5 Business Lessons From the U.S. Women’s World Cup Team

Coach’s In-the-Moment Decisions Shows Uncanny Leadership

Perhaps you jumped on the bandwagon and cheered on with patriotic fervor as the U.S. Women’s National Team played valiantly to capture its third World Cup.

But even though the World Cup has concluded, and the exciting goals, defensive stops and nail-biting finishes are now a part of history, we can learn a few key leadership lessons from USWNT coach Jill Ellis.

If you have the right players, give them time to gel.

The U.S. started off the World Cup slow, fending off Australia by a final score of 3-1, only through great goaltending by Hope Solo. The fast pace right out the gate of the World Cup provided the USWNT a lens from which to gauge how the team would have to play as it advanced.

Like many of today’s business leaders, Ellis gave her players time to get comfortable playing on the world’s biggest stage. More importantly, she also made appropriate substitutions when needed to take advantage of the team’s speed and desire to play up-tempo soccer.

Dismiss obvious inequities.

Unlike the men, the women’s World Cup was played on artificial turf, the equivalent of playing on a hard surface, where unforgiving falls could’ve meant costly injuries.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case throughout the World Cup. But the teams, much like many of today’s business leaders, didn’t let unfair conditions impact their performance. Instead, they focused on the task at hand and let their play do the talking.

Ignore chatter from the sidelines.

All too often, coaches make personnel decisions based on pressure from the media and other vocal commentators. The benching of veteran player Abby Wambach and pushing players up the field for better scoring chances had many pundits scratching their heads.

Yet, who knows their players better than coaches? They see the hard work — the little, extra things — put in by players countless times during practice and know when to push the right buttons to get the best of out of them.

Know what makes you successful.

Ellis understood the World Cup, not unlike business in general, can be a lot of hard work over a long stretch rather than a single glamorous event. In the six games before the final, the team had conceded one goal. It played for 540 minutes before conceding.

Defense was the USWNT’s obvious strength, and despite playing up the offense during the team’s quest to the World Cup title, Ellis knew sticking with what her team knew best would provide the biggest dividend.

Take chances when you’re up.

The USWNT really started to click during its last few World Cup matches. Not only was the defense impenetrable, but the offense was also putting on a show of its own.

Ellis instilled a level of confidence into standout players like Carli Lloyd, who showed an uncanny level of poise in the World Cup Final when she connected from midfield on a spectacular goal.

It’s a mindset and attitude all leaders encourage from their employees. Clearly, Lloyd knew she was performing at the top of her game and capitalized on that momentum.

No matter the venue, great leaders can inspire their personnel and set them up to perform their best in the corporate world or on the world’s biggest stages.

While not everyone is able to hoist a trophy for their accomplishments, every businessperson deserves to a enjoy level of accomplishment like the USWNT.