Because you may only ever get one chance to ask a Welsh Rugby Coach about leadership…

As if watching Wales go through to the World Cup Semi Finals live in Japan wasn’t life changing enough - on my way home from Japan this week, I had a life experience I will never forget. As my good friend and colleague Hugo and I sat in Oita airport waiting for our flight, we realised we were stood right next to the Welsh rugby team. I’m not going to lie, the first 10 minutes I just stood there, trying to pluck up the courage to ask for their autographs. It was like I was a little schoolboy all over again.

Despite the distraction, Hugo and I continued to prepare for our upcoming board meeting. It was only when I realised one of my personal heroes, Warren Gatland, was sat behind me, that I could no longer contain myself. For those of you who aren’t rugby fans, Warren Gatland is actually our Welsh Rugby Coach. He is the person who is about to take the Welsh team to their third ever semi-final -what this man has done for the Welsh rugby team is unprecedented. Over the last 12 years, the tiny country of Wales has had more success than not only our own Valleys have ever had before, but many bigger better funded countries. It was too much… gathering my nerve, I realised I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask for leadership advice. I would have regretted if I didn’t try. So I closed my laptop, moved to sit next to him, apologised for interrupting his peace and quiet, and asked if I could steal 10 minutes of his time.

I can now confirm that Warren Gatland is just as great a person as he is a leader. Here’s what else I learned;

We are lucky to do what we do, and gratitude is important

At the start of every campaign, Warren will sit down and remind the team how lucky they are to do the job they do. He’s so right. I may have not made the cut for Wales, but I am so lucky (as are most of us) that we have good jobs, that pay well. We even have choice over what this job is. We must remember that for billions of people still living on the poverty line, this is simply not the case.

‘Success is overachieving’

Winning is a great feeling, no doubt about that. However, Warren explained to me that we see ‘success as overachieving’. I guess I have to agree with that. When we learn, we get better, and that feels good and keeps you moving forward with a smile. It seemed pretty “Kaizen” to me, the idea of continuous improvement. However, Warren’s smart description about the importance of failure resonated with me and the journey we have been on at Black Swan.

Family First

Warren is continuously reminding the team that their ‘family come first’. For example, if a player’s wife needs a scan, training comes second. It’s hugely important to Warren that his players feel like they can come in and talk about any problems at home, and this should be true of any workplace. We talk a lot about getting the right work and life balance at Black Swan, but I will be the first to admit that we don’t always manage it well. I now realise this is on me to change.

Honesty

Warren acknowledged that being honest all the time can be tough, but is important. Inauthenticity is not sustainable - people will always work you out sooner or later. So, his advice was to bite the bullet, for the good of you, the other person, and the organisation. Even if it’s not a conversation you want to have, it is important that you have it, and you have it honestly.

Focus on the most important things 

It was a complete revelation for me to learn that Warren was a school teacher. His experience in the classroom helped him understand that grown-ups can still be kids in so many ways. For example, our attention spans can still be limited. For this reason, it is not constructive to overload a team with too much to think about. He says that it is important to identify the three or four things that will have the most impact, and ask them to focus on those. He told me a story about how one player had once given him a document about defensive laws for a campaign. It was great work, but too much for a player to remember. Warren had just said to him, “I can’t remember any of this - just give me three or four things to focus on and we’ll all remember them.”

Understand your values and stick to them

A little while into starting at Wales, Warren held a brainstorming session with the team. He asked them to write down the five things that made a champion team and a champion player. Once they had white-boarded them out, he asked them to rate players against these values, including themselves. After the exercise he realised he may have picked the wrong Captain and knew he need to make some changes (more on this below).

Dropping a player is still awful

He realised he needed to sit this player down and explain, “We need to make some changes - you don’t fit those values.” The player agreed and this conversation became the catalyst he needed to change the way he looked after himself. He then went on to become the first person on the team-sheet in the Welsh scrum for six years. I can relate to how difficult this must have been… I’ve had to ask people to leave Black Swan before, and I can tell you it’s not nice. It is often so bad that I can’t sleep the night before. Warren’s story showed that it’s obviously not personal, and not necessarily permanent either.

Focus is everything

Wales played England to win the Grand Slam. The game happened to be on a “down week” (this is a week that doesn’t have a weekend break) so they worked the Welsh players harder than they ever had before. The mantra…”No one trains harder, no one works harder than us”. Although England were favourites that day, Wales entered the game knowing they were stronger and fitter than ever. They went on to have one of their strongest performances, win the game and then win the Grand Slam.

“Culture comes from being clear and getting the structures right”

I couldn’t agree more. I have been in so many meetings where we have discussed culture. I now realise they may not be an efficient use of time. We change culture by focusing on the small, everyday things. By taking account for the micro-behaviours we role-model, as leaders, to the rest of our organisation. We create culture by sticking to our values, and this is all we need to remember.

It is important to ask yourself regularly “what can we take out"

Dammit this is so right! Adding new processes has become second nature at Black Swan. However, it is rare for us to sit down and ask, “what can we take away”? I now realise that we must do this more regularly. Warren explained that he does all his admin meetings at the beginning of the campaign, which then frees his mind and time to “focus on the rugby”.

Anonymous suggestions and feedback are helpful

When everyone knows each other and the team is set, it’s become harder to give each other the open and honest feedback we all need to improve. Warren tries to overcome this by asking the team to give anonymous feedback. This way they feel safe sharing their advice, and sometimes it even surprises Warren himself!

It’s hard to describe how successful Warren has been. As other Welsh people will know, we live and die by our rugby. I wake up to every match day like it’s an exam day with my stomach turning. Warren has brought about a confidence in the Welsh team that has never been seen before, which has led to a nation of people who believe in themselves more too - including me. Warren will say he’s not perfect, he rues some press conferences, and I certainly don’t agree with all of his selection calls. None of that matters. He’s created a team and a culture that has not only made Wales proud but touched every single Welsh person one way or the other.

Leadership is tough. I think it’s because great leaders can feel the happiness and pain of the people around them. When there are highs, it’s literally the best job in the world. When it’s difficult, you carry the pain of your team every day. When there weren’t enough business class seats to go around, I noticed Warren giving his business class seat to one of the players. Leadership is not a hierarchy, and your job is only to help your team succeed. Warren’s reign as Welsh coach will end but what he’s created will stand the test of time.

 As a side note, one of my personal biggest takeaways... you only get one chance in this world. Don’t ever let fear of rejection control what you do. Just be polite when you do it. I sat there for five minutes thinking I didn’t want to disturb Warren Gatland. Then I realised I was just scared because he is one of my heroes, an absolute legend. Overcoming that fear gave me something that will help me become a better person and I can now pass on. 

Now go “dig it out” on Sunday, Wales….