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Writer's pictureSteven Sylvester

A short psychological opinion about the KP and English cricket saga.

A sad situation for English cricket where everyone involved or witnessing it is affected - there are simply no winners. Everyone loses. Perhaps an analogy can give some much needed insight: This situation is not too dissimilar to a conflict between two 8 year old boys on the school playground. Here one boy says one thing while the other says the opposite and they lock horns in battle with no sign of resolution. Their spat draws in much wider attention and begins to involve a much larger number of other children. At this point, the Headmaster, along with some other teaches try unravel and unpick what is going on in order to make sense of it and return the playground to some sort of normality’. But they find there are no clear answers to this sorry tale and lots of unresolved issues get forgotten about til next time’. This is what we have at the moment. With KP on one side, and the ECB on the other. A sad day. The media is now trying to dissect and analyse what the breakdown really means to all parties. There is no resolution between all involved. So, how can this be prevented in the future and what can be learnt?

  1. It is vital for any organisation to develop a deeper way of working to ensure staff alignment. Facilitating alignment between leaders, subordinates, peers and colleagues is an essential and continuous process that all CEO’s need to adopt. This ensures their organisation maintains satisfaction and stimulates staff morale. This process is similar to having anti-virus software on your PC, scanning and quarantining dangerous potential viruses from affecting your PC. This is a necessary health check that prevents problems from spiraling out of control. The leaders need to gain a deeper understanding of each staff member in order to prevent a conflict situations arising beyond their control. Here the leader is encouraged to develop a deeper, richer understanding of each individuals way of working (management, coaches and players alike) and what makes them “tick”,especially under pressure.

  2. Organisations need to develop an open system culture where the leadership from a strong command and control perspective is replaced by a culture of open communication and feedback. Here staff from all departments enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to share their hopes, concerns and threats because the culture has learnt that constructive controversy enables staff to grow and pull together in the same direction. Here egos are left at the door and nothing is left to chance in discussing how the organisation needs to develop. All uncomfortable truths are shared and learning is achieved. A supportive and nurturing environment is created and celebrated where all staff feel free to express themselves.

  3. Organisations need to understand the dangers of criticism. Any form of criticism is like a toxic chemical getting into our water supply. Just a single drop can make the mass population ill. We need to understand and appreciate that criticism says more about the person criticising than it does their victims. These individuals need support to gain a greater level of self discovery and insight in order to reveal and lose their self absorption, negativity and defensiveness. They need to work hard to increase their awareness about all internal battles. They need to work on how they interact with others in order to contribute more to relational depth. To do this, these individuals need an alternative way of thinking and being that opens up their true purpose for their gifts in life.


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