What are you all about?

With the 2024 general election a couple of days away, all of the political parties are finishing off their campaigns, clamoring for those last crucial votes. Over the last number of months, each of these parties has been shouting from the rooftops about what they consider to be the most essential aspects that need to be addressed in South African society. Whether you agree with them or not, the more successful communicators have been clear about what they and their supporters value. The message is simple: "If this is what you care about, then you should vote for us!" If the message resonates, each voter will have a clear understanding of who their ideal party is.

This is as far as the political discussion will go...

As you know, over the past couple of weeks we've been sharing our thoughts on what we believe has made the Springboks such a successful team since around 2018, specifically from a cultural and people perspective. This week we continue with part 3 of The Bok Way: Know what you are all about.

For a long time, South African rugby has been obsessed with size. When choosing between two players, most coaches (from primary school level onwards) would pick the biggest kid. This makes sense, since rugby is a collision sport and it is more difficult to stop a large piece of meat than a smaller one. For decades (with the odd exception), one of the unspoken values has been: "We value size above skill and pace". Smaller, yet more skilled players, just would not get an opportunity on the biggest stage. Until the World Cup-winning coaches of 2019 and 2023 came along. They seem to value something else even more than size...

Don't get me wrong, these coaches still pick large players. South Africa has some of the most enormous players on Earth and that is immensely useful. But that is no longer the most important characteristic (it seems). They have a deep affinity for players who would historically have been considered too small to play for the Boks: Deon Fourie, Cheslin Kolbe, Schalk Brits, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Kwagga Smith to name just a few. The coaches repeatedly say "We don't want the best players (or the biggest), we want the right players". And the right players in this instance means those that have the biggest fight in them. They work the hardest, have the best attitude and never give up. Those players who perform like warriors.

They have even come up with a way to measure your warrior level, a measure referred to as battle stats. This metric indicates the number of times per match each player has a significant positive impact on the match - either through a good pass or kick, a big hit or a strong carry of the ball. That's really cool!

What does this mean for you as a leader, manager or team member? This: you have to get clear on who the right people would be for your environment. What do you want them to behave like, what do you want them to value, and what should their best contribution look like? In organisational health and development terms, you would often hear the term "culture fit". This is essentially what it comes down to - knowing what you value and the type of culture you want to create around those values, being clear on the behaviours that exemplify those values and then looking for the people who live those values.

Most companies still prioritize experience and skills when recruiting, over character and potential. When it comes to putting values, character and attitude first, you need to know what you are looking for. Otherwise, you will end up with a random group of people, all pulling in slightly different directions. As a business, team or organisation you need to be clear about your essence and deliberate about the behaviours you reward. You can even create your own version of battle stats, identifying the behaviours and attitudes that have the most significant positive impact on your culture. When people know what is expected of them and are rewarded for that behaviour, they are more likely to continue doing it.

This Springbok team is one of the most diverse teams that has ever represented our country. All of these players look different and come from vastly different backgrounds. But there is at least one thing that pulls them all together and that is their willingness to put their head in the spokes. To put in the very hard work. To be warriors.

Does that mean you need to be looking for people who are willing to run through walls for you? Not necessarily literal walls, but figuratively speaking absolutely. It means getting very clear on what you deeply care about, what your business wants to be known for and what you want your customers to say about you. As humans, we do our best work when we work alongside people who care about the same things we do. When there is agreement around what the greatest good is, we can spend our energy pulling in that direction. Then, many hands make for light(er) work.

If you need help clarifying your values, what you want to be known for and how to go about finding people who share your ideals, we can help.