In the 1990s, the company football tournament at the Industriepark Höchst (formerly Hoechst AG) was legendary. More than 50 plants and staff departments took part. I was a young plant manager back then. My active football career had just ended, and I had a B‑level coaching license from the DFB (Deutscher Fussball Bund) in my pocket.
And I was lucky: my plant was full of real football characters. One of them was a shift supervisor in his fifties, a technically gifted midfield player who had narrowly missed promotion to the Bundesliga with Mainz 05 in the 1960s.
It quickly became clear that I would take on another role: alongside running the plant, I became the “head coach.” Not planned, but gladly accepted.
On match days, our morning routine ended with a team meeting. I played as well, usually as a substitute. The kickoff, one hour after the end of the day shift, was simply too early to guarantee I would always make it into the starting eleven on time.
For the games, we agreed to use first names. Instead of “Dr. Scharbert,” I was simply “Coach” on the pitch.
When we reached the semifinals and I announced the lineup, the players’ council approached me. A moment that smelled like conflict. “Coach, we don’t agree with the lineup.” I asked what the issue was. The answer came without hesitation: “In the semifinal, the best eleven should start. And that includes you.”
That sentence moved me. Because of the compliment and because of the trust behind it. Dissent was possible without risk. Leadership was shared, not defended. We won the semifinal, lost the final by a narrow margin, but the tournament became a teambuilding myth.
What I take from it:
- Teams grow through shared stories.
- Through genuine respect.
- Through spaces where people dare to speak up.
- And through leadership that lives in behavior, not in titles.
And now I’m curious: Which role have you taken on that you never planned for?
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I’m Bernd Scharbert, and I write about the lessons football can teach us about leadership and the business world. I also support and advise leaders who want to strengthen their intercultural leadership skills.
If you’re curious to dive deeper, feel free to explore my book „Prepare for Landing: Leitlinien für interkulturalle Führung“ (Transl. Guiding Principles for Intercultural Leadership). It’s available in German language in bookstores across Germany and in the online shop of Verlag Barbara Budrich, also as eBook.
