The Economist July 17th 2021 Business 59S
quint duringthe final of the Euro
pean football championships and it
was possible to imagine that two cor
porate executives were at work on the
touchline. One was the sharply dressed
Roberto Mancini, manager of Italy, who
was often shown angrily gesticulating at
his team. His rival Gareth Southgate, the
England manager, was also dressed in a
suit but had a much calmer demeanour,
often pausing to consult his colleagues.
The two represent different styles of
football management. Mr Mancini has a
domineering approach, akin to that of Sir
Alex Ferguson, the former manager of
Manchester United, who was famous for
getting so close to his players that a
tirade became known as the “hairdryer
treatment”. Mr Southgate is a more emol
lient and inclusive character. During the
tournament he took the time to praise
the efforts of some of the reserve mem
bers of the squad who never made it on
to the pitch. Like many a modern exec
utive, Mr Southgate was promoted from
within, managing the England under21
squad before becoming coach of the
senior team. The result was that he had a
strong and lasting connection with many
of the players.
In corporate terms, one could see Mr
Mancini as akin to Jack Welch, the legen
darily hardboiled former head of Gener
al Electric, or the hardcharging boss of a
privateequity group. In contrast, the
style of Mr Southgate resembles that of
the new, socially conscious breed of
corporate manager. He supported his
players when they “took the knee” to
protest against racism and wrote a letter
to England fans, stating that it was the
duty of players “to continue to interact
with the public on matters such as equal
ity, inclusivity and racial injustice, while
using the power of their voices to helpput debates on the table, raise awareness
and educate”. It is easy to imagine those
sentiments coming from the mouth of
Paul Polman, who as boss of Unilever
championed a sustainable business model
for the consumergoods giant. This does
not mean that Mr Southgate lacks a ruth
less streak. One of his first acts as manager
was to drop Wayne Rooney, England’s
ageing talisman, and he has suspended
some of his stars for misbehaviour.
Italy’s eventual victory makes it tempt
ing to argue that this proves the greater
virtues of a more aggressive style of man
agement pursued by Mr Mancini. After all,
the final represented the 34th consecutive
game under his leadership in which Italy
had avoided defeat. This was a complete
turnaround after the squad failed to qual
ify for the 2018 World Cup under Mr Man
cini’s predecessor. Italy started the tourna
ment with a lower world ranking than
England, which also enjoyed home ad
vantage for the match.
But the final was exceptionally close.
The teams were level after normal time
and extra time; had one of England’s penalties hit the inside of the post instead of
the outside, the outcome might have
been different. Mr Southgate also de
serves credit for getting England into a
big final for the first time in 55 years,
having earlier guided them to a World
Cup semifinal in 2018. Under his prede
cessor, the team was knocked out of the
2016 European championships by Ice
land, a footballing minnow. In a time of
polarisation, Mr Southgate is widely
admired for his politeness and modesty.
And Mr Mancini’s aggressiveness has
led to problems in the past. A year after
guiding Manchester City to an English
Premier League title in 2012, he was
sacked over concerns about his habit of
harshly criticising his players in public
and being “aloof and icy” with backroom
staff. One player texted a journalist “Can
we put the champagne on ice yet?” on
rumours of the manager’s departure.
After leaving City, he had three unsuc
cessful stints in club management before
taking the Italian job in 2018.
In the corporate world, the fashion
has moved more towards the Southgate
style of management. In football as in
business, aggressive management can
work for a while. But it only succeeds if it
is accompanied by other qualities.
What unites Messrs Mancini and
Southgate is their meticulous attention
to detail. And any manager, in football or
business, is only as good as the team at
their disposal. If either Mr Mancini or Mr
Southgate had been in charge of a team
from a smaller nation with fewer re
sources, they would not have made it to
the final. As Warren Buffett wisely re
marked, “When a management with a
reputation for brilliance tackles a busi
ness with a reputation for bad econom
ics, it is the reputation of the business
that remains intact.”The pros and cons of differing management stylesBartlebyDifferent pitches
they needed just 69 months. The two
firms’ combined market value, at $25bn,
now exceeds its prepandemic level.
So far the upturn is mainly from activi
ties that bounce back first as economies re
cover. Demand for manual labour is usual
ly stronger early on than for officebased
jobs, helped this time by abundant work in
logistics and ecommerce. And employers
are initially more sanguine about taking
on temporary staff, who cost more but
whose numbers can be trimmed should
the recovery stall. The agencies also hope
to seize durably on workinglife changes
induced by covid19. Some habitual cubi
cledwellers enjoyed working remotely
and may prefer employers that allow them
to continue toiling from their sofas. Com
panies can now consider farflung candi
dates for jobs that would once have been
tied to a city. Recruiting firms, which
maintain vast databases of potential staff,
can help widen their horizons.
The postpandemic world may give a
fresh lease of life to a business model that
was in the midst of being roiled by online
offerings. Some platforms have been taken
over by the hiring majors: Monster now belongs to Randstad, for example, and Hired,
a tech specialist, to Adecco. Staffing groups
say human recruiters still have an edge, for
example guiding people looking to change
fields altogether into new careers.
Economists disagree over whether the
recent bout of wage inflation is a short
term blip or a lasting feature of the labour
market. Unemployment remains high in
some countries. Either way, lots of people
think differently about pay cheques, and
their relationship to work, thantheydid a
year ago. That should keep thosewhosejob
it is to find other people jobs busy.n