Whether you’re a football fan or not, the excitement that’s built around England’s Euros team over the last few weeks has been impossible to ignore.I’ll admit that like many others, I was trepidatious at the beginning of the tournament, not wanting to get my hopes too high with our previous track record but what an incredible journey it’s been.Something that stood out and what made this England team different was the relationship between the players and their manager, Gareth Southgate.His ethos of promoting talent has seen young, fresh and determined individuals climb through the ranks. His style of coaching is said to involve listening more than speaking and empowering his players to make key decisions.England haven’t lifted a trophy since 1966 so the pressure was certainly on the whole team as they went into the cup final on Sunday night. They defied the odds, but more importantly, they lifted the spirit of the nation after a challenging 18 months.Despite the final result, I believe there are many lessons we can take from England’s Euro team, here are just a few:1. Diversity MattersGareth Southgate’s team is wonderfully diverse; geographically, racially, a mix of ages, heritages, backgrounds and beliefs. The squad speak out against racism, take the knee before games, support LGBTQ pride and engage in initiatives against poverty. This coming together of different perspectives and experiences is beneficial in all teams, not just those in the sports industry. Surrounding ourselves with people who have different skills, different ideas and different approaches is hugely beneficial. It’s not a coincidence that diverse teams perform better. They’re more creative, they connect with a wider audience/customer base and are better at decision making.[1]2. Coping with PressureAs the team progressed through to competition, pressure mounted. People continually called into question Southgate’s decisions on the team line ups but he never wavered. As a leader, having full trust in your team despite outside influence sends a powerful message. It promotes a sense of strength and unity which gives people something to draw on during those difficult times. The peak of that pressure came when the final went to penalties. With 31 million people tuned in, no one can image the weight that was on the shoulders of those young men, and we could visibly see their pain when the result went against them. The encouraging part was seeing the players rally around 19-year-old Bukayo Saka who was inconsolable. Mistakes will happen, but a good team gets stronger because of these mistakes.3. Inspiring OthersThis group of young men aren’t just inspiring people on the pitch, many are involved in incredible things off the pitch too. At just 23 years old, Marcus Rashford helped feed the most vulnerable children throughout the pandemic by pressuring the government to commit to free school meals during the holidays. Jordan Henderson has been awarded an MBE for all his hard work with the NHS and other charities, Jadon Sancho has given back to his local community teaming up with Nike to build a football pitch. These are just a few examples in which some of the players are actively involved in helping people in need and it reminds us that we can always be doing more. Coming together as a team for a greater cause is a brilliant team building activity, it makes the team stronger, inspires other teams in the business to do the same and benefits the cause, a win-win for everyone.Pulling together during the challenging times is the highest testament of any team and while things didn’t go England’s way this time, I have no doubt that they’ll learn from this incredible experience and come back even stronger.It shows that even when we’re at the top of our game there are still lessons to be learnt and still improvements to be made.I'll be taking some of these lessons and applying them to my own team dynamic, what are the stand out lessons you'll take away?[1] https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/listicle/the-five-business-benefits-of-a-diverse-team/