Pele passed away recently. He has been one of the best, if not the greatest forward of modern Football. His life on and off the ground has been exemplary. He has entertained as well as taught how to stay disciplined for decades.

As a business coach, professionals can learn from his approach to life and career. It will help them become good business leaders and individuals with a purpose, passion, and perseverance.

One for the Streets

Pele was born poor. He didn’t have money to buy a football. His mother made a bundle of rags that he kicked through the busiest streets of Minas Gerais. That took him to playing professional club football at 15. The streets were paying back.

Like Pele, professionals need to go back to their time-tested learnings and knowledge banks fortified during stress periods. Life and business after Covid-19 will demand resourcefulness and innovations from both start-up entrepreneurs and established businesses who learned to tackle and bounce back the hard way.

Dribbling forward through unprecedented hindrances will need skills sharpened during setbacks.

It’s a team game, after all

Pele could do everything that others had accomplished individually. He turned like Cryuf, dodged like Best, balanced like Platini, and scored like Eusebio. There was a difference. None of the other greats had won the World Cup. Pele’s Brazil won it thrice.

Business is continuously redefined in competitive situations. The Leader has to inspire the team to invest energy toward larger accomplishments. Personal achievements and skills should be lauded. But unique individual identities shouldn’t dazzle greater common perspectives. Success shouldn’t be a personal moment of sudden brilliance.

United endeavors should turn it into a habit.

Ability to listen: lifelong learner

In the 1970’s Pele was ‘O Rei,’ or ‘The King’ for more than a decade. A magician who could change strategies of both teams alone, he followed the coach’s game plan to a T. Playing within boundaries set with ten other players, he had minute knowledge of the opposition’s defenders. He was kicked out of the 1966 World Cup. He waited, stayed attentive, and returned to win after four years.

Business leaders must listen to their inner, intuitive voices and stay open to external vibes. It is a life-long learning process. Only a leader who believes in continuous learning can build an efficient team. There will always be boundaries that can’t be transgressed.

Skills developed through analyzing the evolving world can make successful manoeuvres possible.

Placed on the right side of the Moon

In the 1970 World Cup, Pele passed a ball to Carlos Alberto and walked backward. No one had ever walked back so gracefully. Carlos scored, and the most phenomenal pass of the century was born. Pele knew where he stood and also where each teammate was. He was reading the game a few dribbles ahead of the others.

Leaders of modern business need to know precisely where they stand. They are asked to interpret present situations and predict future trends. The ability to see the entire scenario can be developed, and a keen sense, often called acumen, can be sharpened too. It’s a vision that allows grasping the macro by understanding small moves.

Intuition is encouraged as there is a method in the business.

God of smaller things

He always came back to achieve smaller glories after the Jules Rimet. Family mattered, and so did his roots. He played for Santos during his prime and didn’t leave the country even though European clubs would have given the world to get him. Signing for Cosmos was more of an ambassadorial task, promoting Football in the US.

It is humility that leaders may learn from this man who saw himself as an icon during his very early days. Accepting roles that seem less remunerative might leave indelible marks in the future. It is always more profitable to look forward to newer pastures. They are, at times, peaceful and quieter than happy hunting grounds. That does not mean they are less challenging.

Pele reinvented the game after the Second World War. Then, the world was rising from shattering blows. These are similar times.

Business leaders determined to lead us may learn from the life of the fighter who lived and died a King.

Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons