the attendees of the summit, some kind of Flickr - nonsequiturlassexecutive in a not-for-profit agency that made what I thought was a really telling, and surprising observation.  He was stunned at the number of corporate executives at the summit that claimed thay they did indeed have available positions, but were having difficulty finding enough qualified candidates to fill these positions.

Let me see if I get this - unemployment in the US at about 10% officially, and likely effectively somewhere between 15% - 20% and any company anywhere can't find the right candidates? From the context of the comments, this was not the occasional  one or two incredibly specialized positions that many companies have that require some esoteric and truly unique set of skills. 

Rather these statements were made more in a 'Hey we have jobs at 'XYZ Company', we just can't find the right people to fill them.'

What are the possible reasons why, in this climate, a major US corporation would have problems of any significance filling open positions:

Your Company Stinks

Even desperate job seekers are holding out for something, anything better than working for you.  Most of the rats who had the chance already abandoned ship. This is not the problem of the education system, or a broken welfare system, or outsourcing anything overseas. No, this is entirely your fault.

You're Inflexible

Lets say you are looking for C++ developers, with 5-10 years experience, and exposure to your industry. And, you are looking for 'local candidates only'.  So now you have limited your target market to not only a specific skill and background set,  but also to candidates that happen to live within commuting distance of your location.  And if you are in a smaller city, or a larger one that has been in decline, this simple geographic limitation is a large part of your problem.  Is it time to consider telework for these kinds of positions?  The talent you need may not live in your town, but chances are they are out there somewhere and a bit more flexibility on your part may be all that is needed to put that talent to work.

You Can't Recruit

You posted the jobs on the corporate website, and maybe on one of the big job boards.  You got lots of applications, but no one really fit the bill.  And then you tweaked the job description, re-posted it, and maybe even Tweeted out the link once or twice. But still the 'right' candidates have not materialized yet. Oh well, it must be a 'hard to fill' job that Americans just don't have the skills or inclination to perform any more.

You Have no Market

You are selling a product.  A package of pay, benefits, experiences, challenges, networks, etc. in exchange for an individual with the needed skills most precious assets: time and attention. But what if you have overestimated the value of what you are selling, the demand in the market for your offering, or frankly the existence of a consumer for your offering in the first place? Are you pushing the employment version of 'Ishtar'? Long term, if you have a job opening like this, one with truly no market, then you really don't have a job opening at all.  And you are wasting everyone's time, frankly.

You Don't Know What You Have

So you have some open positions that are hard to fill for whatever reason.  Are you sure that you don't already have a 'good enough' source of candidates for those positions already in house, working other jobs?  People currently doing jobs that would be easier to backfill if you redeployed, trained, and developed them to grow into some of the 'hard to fill' positions. Maybe some of these people already possess some or all of these skills, acquired from former employers or on their own initiative.  And they have the added benefit of already knowing your company culture and possess their own interpersonal networks.  Before you go to the White House and complain, are you sure you have done enough in your own development efforts to fill these jobs?

Am I being to hard on employers that cry 'We can't find skilled workers?'

Do you have a real example of a job that you truly can't fill right now?

Social Media and the Student

My good friend Deirdre Honner, the HR Maven is giving a speech to 800 MBA students today, focusing on 'Social Media and the Job Search'.  I am sure she will do a fantastic job sharing her insights, strategies, and resources to help equip these students for a better chance of success in their upcoming job searches.

Much has been written about how to leverage social media in the search, some excellent resources are here, here, and here.

So rather than try and improve upon, or at least add to the existing body of information on using social media in the job search, I'd rather try and talk to what I think are some strategies that make sense for the MBA (or really any college or grad student) to leverage social media, more to support their studies and by extension, position themselves for upcoming job searches.

Get Familiar - a key to leveraging social media in your studies and beyond is first understanding the environment in your specific area of interest or expertise. If you are focusing on accounting for example, are there Ning networks, or professional association communities where like-minded practitioners congregate?  Or are there a few key LinkedIn groups that you should join?  Some disciplines like Marketing have a very vibrant Twitter presence.  Or it could be the local organizations that present professional development events and social meetings are the best approach. The key is to start listening and observing to determine the best ways to invest your efforts. Understanding a bit about how your particular interest is represented in social media is a key to understanding the best use of your time.

Collaborate - in school it is certain that much of your time and energy will be spent on group projects. Learning how to effectively collaborate with peers, under time pressures, and at times with limited ability for face to face meetings is a critical skill to master both in school, and in the corporate world. A mastery of working in groups as well as managing group performance will likely be the primary differentiating skill in management in the future. Heck, it probably is that way today. I think the most successful team leaders will have a good understanding of two key aspects of team collaboration, one, the conditions that are necessary to foster effective collaboration, and two, the core social technologies that are available to support these activities.

Claim - It is standard advice for students and job seekers to setup up a LinkedIn account, and possibly a Twitter account to use for networking and connecting with recruiters and other professionals.  That is of course a sound strategy, but if you are really interested in making more of an impact in social media and positioning yourself as a future leader, you really should consider starting your own blog. For me, no one heard of me, took me all that seriously, or sought me ought for advice or opportunities until I had established some credibility in the space via this blog. I do think in many ways having a business focused blog is a key to set you apart from the crowd. It can demonstrate your reasoning ability, your mastery of your subject matter, and of course your writing capability. Being 'public' with your thoughts on a blog forces you to improve.  You absolutely will get smarter by blogging.

Connect - Certainly the prime motivator for students and early career professionals in using social media is to network with other professionals. These can be professionals in your specific area of study or expertise, your geographic region, or some combination. When I need some advice, assistance, or the name of someone in a particular organization in order to solve a problem, or otherwise improve my course content, or my ability to deliver, I turn to my network first. And I have to say in the last year, my network has never let me down.  But I can only leverage that resource because I (try) to consistently give back to my network and to the community at large, (see 'start your own blog' above).  I promise you will get back way more than you give in the long run.

So that is my advice, but really the best advice I can really give is listen to Dee, she has seen it all, and I would pay to hear her speak and you guys are lucky to have her as a presenter.

And in the spirit of connecting and giving, feel free to connect with me, my contact information is on the blog, and I will be happy to help in any way I can.

HR Happy Hour - The Job Seeker's Show

I have been trying to keep all the HR Happy Hour show content over on the new HR Happy Hour site - www.hrhappyhour.net, but since this week's show is pretty important to me, I thought I would post about the show on both sites.

Episode 10 - The Job Seeker's Show - September 18, 2009 8PM EDT

The show is back to our 'regular' time slot this Friday night, September 18, 2009 at 8PM EDT.

Episode 10 - The Job Seeker's Show

Shauna Moerke, the HR Minion, and I will welcome a fantastic panel of guests from the Recruiting and HR world to share insights, give advice, and highlight available resources for the job seeker. We will talk about strategy, use of social media, resumes, and anything else on your mind.

The call in number is 646-378-1086 and Press '1' on your phone to come on the show.

Scheduled to appear this week:

Jennifer McClure - Twitter -CincyRecruiter, and blog Cincy Recruiter's World

Paul DeBettignies - Twitter - MNHeadhunter - and blog MNHeadhunter

Robin Eads - Twitter - imjustagoyle - and blog imjustagoyle

April Dowling - Twitter - adowling - and blog PseudoHR

Deirdre Honner - Twitter - thehrmaven - and blog HR Maven (does everyone on this show have a superhero alias?)

I hope you can tune in and pass along the show information to anyone you know on the job market that could use some great advice.