Hello, my name is Dede Nyansapo. I am an entrepreneur who also participates in Accra’s burgeoning gig economy as a driver. My love for meeting fascinating people and my curiosity about how they think usually places me in the midst of some very entertaining conversations. Invariably, these conversations lead to some key learnings that may be useful to anyone on their business journey.
Episode 1: Leadership Lessons from Chris Hughton:
It’s Friday January 26th,10:43 pm. As usual, it’s another busy night in Accra, designed to usher in the weekend. Hidden behind the smiles of most of the revelers is a pain too deep to gloss over. Like it or not, we are a deeply religious nation, and our religion of choice is football. With that in mind, it’s no real surprise that the pain of an early exit for the 2024 African Cup of Nations has had a profound effect on nearly every citizen. It’s evident to me that most of the people out and about are trying to put the disappointment behind them.
As my mind wanders, I receive a pick up request. The location is +233 Jazz Bar and Grill, Ghana’s premier live music venue and a popular hangout spot for the international crowd.
“Great!”, I thought to myself. “I’m only 2 minutes away. I wonder where these partygoers are headed next”.
As I approached the pick-up location, the familiarity of similar drives left me feeling confident that our destination was bound to be somewhere on Oxford Street. On rare occasions, merry-makers would leave the jazzbar to continue partying in East Legon, or Airport Residential Area, but ninety percent of the time, all roads lead to Oxford Street.
Pulling up to the location, I saw a young man already standing outside with his shoulders slightly slumped. Recognizing me as his ride, he asked, “Dede?”, to which I promptly responded, “Yes. Kojo?”. He murmured what sounded like a “yeah”, under his breath and made his way into the back seat.
“Where to?” I asked, knowing very well that the GPS map in the app would tell me.I had formed this habit of asking anyway as a means of discovering which passengers were open for a good conversation, and which ones would rather be left alone.
“Movenpick!” Kojo retorted, “I’m done for the night”.
I tapped my phone and promptly informed him, “I’m starting your trip”. I could sense some despondence in his demeanor and I was eager to get to the bottom of it.
“Was the performance that bad?”, I asked, in an attempt to break the ice.
He laughed, whilst reflective. “It was actually very good. I’m a huge fan of the BlackLace band,” he said, “but tonight, I’m just too broken-hearted to fully appreciate them”.
He must have seen the look of confusion on my face and decided to spare me the agony by clarifying, “The Black Stars have broken my heart, again and I need at least two weeks to get over it!!”. He then said, “At least Chris Hughton has been sacked, and I believe that is a good start.”
Indeed, earlier in the week, it was announced that the coach of the Black Stars, Chris Hughton had been relieved of his duties, in addition to the dissolution of the technical team.
I laughed. “Barely ten months into a twenty-one month contract? Is that really a good start?”, I asked. “I happen to think perhaps, Chris Hughton is just a scapegoat for the failings for the GFA as a whole.”
As an entrepreneur and a business student, I am obsessed with organizational structure and management’s responsibilities. Yes, as the coach of the Black Stars, the buck stops with Mr Hughton, but did he have enough autonomy to take ownership of results?
Kojo’s eyes lit up. “I’m not sure, you’re right”, he said. “Since March 2023, when Chris Hughton was appointed as coach, we have had thirteen matches. In those matches, we have conceded sixteen goals and scored thirteen.”
“You’re right”, I responded. “But weren’t six of those conceded goals from our four-nil loss to the USA and our two-nil loss to Mexico in friendlies? Should those count?”
Kojo smiled at my response but quickly retorted, “Assuming, our pride means nothing, it’s hard to justify losses to Cape Verde and Comoros as well as draws with Namibia and Madagascar during the same stretch. Ghana is too talented for us to condone such mediocre performances”.
“You make a very good point”, I said. “Now, do you think there is any credence to the fact that Mr Hughton did not have a free hand in selecting his teams? Do you believe there was interference from ‘above’?”
Kojo seemed unperturbed by my question, and yet, he took a deep breath before making his next statement. “Chris Hughton should have known what he was getting into. Ghana is a country that cares deeply about football, and unfortunately that means we have a nation of backseat coaches. Everyone thinks they know how to coach, and I’m sure the FA executives are no different. If you can’t stand the heat, you need to get out of the kitchen.”, he said.
“But with all that said, don’t you think the FA needs to be held accountable as well?” I asked. “How does that work?”, I continued, “Who does the FA report to? I’ve never understood how the government through the sports ministry funds the teams but somehow cannot interfere with decisions. At least not officially.”
At that moment, Kojo’s phone rings. He answers. “Kay! Are you guys still out?” After a few seconds’ pause, he says “No, chale…I’m done for the night. I think I’m on my way back to the hotel. Ok…… have a great weekend”. He hangs up. And then with a sigh, he says “You know what, Dede, you’re right!! The FA has to be held accountable. It appears they have supervised a consistent decline in Ghanaian football over the past few years. But I have a question for you Dede”
“Ask away”, I said.
“Do you think Ghanaians know how to create greatness or do we just wish for greatness?”
His question threw me off, but I felt it was deeply warranted. “What exactly do you mean?”.
He clarified, “You know, we are always optimistic. Whether we have prepared well enough or not, we seem to feel entitled to success, don’t we?”.
That was a very good point I felt Kojo was making, but before I could respond, he continued making his point.
“I mean, I’m also guilty of this Dede. Why do I feel we are entitled to being better than Comoros, or Niger? What if they are preparing much better than we are? After all, we all know that hard work beats talent if talent fails to work hard”. Kojo seemed pensive as he sat in silence for a few minutes. Recognizing the poignancy of the moment, I allowed the silence to linger. Then he broke the silence with the following words, “I hope we don’t do well until we start focusing on the fundamentals of greatness. Football could be the avenue for all of us to collectively figure out what it takes to manifest success.”.
At that moment, we arrived at Kojo’s destination. As he stepped out of the car, I found myself agreeing with his words to a large extent. Perhaps Chris Hughton had only been sacrificed and fired by the FA as a scapegoat. Perhaps he should have resigned understanding full well that he failed to live up to the expectations he had set for himself. In a country where personal accountability is part of the culture, that may have cleared the way for the members of the FA to also resign out of self-respect.
What does all this mean for business leadership?
As an entrepreneur, my leadership philosophy is aligned with those who believe the buck stops with them. If my team fails, I have failed as a leader, and there must be consequences. My job as a leader is to hold the team accountable whilst the “game is still going on”. That’s when I can have some impact, either through motivating those who need to be motivated, re-assigning people to where they shine best, or removing people from positions that make the entire team vulnerable.
When the game is over, I must be able to assess myself objectively and fall on the sword if need be. When my head is on the chopping board that is when I might be driven to dig deep and drive excellence in myself and in my team.
