[Blue Lock x Human Capital Management Chapter 3] From the "FLOW" of members to the "FLOW" of the organization. What leaders can do for that.

Even in "Blue Lock," where egoists are gathered, there are actually not that many who are depicted as such. However, it depicts how players who have been able to weave their own stories grow discontinuously.

Despite being a soccer manga, "Blue Lock" is packed with the essence of human capital management. This is the third installment of a column introducing that essence.

Last time, we considered "how members can enter a 'FLOW' state," but this time I would like to think about "how that FLOW can chain together, create a chemical reaction, and become the organization's FLOW."

"FLOW" is a state where one can perform at their best; there is nothing that would make a leader happier than having all members enter that state.

Explanation in Blue Lock

People are not moved by "rationality alone"

A match between Bastard München (Germany), where the protagonist Yoichi Isagi belongs, and Manshine City (England). Yukimiya, Isagi's teammate who excels at 1-on-1s, aims for a goal alone and fails.

In response, Isagi proposes establishing a cooperative system, arguing that "teaming up with me and assisting me to score is the most rational thing to do, and it is a plus no matter how you think about it".

However, Yukimiya flatly refuses with the passionate words:

He refuses firmly with those passionate words.

The keyword is "protagonist feeling"

Naturally, Isagi thinks "Huh?" at that moment, but Isagi, with his amazing metacognition and thinking ability, doesn't end it there.

He immediately realizes that his statement was self-centered and ignored "Yukimiya's story."

At this time, Yukimiya's goal was not to "win the match," but to "defeat Isagi, whom he views as an enemy, and score a goal to affirm his own life, in which he never gave up on his dream", and he was playing as the "protagonist" of the "story" to achieve that goal.

Nevertheless, the proposal to "pass to others (Isagi) and win" could not possibly be accepted.

Realizing this, Isagi moved the game while imagining and understanding everyone's "stories" and "protagonist feelings," passed the ball to Yukimiya at the very last moment, and Yukimiya, with his FLOW state at maximum, scored the goal and won the match.

Isagi defined this "protagonist feeling" as "the mentality of believing in and driving forward one's own story," and thought that chemical reactions are born when those protagonists intersect in pursuit of the same success.

Sense of being the protagonist → FLOW → FLOW x FLOW

First, create your own unique story and feel a "sense of being the protagonist" within it.

In the previous note, I introduced that "setting your own original challenging focus" is an important element for entering a FLOW state.

However, this story points out that there is actually another important trigger before that, which is the "sense of being the protagonist."

In other words, it confronts us with the harsh reality that those who do not have their own story cannot set a challenging focus.

When asked, "Are you writing your own story and living it?", how many people could answer "Yes!" immediately?

However, there is a big difference between those who are living the story of their own life and those who are not.

Conversely, it might be easier to create a story if you start with the question, "When do I feel like the protagonist?"

Understanding the "stories" of others

Once you have created your own story and found a "challenging focus" that allows you to enter a FLOW state, next, try turning your attention to others.

・What kind of story are your colleagues, bosses, subordinates, and the members on the other side of Slack living? ・And what kind of goals or tasks will advance the pages of that story?

Communicating with at least some understanding of these things will definitely enrich your own life. Why?

"Because being able to help enrich the lives of others makes your own life richer as well." It is not about altruism. Rather,

Even if you are "using" someone else's story for this seemingly selfish reason, it is definitely a plus for that person and contributes to their life.

Humans cannot live on "altruism" alone. The ultimate ego creates the best organization and builds the best life for each individual. I believe this perspective is the origin of the manga Blue Lock and the theme it poses to its readers.

What can a leader do?

Up to this point, I have been talking from the perspective of members and players, but what should leaders and managers do?

This is simple. You just need to create a situation where FLOW x FLOW is likely to occur.

Points 1 through 3 are about 'helping each individual reach a Flow state,' and since the specific methods for this were covered in my previous note, I will omit them here.

The new elements introduced this time are 4 and 5. In other words, creating a culture and environment where members help each other advance the pages of their own stories as an organization.

I think this 'disclosure of one's own story' is an incredibly high hurdle. There are surely people who do not want to do such a thing.

However, it is impossible to 'know what has not been disclosed,' and it becomes impossible for others to understand it.

Furthermore, I often see situations where a mysterious guess occurs, such as 'Surely this person must want me to do this,' which turns out to be wrong, leading to mutual unhappiness.

I believe Blue Lock is currently at a stage where a breakthrough is occurring due to a deeper understanding of other players, and I think leaders are expected to be able to trigger the same thing within their organizations.

Conclusion

Writing this, I realized that Yoichi Isagi is a 'player' while also being a 'leader'.

On the field, he expresses his own egoism and first clashes head-on with the egos of other players (my first note chapter).

Next, he understands the stories and protagonist-like qualities of others and utilizes them (this chapter). However, there are still goals he cannot achieve, and he never gives up on them. As everyone's hearts resonate toward the goal he is aiming for, the organization levels up even further.

Those around him never thought of Isagi as a 'leader.' In that context, as he strives to become the strongest player, he ends up fulfilling the function of a leader as a result—it is an ideal story.

Next time, I would like to delve deeper into these kinds of topics.

Well then, I will see you next time.

Kaoru Hosoda