Shawnee Love   •  
July 12, 2010

Although I don’t follow international soccer generally, I enjoyed the World Cup. Team sports in general interest me, as I find them far more dynamic and dramatic than most individual sports. I also use a lot of sports analogies in my practice, because sports transcend culture and politics.

I never really thought much about this until this morning when I was watching Adrienne Arsenault of CBC talk about the homecoming of the Spanish team to Madrid. People were in the street partying and celebrating, waving the flag, and cheering for the Spanish team.

If you have been paying attention to European politics, you will know that Spain is in a bit of trouble. Their government is way behind in the polls and at risk of being overturned and their economy, while not in as dire straits as Greece, is not stable. So seeing Spaniards of every ilk dancing in the streets, united in their passion for a sport and support for a team was inspiring if not a bit amazing.

If I remember correctly from the movie Invictus, Nelson Mandela sought to unify apartheid-torn South Africa through sport as well, only that time it was Rugby that played the starring role.

My point in these two examples is simply to say that companies seeking to unify their employees and reduce politics can apply the same strategy. Form a team and/or find a cause most everyone can get behind and let the magic ensue.