T he FA. It’s got to be everyone’s dream job – being part of an organisation whose vision is to use the power of football to build a better future. I had just been offered two great jobs, one with DeBeers, and the other with The Football Association. What’s a girl to do – diamonds, football, football, diamonds…?
It was football of course. Despite the fact that I knew nothing about the game and did not even support a team, I was inexplicably drawn to the beautiful game.
When I got to my interview I was asked why I was leaving my current role after such a short period and despite a carefully prepared response decided that honesty was the best policy. I opted for: “Because I hate it, I have made a mistake and I want to take the learning from the experience and move on as soon as possible.”
The next question was, why had I not accepted a role that had been offered to me several months previously by the interviewer’s previous employer. I felt like walking out of the interview there and then but by the end of the meeting I was hooked. I had found someone who I could work with; a truly inspirational leader and I believed that he was representative of the organisation.
Having started, I was often quoted as saying, “This just doesn’t feel like work. ”What I needed to reflect on was why it didn’t. How could an organisation that a piece of market research had revealed to be synonymous with smoke-filled rooms, blazers and the old boy network be making me feel like this? The answer was, because I was able to
make a difference.
Adam Crozier had sold the headquarters at Lancaster Gate and moved to the heart of medialand, Soho Square. From dark corridors and murky rooms to glass doors and beechwood floors. This physical change manifested the cultural shift that was to come.
Crozier’s style of leadership allowed strategic thinking to flow freely and the transactional to become the transformational.
HR was embraced as part of the business rather than a necessary evil: no longer custodian of alternative routes home should there be a tube strike but now influencing the business alongside the other key functions.
My interviewer had made a bold decision recruiting me; we were very different people. We used to have long debates and disagreements and it was from these that our best ideas arose. The challenging environment really facilitated learning and development.
Despite being 100 years old, the FA was immature in terms of the business lifecycle so the HR strategy had to reflect this. Although simplicity was the name of the game it did not necessarily mean that it was easy.
By using vision, values and competencies, the organisation began to come alive. I developed an inclusive competency framework that all levels of the business contributed to, I worked closely with Cranfield University and Henley School of Management to create stretching development programmes for our senior and junior managers, I developed a graduate programme, all of which proved our investment in our future and underpinned a strong development culture.
Sven’s style with his team elicited behavioural change. This coaching style and the results that followed reinforced the messages that were flowing through the organisation.
Profits increased, allowing greater amounts of money to be invested in areas such as the grassroots game and in women’s football.
We were throwing off the shackles of the past and moving forward with confidence. Being part of this made me realise that organisations can change and it doesn’t have to take forever. True leadership, not just from the top but at all levels, and genuine commitment, will create the right climate for change. One of our values was passion and you could feel it as you walked in the door.
I was inspired to branch out on my own as I had now seen what was possible and I created my own business three years ago. Now I’m working with clients as an HR consultant and coach to support organisations in the realisation of their potential, just like I found my own.
Margaret Kett is the Director of 8th Wonder Consulting