If you are a sports fan you will know that the New Zealand all blacks are one of the most recognizable and most respected sports organizations on the planet. Even people like my wife, who don’t follow sports, know who the All Blacks are. In 2018 this Rugby super power came to Vancouver, BC for an exhibition game vs Team Canada. This game was hosted at BC place and the stands were PACKED!! For a Vancouver native I have never seen so many people in BC place since the Rolling Stones came to town in 2007. As they did the intro’s for welcoming the teams both teams moved to the center of the pitch for the national anthems. The building was loud and proud singing both national anthems but everyone was anticipating for what was to take place after. As the anthems came to a close the All Blacks setup in the center of the pitch in formation for their “Haka”. This a ceremonial dance or challenge in Māori culture they do before every game. It was passionate, aggressive, tantalizing, and absolutely brilliant. The entire crowd felt the same, even though they were the competition the building irrupted with cheers when it was complete. To see it in person is something any sports fan should make every effort to be able to witness. As I sat there and watched, I wondered: how is this team so successful? How does this team draw so many people to watch even when they are not the home team?
During the past 3 months I created an organization called “Volleyball Coaches of Canada”. This coach based group was a way of networking with coaches all over Canada. During Covid-19 I interviewed some of the most respected volleyball coaches in Canada. One of the questions I asked all the coaches was what some of their favourite books were to read. The same book that kept coming up over and over was “Legacy” by James Kerr. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that reading is not one of the top things on my “to do” list. However, merging what I had witnessed through my experience at BC place with what I had heard from some of my mentors I decided that this was a MUST read, hoping this book could answer the questions I had asked myself at the rugby game that day.
The overall premise of the book is the description and analysis of the many reasons why the All Blacks are one of the most successful teams/organizations on and off the field. The book is broken down into 15 chapters which each chapter have a breakdown on how the organization implements different methods into their day to day routine. Many of these leadership traits can be used for coaches in not only any sport, but in the corporate world as well. There are many things I took from this book that I now implement in my coaching practices, dealing with parents, and mentoring new coaches. Here are a few takeaways on Leadership traits from the book.
EXPECTATIONS
Leaders set, maintain and exceed expectations if possible. “Sweep the shed” is a term that was created by the All Blacks. This term now is used by various sports associations around the world including, Volleyball BC, Japan Rugby, and various NHL teams. Sweep the shed is a term used by the All Blacks in relevance to expectations and your role in the process. No matter if you are the star player, the head coach, the CEO, etc, you are never TOO BIG or TOO small for any job that needs to be done. The All Blacks are known for taking extremely good care of the locker rooms they use. Win or lose one, home or away, one of the biggest honors for the player of the game is to be chosen to sweep the shed. This essentially is the athlete who cleans the room prior to the team leaving. Most people would think the player of the game would be the person who is the last to do such a task. The All Blacks in their team culture make it honourable to be the player selected for this duty.
RESPONSIBILITY/PURPOSE
All strong leaders have a sense of responsibility and purpose to the outcome and/or the common goal. The book goes into describing that athletes who are part of the All Blacks buy into the responsibility of what that means to be an All Black. The organization has not chosen extremely talented athletes due to their prima-donna attitudes or off-field behavioural distractions. There aren’t any. You never see a negative newspaper story or TV report on the All Blacks. Great leaders create leaders and surround themselves with great leaders, and that attitude is contagious for the right reasons, in the same way a prima-donna attitude can be contagious for the wrong ones.
ADAPT/LEARN
A crucial trait for any leader is to be able to identify change, adapt to the change, and learn from it. The All Blacks speak about 1%. The goal is to always learn and grow by 1%. Over time this tiny little ripple becomes a title wave of success. A saying in the book is “go for the gap”. In rugby this reference is based on a player who has the ball to make a decision as to where they are going to carry it quickly, and then go for it decisively. The All Blacks, like any other sports team, lose on occasion. Losing is part of the process and drives for more learning. All leaders need to have an open mind to continuous learning and growth. The All Blacks are successful due to their understanding of the importance of continuously learning, even when they are on top of their game.
“When you are on top of your game, change your game.”
LEADERSHIP CREATES CULTURE (OVERVIEW)
Like we have all heard many times, Leadership starts at the top. Leadership creates culture and culture creates a recurring positive atmosphere of growth and mutual success. Such traits are, preparation, expectations, pressure, sacrifice, responsibility. As much as I could go deeper into each one of these I would urge you to read this book to get your own outlook on these qualities. The one thing that really struck a chord with me was the idea that true leadership starts with vision. This vision is multi-faceted: the obvious vision of success, but also a vision of expectations and purpose. The All Blacks were not always successful. The organization at one point was disorganized and broken. Due to this, the team was unsuccessful on and off the pitch. Every person buys in to the vision, the process, and the culture. They do this by surrounding themselves with strong leaders. Strong leaders have strong values. The leader does not have to be the person at the top of the food chain. For the All Blacks, leadership is as much a “team effort” as “winning” on the field is. One is a process, and the other is a result. The result doesn’t happen without the process. The process isn’t something reserved specifically for team functions and game days. Leadership is a 24/7/365 commitment that requires 100% buy-in from all of them when it comes to how they present themselves in everything they do. The All Blacks club preaches: “Leave the jersey in a better place”. This culture has been embraced for generations and this is why the All Blacks continue to be a powerhouse on the Rugby world stage with no signs of letting up anytime soon. This book is a true “Legacy” and an absolute must read.
