Teamership - A commitment to high performance

Don’t worry, this is not really about rugby league. There have and will be plenty more qualified people who analyse the rugby league factors that contributed to this result. I’m neither a Panthers fan nor a rugby league expert.

My note is intended to help you see some of the principles of elite sport that might be relevant for pursuing high performance in your teams.

If you don’t have an interest in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition, you may have missed a very impressive team performance this week. It was the Penrith Panthers competing in their fifth consecutive Grand Final and winning their fourth consecutive premiership.

To put that in perspective, the previous three teams that they defeated in Grand Finals all failed to make the top eight teams of the competition this year and have all sacked their coach since their respective Grand Final losses - not because they lost the Grand Final, but because the teams' performances fell away after being near the top.

The NRL is very competitive and it’s hard to remain at the top of the competition.

Five Grand Finals in a row including four consecutive premierships is the sort of sustained high performance that organisations dream of.

I could riff on this for hours, but here are is key takeaway that I have been reflecting on in terms of what the sustained success of the Panthers can teach us.

The Panthers are not the best because they have the best players. They have great players, but over the last four years have lost some of their best players to other clubs. No doubt, they also have great coaching and support staff.

The Panthers are the best because they have a very clear and deliberate way that they want to play the game. Most sports teams have this much.

They design everything around the way that each player will contribute and collaborate with each other to achieve their performance. This design helps them to execute on their intention - even under high levels of pressure.

Put simply, the best team that rugby league has seen in decades takes a deliberate approach to their team performance - and executes on that plan because they design systems to support it.

What does accountability look like in your teams?

Accountability is a topic that often comes up in conversations with leaders and teams.

In many ways, this quote from Joe Dumars (an American basketballer from the 1980s and 90s) captures something that is worth aspiring for.

It’s not easy to achieve or maintain, but mutual accountability is a key to high performance in sport and organisations.

Have you read this?

I get asked for (and offer) a lot of book recommendations.

Here’s one you might like - keeping with the sporting theme for this week.

Legacy ? – James Kerr

The New Zealand All Blacks are no longer the best rugby team in the world. I won’t talk about the Wallabies.

This book is a deep dive into the All Blacks rugby team from a few years back when they were all conquering – and had been for a long time. It talks about some key ways that they sought to have a high performing culture.

It may put off some who are not particularly into sport, but the connection of the team into something bigger than themselves – representing the nation, their predecessors and seeking to be good “custodians of the jersey” to make things better for those that come after them are examples of interesting concepts that can translate to business settings.

Something to consider this week.?

• Do you have a deliberate approach for high performance in your teams?
• Are there systems in place that support you to execute your plan for high performance in your teams?

Go well,

Keegan