An American Talks Rugby

Leadership Lessons From Natural Born Winners

Rugby is a sport I admit to knowing very little about. Lots of pushing and shoving. You can only go forward by passing the ball backwards or sideways. Scrums…It’s all very strange.

However, while my knowledge of rugby remains limited, it’s at least 100 times more substantial than it used to be. That is thanks to having two proud New Zealanders as part of my leadership team — one a former professional rugby player.

And while I know my colleagues are still in mourning from New Zealand’s recent defeat to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final in Paris, I also know their national team — known as the All Blacks (due to their black jersey, black shorts, black socks uniforms) — still remain one of the most respected sporting institutions in the world.

They are undefeated in almost 80% of their international matches over close to 120 years, and can therefore lay claim to being the most successful professional sports franchise in history.

As a result, drawing parallels between the All Blacks and the business world is nothing new. In the book, “Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life,” the author details 15 lessons regarding what it takes to develop a high-performance culture and how to maintain it. I won’t repeat all those lessons here, but one really stuck with me, the ritual of “sweeping the sheds,” or clearing out the locker room after a game or training session.

As one former player says, “It’s not expecting somebody else to do your job for you. It teaches you not to expect things to be handed to you.” Regardless of stature, everyone is responsible for the smallest details. “Sweeping the shed” is your job, no matter who you are.

The parallels between sports and business leadership continue to fascinate me. Both worlds require goal-setting, teamwork and a clear vision. Each requires strong communication skills, strategic thinking and motivation of others. In my experience, effective leaders across both domains also display high degrees of integrity, and radiate positive energy and a ‘can do’ attitude — particularly in the face of adversity.

But there are differences, too — and different ways to demonstrate certain skills.

For example, a sports coach might need to give an impassioned halftime speech; one that inspires their team to make a comeback from a losing position — think, Al Pacino in “Any Given Sunday.”

In contrast, when presenting to their employees, Board or shareholders, a business leader is more likely to use a calm, measured delivery; focusing on data, details, and downplaying the emotions surrounding them. However, both are great examples of assured oratory.

There are also differences and similarities between Leadership, Strategy, Management, and Execution — but they are not mutually exclusive. In successful organizations, there is a symbiotic relationship between each of these elements.

Everything starts with a leadership vision and goal, for which you need a clear strategy of how to achieve it. Managers translate those strategies into plans, and look to their teams to execute these. I love the quote attributed to Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, where he said, “Ideas are just a commodity. Execution of them is not.” And here’s the rub: without commitment and support across every team involved, your vision will just be wishful thinking.

To keep ideas moving forward, the golden thread is ownership and accountability. In my world, that thread extends from the CEO, to the Senior Leadership team, to the managers, to each individual team member — all working towards a common objective.

Sometimes that means facing up to the realities of a bear market or negative business cycle and meeting those challenges head on. Sometimes difficult decisions can’t be put off. You can’t wait for the next upswing, or next crop of exceptional players coming up through the ranks that will allow you to win next time. You need to figure out what is required to win now and every time, because accountability is not a switch that can be turned on and off.

That’s why regardless of where they sit in an organizational chart, I encourage everyone, every day, to approach each task and decision as if they are running their own business. In short, “manager” is an attained job title, but anyone can be a leader. Which brings me back to the All Blacks…

One of their lessons I love most is about creating a culture of personal responsibility by “passing the ball.” In other words: leaders create leaders. And this is deliberate. “Enlightened leaders deliberately hand over responsibility in order to create engaged team players who are able to adapt their approach to suit the conditions.” Whether on the field or in the office, coaches and managers can only take the team so far. For the All Blacks, players must be empowered to adjust the game plan according to the opposition and how well the game is going. Once they are over that white line, they have the responsibility.

The same applies to the business world. After we’ve crossed that metaphorical white line, managers must entrust their team members with the responsibility to execute on their plans — which in turn creates ownership, accountability and, ultimately, reciprocated trust.

While I may never be a rugby aficionado, I believe there are so many cross-over points between the worlds of sports and business. And the legendary organization that is the All Blacks have an abundance of leadership lessons we can all learn from.