3 strategies to build cohesive teams — straight out of the World Cup

HR executives and managers need look no further than to the World Cup to find effective ways to build cohesive teams.

French National Team Coach Didier Deschamps’ approach to leadership exemplifies the power of connection and how it can help teams succeed.

The story behind cohesive teams

In a story that went viral during the 2022 World Cup, French player Antoine Griezmann explained the relationship he shared with his coach: “I owe him everything. I give everything for France, for the shirt, but also for him.” He added, “Every move I make, every game I play is like a ‘thank you’ that I am sending him.”

It turns out that Griezmann wasn’t the only player who felt this way. One by one, players revealed the unique connection they felt with their manager. Another star on the team, Olivier Giroud, said, “What tips the balance is our team spirit.” A coach who’d worked for Deschamps in the past said, “His great strength is group cohesion.” Another said, “He is clear in his speech, and you can feel that there is a team in place.”

In other words, from colleagues to peers to players, Deschamps created meaningful and long-lasting relationships.

Tapping the power of connection

What small, but concrete, behaviors could be used to tap into the power of connection exemplified in Deschamps’ approach to leadership? Research in the field of communication studies and business communication can show you.

Communication doesn’t merely reflect your experience; it actually creates it. So, if you want to develop high-quality, meaningful connections with colleagues, teammates and direct reports, you need to shift what you say and do. If you use high-quality communication, you’re going to create high-quality relationships.

Three strategies are key:

Strategy 1: Invest in small talk

High-quality communication begins with the way you open up with others and lead conversations. In one study conducted in New Zealand, researchers collected thousands of hours of discussions at various workplaces. They recorded conversations across nine different organizations in meetings, offices and even by the water fountain.

After recording the conversations, they transcribed everything. Then they analyzed the talk. What they found is this: The most important part of collegiality is small talk. No small talk, no relationships.

If HR leaders and executives want to create meaningful relationships, they have to be in the business of initiating them. A simple “hello” or “good morning” will go a long way. Then, add small talk by asking about people’s weekends, a TV series everyone’s talking about, or some token of information from the news; this ignites the process of relating. Small talk is where relationships breathe and live.

When you initiate these interactions, you move from passively wanting to feel respect to showing others you respect them.

Strategy 2: Offer compassionate responses

If you Google “Didier Deschamps Griezmann” and pull up the images associated with this search, you’ll immediately see that almost every picture features warm behaviors: smiling, hugging and physical proximity between the manager and his players. There’s a high degree of warmth emanating from Deschamps’ communication.

While it’s true that some of these behaviors aren’t feasible in traditional workplaces, HR leaders and executives can adopt a similar stance by simply offering a compassionate communication response.

Research shows that when leaders demonstrate a preference for compassion, their followers are 25% more engaged in their jobs, 20% more committed, and at an 11% lower risk of burnout.

Leaders also benefit directly. When they show compassion, they experience a 30% increase in their sense of well-being and happiness in their lives. Receiving compassion can be a powerful source of encouragement.

However, compassion is sorely lacking in many organizations. As Jane Dutton, professor emerita at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, recently wrote: “Organizations are often faced with situations in which their members suffer.” She then added, “While organizations have the opportunity to respond to this pain, not all do so, nor do it well.”

In their research, Dutton and her colleagues formulated an approach called “Compassion Organizing,” which describes the productive process that occurs when “individuals in organizations notice, feel, and respond to human pain in a coordinated way.”

So, how can you show compassion in your own organization?

• Pay attention to your employees’ experiences
• Show your understanding and connect emotionally with others. You can do this by inviting dialogue, asking for frank feedback, or collecting meaningful data, and
• Take actions to alleviate stress or suffering. HR executives and leaders can offer emotional support, give material goods, grant time off or flexibility, or launch an appropriate initiative.

The shortest road between a leader and a follower is empathy. Directing your communication with warmth and compassion is part of the solution.

Strategy 3: Be fully present

There’s a nice story in Mitch Albom’s book Have a Little Faith. It’s the story of a little girl who comes home excited to share her drawing with her mother, but her mother is busy cooking and taking care of everything that needs to be done before dinner.

The daughter gushes, “Look at my drawing, Mom! I’m so proud of it.” As she’s cooking, the mom quickly glances at the drawing and replies, “It looks great, Honey.” In response, the daughter immediately reacts: “Mom, I’m really proud of this drawing. Take a look.” The mom responds in the same way; she quickly glances at the drawing and then returns to the bubbling pots on the stove.

Disappointed, the little girl tells her mother, “You’re not listening to me at all.” Her mother answers: “Of course, Baby, I’m listening to you.” “No,” the daughter says in despair, “you’re not listening to me with your eyes.”

One of the biggest gifts you can offer your people is to be fully present. Create a space where you and the other person won’t be disrupted. Put away your phone or move away from your computer so you can give the other person your full attention. Have a notepad and pen ready to take notes about what the other person says.

Collectively, these small behaviors show the other person that you’re committed to listening and that what they’re saying is important to you.

Creating a lasting impact

Most HR executives and leaders will never lead a national soccer team to a World Cup championship match, but they can create the same lasting impact exemplified by Deschamps on the people they lead. By opening up and investing in small talk, embracing compassion as a communication response, and being fully present in the moment, you’ll naturally create meaningful relationships. And from there, you’ll begin to create a cohesive team.