Hays, the Official Recruitment Partner of Manchester City, spoke to Gabriel Jesus, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, Lucy Bronze, Janine Beckie and Esme Morgan, as part of its continuing “Behind Every Goal” campaign.
Each episode is themed around a subject that draws on parallels between the world of elite football and the world of work, focusing on skills development, building a successful team, developing a winning mindset and the importance of receiving support from others.
Jennifer Clark, Hays Senior Sponsorship Manager, commented on the videos; “To be successful within any career, whether that’s in an office, or on the football pitch, it takes a high level of dedication and development. Manchester City are one of the best performing teams in the world of football, so being able to explore what drives the players and helps them to be at the top of their game is always interesting to us at Hays and it allows us to apply some of those lessons to the world of work. The players have revealed some fascinating insights into what is really needed to be part of a high-performing team.”
Below are just some of the insights which were gathered from the interviews which can be applied to the world of work.
The connection between hard work and talent
Forward, Gabriel Jesus, spoke about the connection between hard work and talent and how having talent alone is not enough to sustain success. “Talent is not enough to keep yourself at a high level. You can get there, but maintaining it requires hard work, taking care of yourself, investing in your career, and I think that's what I've been doing since I decided I wanted to do this, and it has been working so far.”
Developing your skills
Defender, Lucy Bronze, talked about how the game of football constantly evolves and in turn so does the required strengths of a player, “Football is a game that constantly adapts. Positionally, tactics, everything adapts and that's the way that you get to the top. I think that's something that I've done well in my career, I've been known as a very fit player. Then I became a very strong player. Then I became a very powerful player. Then I wanted to add tactical work to it. Then I wanted to add technical and I'm always looking for the area of my weakness that I want to add to my game and make it a strength, and constantly adapt and become a better player.”
Learning from others
Defender, Esme Morgan, said she learns from her teammates to help improve her own skills. “I'm definitely encouraged to learn from others because I think there's so many people within this team who have so much experience within the game, and they've achieved amazing things and been successful and won so many honours, and that is what I aspire to achieve during in my career. And I'm nowhere near where I want to be now, I've still got so much that I want to improve on.”
Dealing with setbacks
Forward, Janine Beckie, spoke about suffering setbacks and it being part of the journey, “Setbacks are a necessary evil, I think, in sport, in life, in business, really in anything. In order to be successful, I don't see that success comes without setbacks. You almost sometimes have to fail in order to succeed, and if you've never failed, you don't really know what success feels like. So, to take those setbacks, and to be present in them, and realise the lessons that they're teaching you, but also using them to propel you forward, and to know that there is an end goal and there is an end to the setback, it just makes the success so much sweeter.
Sharing the same vision as your teammates
Defender, Nathan Ake spoke about the importance of a team sharing the same vision and trying to reach the same goals. “Everyone has the same goal, the same passion. And I think the staff and the players, they're trying to help each other to get to another level and trying to achieve those things.”
Being a team player
Forward, Janine Beckie, was asked about the most important thing an individual can do for the team, she said, “I think one of the most important things someone can do for their team is, it sounds cliché, but to put the team first and realise that there's a reason that we've chosen to play a team sport, not an individual sport. And I think there's something really special about when the goal of the team is ahead of the goal of the individual.”
Finding a mentor
Ake also spoke about the importance of finding a mentor to improve on your own skills, “I think it's very important, because obviously, mentors are people who have been at an elite level already and they show their quality and their commitment every day in training, or in games or if you're a member of staff, then just the way you are around the place. I think, if you see those people, you want to achieve the same thing.”
Creating a culture
Defender, Aymeric Laporte, spoke about the importance of team spirit and staying connected, specifically during the initial lockdown when the team was unable to train together. He said, “The team spirit was very beautiful, we spent most of the year together and then all of a sudden, we had to stay at home for a period of time. And it was kind of strange, so we stayed in touch through apps so we could see each other, to talk. We have a good relationship as a team, and we talk over messages or we phone each other, so we didn't lose contact at all.” deg4,mkt
The videos are going to be released over a four week period, to view the first one, click here.
