We’re proudly a mixed culture house that chooses to be “both/and” instead of “either/or”. Maru is a proud Argentine, and when it comes to Argentina’s national football team playing in a major competition, we don our Messi jerseys and sing all the songs.
On Sunday we saw Argentina successfully defend their Copa America title. It was a close match bursting with energy, and was ultimately decided by a stunning Lautaro Martinez goal four minutes from time.
However, in what could be his last major tournament, Messi left the pitch after 64 minutes due to an ankle injury. As every non-Colombian watching around the world collectively groaned, Messi sat silently on the sideline watching his team play.
In a quote attributed to Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Note: I wasn’t able to verify the quote, but the insight is valuable nonetheless), he says Messi watched the game without reacting, without playing the hero, and without giving his team instructions. Messi leads when he is on the field and has the ball at his feet. But when he’s off, he trusts his team to get the job done.
It’s tempting for leaders to exert more control than they should, especially from the sidelines. But when a leader realises they won’t always be around to steer the ship, they create and leave space for others.