A leader instills belief in their team

It’s Monday afternoon and it’s grand final week. We’ve defeated the Auckland Blues at home on Saturday night to ensure the Super Rugby final will be hosted at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, on Saturday against the kings of Super Rugby, the Canterbury Crusaders.

We’ve had our unit reviews. We’ve done our gym and recovery sessions. Now it’s time to do the team review and preview for the big one, the grand final. 

It’s a fairy-tale that the Queensland Reds even find themselves in this position, hosting a Super Rugby title. Totally unfathomable less than 24 months ago.

That was until the made 1 appointment that changed the fate of the players, the organisation and most importantly the members of the Queensland rugby community.

Head Coach Ewen McKenzie fronts the media before coming up to run the team meeting. He’s been in this situation before. Not once, but twice. This was when he was the Head Coach of the NSW Waratahs. In both instances he was unsuccessful. The opposition? Both times the Canterbury Crusaders.

The Crusaders are going for their 8th Super Rugby title, by far the most of any of the Super Rugby teams since the game went professional in 1996. They’ve won in 2005, 2006 & 2008 and have the likes of Dan Carter, Richie McCaw. Brad Thorn and Kieran Read, just no drop a few names.

Its an intimidating prospect to say the least. The Reds had been well below average for a number of years. This was the first time a lot of these guys had played finals football. We were by far the youngest squad in the competition.

Ewen addresses the team meeting:

“The media wants to portray us as the underdog. We’re not bloody underdogs. We’ve been the best team all year. We’ve knocked off all the teams that were in the finals this year. We’ve beaten these guys once this year and we’re going to do it again. I don’t want anyone in this room trying to play the underdog card. We’re the better team, we’ve earned the right to be favourites and we are and that’s what you will be saying to the media if asked” *

You could see the room sit up. We had been, and we were. We had earned that right. And if anyone doubted, which was understandable, they sure as hell didn’t now. I remember talking to a few blokes in the weeks after that and even the years after that about how that changed our mindset and our belief. It’s easy to go in and play the underdog card. It alleviates pressure. No one expects you to win so they aren’t as disappointed if you lose.

That’s loser talk.

A leader instils belief and confidence in their team. They erase doubts and disbeliefs in an organisation and the individuals within it. They get their team to reach their potential, whether in sport or business. 

Are you doing that with your team?