Would you pick you to play on your team?

In terms of team members, how often do you make changes in your team in work?

How often do you add new people?

How often do you replace people?

How often do you change their role slightly so they’re responsible for something slightly different?

I’m thinking of these questions as I enjoy this years’ Six Nations Championships. Wondering to myself almost every game, who’s that guy? I wonder who he plays for in the premiership?

There seems to be a lot of new faces this tournament. In almost all the 6 teams. Lots of new (ish) squads building for the 2023 World Cup perhaps.

At the time of writing, there’s still a lot to play for. At least for Ireland, France, and England. In fact there’s enough of the competition left for all 5 teams, excluding Italy, to still play for the win.

Isn’t the resilience of Italy something to behold?

How would you feel at the start of each year’s Six Nations if you played for Italy? Regardless of their track record, they always show up full of passion, excitement, and fight, to do the best they can. They never appear to expect defeat, even if all of us do when we’re watching them. I’m sure there’s a lesson in pure grit and mental strength that we could all take from the Italian rugby team.

When it comes to the other teams though, I wonder whether their coaches could learn something from the likes of you and me.

Recognising that one of the keys to success in any team, is longevity.

There’s a reason I don’t change my team members every month or quarter. Even every year or 2-3 years if I can help it! Because there’s strength in the experience and familiarity that comes from consistency in any team.

Surely this is the same in any team game as it is in business? After all, to a large extent, business is a team game, just like rugby or football. The more the team members are used to playing together and understand each other, the better they will likely play.

If you could go and visit any of your competitors’ businesses and watch people at work, would you be tempted by the individual talent that you might see before you? Would you suddenly want them on your team? Would you consider even dropping an existing team member who you know well and trust, on the chance that this new person might be better than them?

Of course, you wouldn’t. Or at least, I assume you wouldn’t, because I know I wouldn’t.

I’d field my faithful, experienced, longstanding team members any day, over any new, bright talent from elsewhere.

Of course, form comes into it. But perhaps that’s another insight we can take from sport. Players are picked and dropped depending on their form. So, does form come into your work?

If you’re responsible for a team, do you ever notice a change or drop in form in your team members? If so, do you treat it as a temporary loss of form, or do you take it more seriously and potentially overreact?

I’m aware that I’ve criticised Eddie Jones as much as anyone over the past few years for picking the same old players for England, even when they weren’t on form and hadn’t had much game time. So perhaps I’m contradicting myself here. But the more I watch all these new faces play for all the best rugby teams in Europe, I’m reminded of just how valuable familiarity and longevity is in teamwork.

As long as you don’t let that familiarity lead to complacency. Each person must remain fixated on doing their best. On performing to their absolute maximum. On winning.

Does that describe the people in your team?

How about you? Have you got comfortable in your work? Are you still performing to your absolute best and are you always playing to win? Are you on form?

We might not be at the mercy of the next best player our companies could find from elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out there. That doesn’t mean we should get comfy. The truth is that we’re all playing team games and it’s much more fun winning, just ask any Italian rugby player or fan.

The best teams are those who understand each other. Who help to get the best out of each other. Who enjoy working together. Who help to make sure each team member is constantly improving. Who support each other when they make mistakes.

They also want to feel safe. Aware that there are others who could potentially take their place, but not always looking over their shoulder in fear of their replacement.

There’s so much to great teamwork and there are lessons in every sporting tournament, for us to take on board. Whether you’re a fan of the Six Nations and looking forward to the final super- Saturday on the 19th of this month, or you couldn’t think of anything worse to watch, I hope your team is performing this month and that you’re winning so far in 2022.