Embracing Constructive Criticism: 3 Leadership Lessons from the World Cup

If you’ve followed the 2022 World Cup, you probably watched with elation (and surprise) as the US advanced. That is until their heartbreaking loss to the Netherlands.

But even without a US team to root for, there are several reasons to continue to watch the Cup games. In leading a soccer team or leading a business, outcomes don’t always go our way. But an important part of developing successful leadership is delivering and receiving constructive criticism.

Being critiqued is expected in sports, but coaching is less universal once you have made headway in your career. Where athletes are used to looking past the delivery of feedback from a coach so they can perform at their best, professionals are not. Here are three takeaways on how to make the most of constructive criticism from the winners and losers in the World Cup.

Trust is Key

Relationships built on a foundation of trust make communicating or receiving constructive criticism more productive. Then everyone is more apt to see that pointers are aimed toward improving performance. Sure, when a leader delivers constructive criticism, they should remember that delivery is important, but intention and reality don’t always match up. So that puts the onus on the person receiving feedback. If you have a trusting relationship with your manager, you are more likely to stop and listen to the main point instead of emotionally reacting to the delivery.

Coaching and leadership development are essential to honing innate talents and growing skills. Just like on the soccer pitch, some coaching styles will inspire, and others won’t resonate as well. Successful leadership development is the result of developing and building trust.

Feedback Isn’t Failure

Often people take professional advice poorly because they get caught up in their own expectations of themselves. They have to get past that to understand the why or the end goal of the feedback. Leaders who incorporate the “why” behind advice in a “work on this, achieve this” format are more likely to be heard and followed.

When the coach from Poland, Czeslaw Michniewicz, was asked to comment on the dissatisfaction with the defensive lineup in the 0-0 draw against Mexico during the World Cup opener, he quickly defended his choice. His comments to the press were a little snarky after just facing a setback, “When someone asks me if it’s possible to set a different lineup, I answer: ‘Of course it is possible. But at the expense of whom?’… If you, journalists, would like to field some other player, just say for whom because we can’t play 12. If you want a second striker, then you have to simply drop someone from that lineup.” But with the emotion he was working through in mind, it’s likely the press understood his decision a little better.

Be Authentic

Providing good advice for the growth of your team is an essential leadership skill. Those skills, however, should be adapted to your leadership style. People can see through a leader going through the motions or acting out a script.

Gregg Berhalter, the coach of the US team, explained what he’s learned as a coach, “You also need to be your authentic self, and that is when you can get your best work. If you’re trying to be someone else, it becomes challenging.”

Leaders face adversity. To excel, you need to overcome it. Growth comes from sore muscles and discomfort. While developing strong leadership within your organization likely doesn’t exercise the same muscles as a soccer player, the concept applies – constructive criticism can help grow innate skills and build new ones. If you’re interested in learning how Liddell Consulting can help your business with leadership development, we invite you to contact us today.