When Professional Soccer Inspires Organizational Transformation

By Alexandre Planchenault, Leader Agile & Product Management Practices

Why is it that some teams, despite undeniable individual talent, struggle to convert potential into sustainable collective performance? This question resonates just as strongly in professional locker rooms as it does in open office spaces of product teams undergoing transformation.

This observation emerged from the intersection of two paths: that of David Sauvry, assistant coach at FCV Dender after several years with CF Montréal, and mine as an organizational transformation coach. Two playing fields, one shared obsession: what truly makes a team win?

A Shared Problem on Both Sides

In professional soccer and in organizations, the symptoms look the same: visions that are announced but rarely embodied, transformations that lose momentum, rituals that become mechanical, egos that outweigh the collective.

On the field, David sees teams that have everything needed to perform on paper, but fall apart after a few losses, weakened by internal tensions and loss of confidence. In companies, I work with teams that check all the “agile” boxes (Scrum, Kanban, OKRs…) yet struggle to deliver consistent value.

The challenge isn’t only methodological. It is deeply human: how do you create the conditions for a team to hold together, recover, adjust, and progress collectively under pressure and uncertainty?

Three Leadership Myths That Sabotage Teams

1. “The leader must have all the answers.”

This belief is persistent: the coach or manager is supposed to be the one who knows everything and sees further ahead. In a complex and constantly changing environment, that’s a dangerous illusion.

The real leverage isn’t knowing everything, it’s learning fast: forming hypotheses, experimenting, measuring, adjusting. A leader who dares to say “I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out together” creates space for collective intelligence.

2. “The leader must be the strongest technically.”

Some coaches or managers feel the need to stay “above,” proving they are the best tactically or strategically. The result: micromanagement and silent frustration among experts.

Modern leadership is orchestration, not domination. The leader’s role isn’t to overshadow talent but to channel it.

3. “The leader must shield the team from uncertainty.”

Out of care, many leaders filter information, holding back bad news and minimizing risks. But the team ends up playing a match without knowing the real score or rules.

Sharing reality does not mean abandoning the team. On the contrary, it means inviting shared responsibility, encouraging solutions, and enabling ownership.

Four Concrete Levers to (Re)Build the Collective

Co-create a Truly Shared Vision

In clubs and companies alike, vision often stays abstract. A slogan, a slide, and we assume everyone aligns. High-performing teams do the opposite: they take the time to build the vision together.

This requires simple but essential questions: Why do we exist? Who are we truly serving? How will we know we’ve succeeded?

Once aligned, the vision no longer depends on a coach or CEO. It becomes a collective reference point. Decisions align naturally because the framework was built together.

Distribute Leadership Where the Information Lives

On the field, a coach can’t dictate every movement. They rely on identified leaders who can make the right call at the right moment.

In organizations, the same principle applies. Leadership is distributed across Product, Tech, UX, or Business teams depending on where expertise and insights exist. This requires clarity on who decides, when to consult, and where autonomy is total.

When this distribution becomes real, something shifts quickly: decisions speed up, and the team stops waiting for cascading approvals.

Establish Real Psychological Safety

Research from Amy Edmondson and Google’s Project Aristotle has shown it clearly: without psychological safety, performance hits a ceiling.

In a team, everyone must feel safe saying: “I was wrong,” “I don’t understand,” or “I disagree,” without fear of judgment. For this to work, the leader leads by example, sharing mistakes, welcoming difficult questions, treating vulnerability as strength.

Structure Feedback With Simple Models

A framework like SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact) makes feedback clear and less emotional.

S: the context

B: the observed behavior

I: the actual impact

Written like this, it may seem technical — but in practice, it changes everything. Feedback becomes concrete, useful, and improvement oriented. It moves away from personal feelings and toward collective progress.

For an organization undergoing transformation, these levers are not theoretical. They explain why, with the same methods and frameworks, some teams become autonomous while others stagnate. Frameworks like Scrum, Kanban or OKRs matter, but they are not enough. They are structures. The difference lies in what we put inside them: trust, clarity, shared leadership.

On the field or in a product strategy room, the question remains the same: are we a sum of individual talents or a collective capable of moving forward together through uncertainty?

That’s where professional soccer goes beyond metaphor. It becomes a concrete testing ground to understand what makes a team endure, perform, and grow, game after game.