Written by Sunday morning, I saw a CNN breaking news post on Twitter that Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field during the Euro 2020 match against Finland in Copenhagen. He was given medical attention on the field as his teammates protectively encircled him to protect his privacy during his moment of vulnerability. He is now apparently stable and conscious. Strangely Twitter was awash with comments condemning the image, calling it provocative and intentionally sensational and demanding that it be removed. I found it moving and evidence of a caring culture within the team.
What was apparent to me immediately on seeing this image was an instinctively protective reaction by his teammates. The culture driving that action was clearly one of concern and support. The game did not continue until all players from both teams agreed, yet another display of respect and courtesy.
A supportive organizational culture provides the social and psychological conditions necessary for optimal health, and the well-being of all involved. This is an intentional device to build positive relationships between the organization and its people and among the individuals themselves. How they interact with each other is a mark of how well this culture has become embedded. The empowerment from being in an organization that has a supportive culture manifests in an engaged team that perform well with each other rather than despite each other, supporting and enabling best performance all around.
Empathy is a fundamental leadership construct and a key component of emotional intelligence which is critical in leadership success. Leadership theorists have suggested that the ability to have and display empathy is a vital characteristic of a successful transformational leader as it highlights their investment in the needs and achievements of their team. The authentic leader uses empathy to heighten their awareness of those people.
The nature of leadership is, like everything else, changing. It is now demanding a greater emphasis on the development and maintenance of healthy working relationships. Leaders today need to be more human-centric. and design a healthy environment that focusses on those matters which relate to the welfare of the people involved instead of beginning at the end goal of ‘success’ and trying to fit the people, or players, around that.
The changing nature of leadership means that leaders now need to lead people in a collaborative environment across cultural boundaries in an established unified direction, the sporting environment is certainly no different than that. In fact, that description is the epitome of the role of effective coaching.
“…sincere empathy yields positive clinical results in medicine and sports. Expressed empathy by team members can produce a calming effect in athletes that creates a sense of belonging and purpose. It allows them to redirect positive energy and give them the confidence needed to overcome injury by encouraging greater effort in the rehabilitation process. Teams that show empathy to their teammates create a healthy environment for everyone to work and grow. This is true whether it is the healthy superstar, the backup or role player, or the athlete who can no longer physically perform due to injury or illness.” – Mark Peters- NCAA Athletic Trainer
By listening and providing positive reinforcement in an inclusive environment a coach can enable a team to work collaboratively and resiliently. More importantly, in an age where athletes are regarded as superhuman, their demonstrations of empathy prove their humanity.