New Year, New Beginning?

Why the mindset of elite level athletes can benefit business

At this time of year a lot of us are looking forward to celebrating with our families and considering the possibilities of a new year. This year more than any in recent memory we are all hoping that the next year will bring us better things. The tradition of New Years Resolutions has many of us thinking what steps can we take to help bring about the changes we would like to see in our lives.

I would like to offer some thoughts on how business people in particular can help themselves and others with a small shift in mindset. Some aspects of this proposed shift are already being practised by many, but bringing more on board and including other aspects of the mindset will increase the benefits to all.

My sport of choice is rugby union. I have played the game, been part club management committees, coached the game, worked on the commercial side of the game and helped ex pro players transition from pitch to workplace throughout my adult life. It was only in the second half of my working life that I recognised, appreciated and began to use the lessons of sport in business and this is the mindset change I would like you to think about. 

Successful sporting teams do not, indeed cannot, rely on one person. One person can make a difference, but no single person can beat a team. Each team member must do their job for the team to function at its best and no single person can be best at all the tasks in the team. So teamwork is the first point I want to raise. We all think that we understand the concept but do we really embrace teamwork? I think not. The boss is usually the boss and the office junior is usually largely ignored. If, however, the boss is not shy of picking up a broom when he/she notices some dirt or is not shy of doing their own photocopying if everyone else is busy, then that true teamworking mentality very quickly becomes the norm for the whole team. If the Junior is listened to when they pluck up the courage to venture an opinion, and actually encouraged to contribute their opinions, then true teamworking, with each not just carrying out their roles but actively seeking to do their very best, becomes the basic culture. The famous New Zealand rugby team have a great ethos of “sweeping the sheds”. No single squad member from World Players of the Year like Richie McCaw or Dan Carter downwards are excused their turn to pick up the broom and sweep the changing rooms after everyone else has left. The lessons for business are obvious. If everyone works for and with each other and everyone does the job required whether or not it is their direct remit, then the end result is reached quicker and the workforce are happier and work more effectively. 

Next on my list is communication. If team members do not communicate effectively, then there is no understanding of the aim and little chance of achieving the goal. In rugby, one of the forwards calls the code for who the ball should be thrown to in the lineout. If the other forwards (who lift the jumper) have not heard or do not understand the code then they do not know who to support and if the hooker (the thrower in) misunderstands then the ball goes to the wrong place and the other side will get it. Only if the call is clear and heard & understood by all will the lineout work properly and safe, secure ball be presented to the scrum half. Communication does not stop there though. Now the scrum half has to know where, or even if, his stand off wants the ball (ie where he is standing) and what he is going to do with it (ie pass the ball, kick the ball or run with it). Each player must communicate with all those in their team what the plan is for every kick, pass or other clever move or else there will be no support, the player will get tackled and loose the ball or the ball will simply by passed into space with no one there to catch it. Equally in defence clear communication is essential to know who is going to tackle which attacking player or else two defenders go for the same player leaving a gap or no one makes the tackle. Communication has to be clear and continuous for the team to function at its best. In business if communication is not clear then the task is rarely completed as everyone follows their own understanding. Clear communication leads to effective and efficient working.       

Next lets’ think about failure, more specifically fear of failure. I can’t remember who said it, but one of the greatest truths I know is that if you aren’t making mistakes, then you are not making progress.  I have worked with coaches who said that no team should make mistakes. That is patently wrong. If you are coached not to make mistakes then you will never try anything new and will never improve. Making the same mistake over and over should definitely be discouraged, but you need to give the team the room to try new things, make mistakes but, and this is the vital ingredient, learn from those mistakes and do it better next time. That way they are pushing themselves to be better. To fear making mistakes at all is to stagnate and that way only leads downwards. In business a task may well have been done successfully in the same way for many years, but that does not mean that there is not a better way. The freedom to experiment and the understanding that, if a different method does not work, the lessons are learned, is what keeps a team working at their optimum. If they are trusted to try new things then they are more engaged, loyal and more productive.  

Constant Improvement is a mantra for any athlete, amateur, or pro. What this means is that they strive to do better at every session than they did in the previous one. This does not mean that they look to run 1 second faster at every session, that sort of target is just undeliverable, but if they perform just a littler bit better each time then they know that they are progressing. So, for instance, again in rugby, a player might do 5 more push ups in a session or make one more tackle in a game than last time. Neither of these things are immediately going to instantly turn them into World beaters, but they are an improvement. If each player makes a small improvement, individually they get better but, more importantly, collectively they get better and the team improves. The more the team improves, the more matches they win. The more matches they win, the more they enjoy it and the harder they are prepared to work. The harder they work, the better they get and so the cycle goes. This is known as the “Enjoyment Performance Theory”. With the individual and team performance improving, you end up with a winning team. Likewise in business if the workforce make small improvements every time they undertake a task, eg do it slightly quicker or two colleagues work together to complete a task better, then the outcome improves, the tram performance improves and the profit margin ultimately improves. If the profit margin improves then wages increase, the workers are happier and more prepared to work harder etc etc.

Honesty is my next topic. I believe that 99% of us are inherently honest in that we tell the truth in most circumstances, but the honesty I am talking about here is being honest with ourselves as well as others. The old joke about the salesman promising the client the report on Friday, just not committing to which Friday, is not what I am talking about. If we are not honest with ourselves about how much we can take on, whether we need help, whether a project is beyond our capabilities, then we are damaging the team as well as ourselves. We have to be prepared to admit it when something is too big for us or beyond our current skillset. That is not being weak or marking us as a failure, that is being honest and a good team will then put support in place to make it work and you will learn a new skillset. Once again, on the rugby field, if a player is not the best at catching a pass at the end of an intricate move, if they don’t admit that then the whole move will fail and the opposition will benefit. The player can work with teammates or coaches to improve their catch pass and improve their skills for next time, thus improving the skill level of the whole team. In business the adage “you are only as good as your weakest worker” is very true, but that worker must feel able to admit their failings and be confident that the team will step in to help. If that is the case then the individual improves, the team improves and the output improves.

For a final topic for this article I want to look at respect. If you don’t respect yourself, you are not going to be able to motivate yourself to give your best. In a team environment you also need respect for your teammates and the opposition as well as those officiating the game. When I say respect yourself I mean do not put overly ambitious targets on your own performance. If you say you are going to score all the points in the game and win your team the trophy then you are probably setting yourself up for individual disappointment and failure. You will also loose some of the respect of your teammates as they know that the ambition was bigger than could be delivered. In respecting your teammates I mean that you trust them to give their best and work for the overall good of the team. In respecting your opponents I mean not celebrating a score right in their faces, being appreciative of good play or good skills from them, I mean assume that they will give their best and play to the rules. That way the best team on the day wins. In respecting the officials I mean accepting the decision of the referee whether or not you agree with it, I mean letting any heat of the moment comments from the coaches wash over you. If you can leave the game feeling that you have given your best, done your best by the team and not abused the officials, then you have respected yourself, your team mates, the opposition and the officials and can honestly say that you have respected the game. In busines lack of respect for oneself, one’s co-workers and one’s competition will only lead to frustration and disappointment which will rapidly turn into disinterest in the job and a much reduced output. Respect should definitely be part of any organisational culture. Without it, it is hard to build an effective team. 

So that is a quick canter through some of what I think are the most important attributes of a sporting team that can be beneficially transferred from pitch to workplace. There are other attributes if one wanted to go deeper but I believe these are the ones that are most readily applicable to the business environment. None of these traits stand alone, they all work interdependently, but if you had a workplace where there is true teamwork, clear, concise and constant communication, self analysis and honesty, respect for each other, an ethic of constant improvement and making mistakes was seen as a learning opportunity, not a cause for punishment, would it not be a better place to be? It is most likely that it would be more productive too with more loyal and motivated staff (with low turnover leading to decreased recruitment costs). All in all, a happier, better, possibly more profitable, place to be.

There is a lot to be said for employing former elite level athletes and bringing this culture and mindset into your business.