High Performance needs Leaders who help others to flourish not languish!

Yesterday, after a press conference by Germany’s national team coach Julian Nagelsmann, the Süddeutsche Zeitung ran the headline:

“The opposite of Kompany.” The article continued:

“He (Nagelsmann) subjects his squad to public, general and individual criticism as if he were a sports reporter who—like reporters often do—is constantly searching for the fly in the ointment.”

He did praise goalkeeper Baumann (“will have a great World Cup”), right-back Kimmich, as well as centre-backs Tah(“very stable”) and Schlotterbeck (“extremely important”). But he quickly moved on to the weaknesses of the remaining players.

For example, he said that Woltemade is “normally a good player,” Füllkrug has “too low a scoring rate,” the backup right-backs for Kimmich are “not really in the flow,” and Said El Mala is currently playing only 50% of the matches—which is too little and not the coach’s fault.

The overall impression: there is a team that is somehow okay. But not convincing.

Yes, constructive criticism is important. It highlights opportunities for development and provides orientation. But analysis alone does not make people grow. On the contrary: when people primarily hear what they cannot do, what they are doing wrong, or where they have deficits, an environment emerges in which people begin to shrink.

Good leadership means creating an environment in which people can flourish. In research this is known as the Pygmalion effect: expectations influence performance. Treat people as they could be—not as they currently are—and they will grow. Those who feel that others believe in their development act more courageously. Those who are reduced to their weaknesses become cautious and remain below their potential.

Vincent Kompany and Hansi Flick approach things differently than Nagelsmann. They never criticize their players publicly. At FC Bayern, the mood is currently “through the roof,” even according to players who do not play regularly. Kompany’s self-understanding: “My role is to love the players we have here.”

With Hansi Flick, I also see how important a growth-oriented environment is to him. In Barcelona, the press affectionately calls him “Daddy,” someone who constantly shows the team that the impossible is possible. In this way, he manages to lead a group of young players to top performance. Young talents like Pau Cubarsì (18), Marc Bernal (18) and Lamine Yamal (18) are flourishing under him because he does not constantly talk about what they still need to improve. Instead, he focuses on where their superpower lies.

Positive leadership does not mean ignoring weaknesses. It means addressing them in a way that allows people to grow.

It was only one interview by Nagelsmann, and it would be unfair to derive an entire philosophy from it. But I think it is a good example of how quickly we all—whether in sports or in business—drift into fixing and criticizing without noticing what this does to people and to our team culture. So: Stop fixing. Start activating.