Business Culture and Leadership Principals
The most interesting concept to me within a business setting is that of ‘culture’. You will often hear business leaders talk about how the culture within a company directly influences the success, or lack thereof, of the team achieving their collective goals. For me culture is ultimately driven by great leadership at the top and the installation of parameters which allow the personnel who carry out the daily duties the greatest chance at success. Whether that is through the outline of stringent framework in which personnel must operate or the provision of autonomous freedom to pursue their ideas, alluding to the adage that “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do”, it differs greatly between each and every enterprise.
Establishment of culture is something which sounds entirely pretentious yet it is an essential necessity of modern businesses which hopes to attract talent and establish continued growth. You only have to look at the developments within the modern technological workplace to gain insight into the ideas pushed by the world’s most successful companies in hopes of fostering creativity within their teams and increasing productivity. That said, for me culture starts long before the introduction of creativity in the workplace, when the initial embers are stoked is the period in which the future culture is set in motion. It all begins with the leadership principals of the general manager or managing director. The principals that follow are my take on what it takes to produce great teams which constantly endeavour to exceed expectations and goals:
1. Character & Humility
Prior to leaving the changing room after each training session or game, the most famous names in world rugby – including Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Mils Muliana – stay behind and tidy up after themselves. They literally and figuratively 'sweep the sheds'.
Former All Black Andrew Mehrtens describes it as an example of personal humility, a cardinal All Blacks value.
Though it might seem strange for a team of imperious dominance, humility is core to their culture. The All Blacks believe that it's impossible to achieve stratospheric success without having your feet planted firmly on the ground. To me this is the most important element in the establishment of any culture. Being a leader involves setting an example and showing those who follow you the path to success. Doing the little things and allowing your team to see you are not above doing anything that needs to be done creates a link between the leader and his team which makes them more inclined to follow. The culture is established by the leader and followed by the team
2. Follow the spearhead
In Maori, whanau means 'extended family'. It's symbolised by the spearhead.
Though a spearhead has three tips, to be effective all of its force must move in one direction. Hence the All Blacks mantra 'No Dickheads', a term shamelessly stolen from the Sydney Swans rugby team.
The All Blacks select on character as well as talent, which means some of New Zealand's most promising players never pull on the black jersey – considered dickheads, their inclusion would be detrimental to the whanau and prevent the collective advancement and growth of the team. The same applies to buisness. This is a hugely important element of the leadership that is often forgotten and highlights the importance of selecting the right personnel who align with the companies ethos.
3. Champions do extra
Former All Black Brad Thorn's mantra, 'Champions Do Extra', helped him become one of the single most successful players in rugby history.
The philosophy simply means finding incremental ways to do more – in the gym, on the field, or for the team. It is much like the philosophy of marginal gains used by Team Sky.
A focus on continual improvement, the creation of a continual learning environment, and a willingness to spill blood for the jersey was at the core of Graham Henry's All Black culture. This is something I seek to follow every day. How can I do more and how can I improve myself. I constantly appraise my skills and seek ways in which I can learn to improve both myself and my team.
4. Keep a blue head
Following their premature exit at the 2003 World Cup, the All Blacks worked with forensic psychiatrist Ceri Evans to understand how the brain works under pressure. They wanted to overcome their habit of choking.
'Red Head' is an unresourceful state in which you are off task, panicked and ineffective. 'Blue Head', on the other hand, is an optimal state in which you are on task and performing to your best ability.
The All Blacks use triggers to switch from Red to Blue. Richie McCaw stamps his feet, literally grounding himself, while Kieran Read stares at the farthest point of the stadium, searching for the bigger picture.
Keeping calm in the face of adversity is a hugely important element of business. A famous poem ‘if’ can verbalise that far more eleoquently than I am capable of: “If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too.” In business i would change if for must as an unnerved calm in the face of trouble is the most important action a leader can take in having their team follow.
5. Legacy
I constantly look to external ideas for examples of great leadership as you can probably tell by now through my continual reference in this post to the New Zealand All Blacks. There is a Maori concept I recently read about which inspired me, whakapapa, which captures the idea of our ancestry from the start until the end of time. The All Blacks strive to 'add to the legacy' to everything they do personally, knowing that higher purpose leads to higher performance collectively.
‘Following a period of indifferent results they developed a values-led, purpose-driven high-performance culture utilising the power of storytelling to give it personal resonance. The result of this extraordinary environment was extraordinary results.
Organisations that know what they stand for - and most importantly, why - consistently outperform those who do not and are just going through the motions. They create better commercial results, generate more sales, deliver higher shareholder value, attract better talent, and retain it.
Clearly, many of the challenges business leaders face are different to those of the All Blacks. Scale creates complexity, individual ambition can trump a collective spirit, organisational structure often undermines strategy. Nevertheless, if we seek to align all our people, resources and effort around a singular and compelling central narrative, and reinforce that story through communications, rewards, resourcing and training, the results will come
Conclusively great Leaders do extra. They are not above doing the dirty work required for success or staying behind to help their team clean up. They are able to lead but they are able equally adept at understanding when to defer and following those who have more effective solutions for the success of their team. They keep calm in the face of trouble and don’t make brash decisions without consideration. Its about achieving world-class standards, not only day after day, or week after week but year after year. How are you able to translate short term successes into consistent brilliance? How can you handle pressure? What do you leave behind you after you're gone, what will be your legacy? I always strive to leave the seat I leave behind in a better position for the next person that when I sat in it.