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Dan Jackson is the General Manager of Player Development & Leadership at the Adelaide Football Club, but he is quick to dispel any notions that he is a guru.

“I can’t teach leadership,” he tells the Leaders Performance Podcast. “I can help unlock what’s already in there.”

On that note, he is certain that leaders are not born. “Leadership is 100 per cent made, but it’s made from a very young age.”

Beyond the origins of leadership, Dan spoke to Henry Breckenridge and John Portch about the importance of prioritising others [10:40]. “Great sustainable teams are built in environments where everyone’s looking to help someone else out,” he adds. “When you fill someone else’s bucket, it fills yours.”

Also on the agenda were the importance of humour and enjoyment [22:00]; the argument against ‘refreezing’ culture [48:30]; and the practical steps that help leaders to manage team operations [32:00].

Henry Breckenridge | LinkedIn

John Portch | LinkedIn

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By David Clancy & Alexia Sotiropoulou

“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves”

Eleanor Roosevelt

In the pursuit of high performance, whether in business or sports, there’s an underlying force that goes beyond winning or achieving KPIs: purpose.

Purpose is the north star that guides us through adversity, keeps us focused amidst distractions, and fuels our long-term engagement. When leading yourself and others, the power of purpose cannot be understated. It’s about creating an environment where every individual finds meaning in their role, feels fulfilled in their contributions, and experiences a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves.

Purpose-driven leadership is not just about results. It speaks to human connection; when one feels seen and heard. Great leaders cultivate deep relationships with their teams, which comes by empathy, trust, and support. The connection between a true leader and their team hinges on a shared understanding of what motivates everyone on a deeper level. As John C Maxwell puts it, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

It’s more than just retention

Gallup and studies reported in HBR often highlight that employees who find meaning in their work show increased productivity and retention. One well-cited article is ‘Meaning Is More Important than Happiness’ by Emily Esfahani Smith, which explores the impact of meaningful work on wellbeing, productivity and engagement. Deloitte highlighted in their Global Human Capital Trends Report of 2019 how employees who find purpose in their work are more likely to stay with their employer. That makes sense. A great place to work is a great place to work.

As Simon Sinek, leadership expert and author of Start with Why, says: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” This fundamental concept applies not only to customers but also to team members, colleagues, and leaders. By fostering purpose in yourself and others, you align actions with deeper values, creating a culture where high performance and personal fulfilment coexist.

Meaningfulness: a compass in uncertain times

Meaningfulness isn’t just about liking what you do; it’s about understanding why it matters. In elite environments, whether you’re a player, coach, or part of the front office, the pressures and expectations are immense. The need to win, deliver results, and meet expectations often dominates the narrative. But the best leaders, those who guide their teams with purpose, know that long-term success is rooted in meaningful work. This drives individuals to not only execute their tasks but also to find value in how those tasks contribute to the big picture. Leaders who strive to inspire meaningful work allow individuals to not just survive pressure, but thrive under it, empowering them to embrace challenges as part of their career journey.

Three principles to cultivate meaningfulness:

1. Reinforce the ‘why’: Constantly remind yourself and your team of the purpose behind the work. Whether you’re preparing for a championship match or a decision-making meeting on injured players, help them see how their contributions align with the collective mission. It’s not just about the outcome but the impact along the way. NASA’s famous story of a NASA janitor telling US President John F Kennedy that he was ‘helping to put a man on the moon’ exemplifies how knowing your ‘why’ is big picture stuff, driving engagement and commitment.
2. Connect the dots: Leaders need to help people see the connection between their day-to-day to-dos and the overarching goals. When team members understand how their role directly influences the organisation’s purpose, they are more motivated, energised and engaged. For example, Google uses the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) System to help employees understand how their daily work ties into the company’s broader goals, fostering a sense of ownership and purpose at every level.
3. Celebrate progress, not just results: Recognise the small wins and the milestones achieved on the journey. This acknowledgment reminds individuals that meaningful work is about the process, not just the result. As Bill Walsh said, ‘the score takes care of itself.’ By shifting focus to progress, forward movement and continuous growth, leaders create a culture where learning and development are just as valued as outcomes. Recognition of small victories also fosters a sense of shared accomplishment, strengthening the bond between leaders and their teams.

Fulfilment, fuel for high performance

Fulfilment is about finding personal satisfaction in the work you do. It’s that feeling of deep contentment that comes from using your strengths to their fullest potential and knowing that what you do matters. In high-performance sporting environments, the external pressures can sometimes overshadow personal fulfilment, but when fulfilment is present, individuals feel more locked-in and resilient.

Fulfilment creates a ripple effect throughout the entire organisation. When team members feel fulfilled – filled full if you would like – they bring their best selves to work, inspiring those around them to do the same.

Four ways leaders can foster fulfilment:

1. Encourage strengths-based roles: Fulfilment comes when people are doing what they are good at. Leaders should focus on aligning individual strengths with team needs, ensuring that each person is working in a role that amplifies their talents. You want your team to each play as best possible in their zone of maximal impact, as often as possible.
2. Provide autonomy: Give your team the white space to make decisions, take ownership of their tasks, and bring their creative solutions to the table. Autonomy is closely linked to fulfilment, as it empowers individuals to bring their whole selves to work. Encouraging open communication and inviting team members to share ideas fosters trust and collaboration.
3. Offer opportunities for growth: High performers crave growth. Fulfilment isn’t static; it evolves as individuals develop. Providing opportunities for learning, upskilling, and stretching beyond comfort zones helps pave the way for long-term satisfaction. Encourage team members to set personal and professional goals and support them in pursuing those ambitions.
4. Celebrate achievements, big and small: Recognition is a powerful motivator. Celebrating both team and individual accomplishments reinforces the idea that every effort matters. Remember: it is about the journey, the process – not just the destination.

Case in point, Dennis Rodman. Here is a prime example of where recognition can be seen, by how Head Coach Phil Jackson managed his Chicago Bulls squad during the 1995-96 season. Jackson often recognised Rodman, not just for his defensive prowess, hustle and rebounding, but for his unique role, style and intensity on the court. By publicly acknowledging Rodman’s contributions, Jackson built Rodman’s confidence and reinforced his core value to the team, despite his unconventional approach. This clear recognition played a critical role in fostering trust, thereby maximising Rodman’s performance. The Bulls had a historic 72-win season.

Belongingness, the glue that binds it all

At its core, belongingness is about feeling valued and accepted by the group. High-performing teams that experience a strong sense of belonging operate on a different level.

One of the guiding principles within the All Blacks is the Māori concept of ‘Whānau,’ which means ‘family’, but it extends beyond immediate relatives to include the team as a whole unit. Players are taught to understand that when they put on the famous black jersey with the silver fern, they are not just playing for themselves, but for their teammates, their country, and the generations of players who came before them.

Belonging. Part of something bigger.

It’s a powerful feeling to know that you are a part of something bigger than yourself, like helping to put someone on the moon.

Four strategies to create a sense of belonging:

1. Cultivate psychological safety: Teams perform best when individuals feel safe to express ideas, voice concerns, and take risks without fear of judgment or reprisal. Leaders must create environments where candid dialogue is encouraged, and diverse perspectives are valued.
2. Foster team identity: Whether it’s through shared rituals, moments of reflection, or collective storytelling, the strongest teams have a clear sense of who they are, what they represent and why they exist. The best leaders ensure that every individual feels like they are part of the team’s story.
3. Be intentional about inclusivity: Belonging is about more than fitting in; it’s about being included in meaningful ways. Leaders must actively ensure that every team member feels seen, heard, and valued, regardless of their background or role.
4. Encourage mutual support: Create an environment where team members actively support one another, both professionally and personally. Encourage practices like peer mentoring, buddy systems, or team check-ins, for deeper connections and understanding among team members. When individuals see each other as allies and resources, it enhances feelings of belonging and reinforces a culture of care and compassion.

Final thoughts

Leading yourself and others with purpose is about much more than reaching performance goals. Before you can lead others, you must first lead yourself. Leading with purpose involves setting common value-based goals, staying focused in the choppy seas of collaboration and motivating yourself and your team to stay on track, with eyes on the prize.

To lead yourself with purpose, you need to define your own personal mission, vision and values.

Start there.

These are your guiding principles to help shape decisions and actions aligned with your purpose. You must also set clear goals for yourself and develop a plan to make them happen. This will take discipline and fortitude. Give it a go, starting today.

As with anything in high performance, you need to find what works for you first. So off you go.

David Clancy is a Learning and Development Consultant at the Houston Texans and Director at The Nxt Level Group. He is also the Editor of Essential Skills for Physiotherapists: A Personal and Professional Development Framework, which is available now from Elsevier.

Alexia Sotiropoulou is a Co-Founder & International Markets Specialist at the The Nxt Level Group. She is also a Public Relations & International Sales Specialist at the Isokinetic Medical Group.

If you would like to speak to David and Alexia, please contact a member of the Leaders Performance Institute team.

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Alex Hill works with a range of sporting organisations. He sometimes stuns them into silence too.

On one such occasion, Hill, the Co-Founder and Director of the Centre for High Performance, compelled senior leaders at the Premier League to confront its own demise.

“I said: ‘at some point people will not want to work for you’. Now that feels impossible at the moment,” Hill tells the Leaders Performance Podcast.

How did that observation go down?

“It was quite a quiet room,” Hill says. “At the moment, they’re lucky they’ve got the pick of the best talent, the best physios, the best scientists – but that might not be there forever.”

Hill spent 13 years studying organisations that have out-performed their peers for over 100 years, including the All Blacks, Eton College and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The result is his book Centennials: The 12 Habits of Great, Enduring Organisations.

“If you want society to support you long term, your impact has to be much broader than just creating role models,” he continues. “Why don’t you take the learning from being at the cutting edge of mental and physical performance and share that?”

Hill believes that the British national governing bodies competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games could feed those lessons back into the community in the form of a “spin-offs division” similar to that of NASA (another centennial).

“This spin-offs division [could be] designed to take that learning and feed it into all of society so that the whole of our country develops.”

It is just one idea Hill shares during the course of a conversation full of advice for sporting organisations. He spoke of the New Zealand All Blacks and their readiness to embrace failure [40:20]; finding smarter ways to attract money and talent [10:45]; and why a diverse talent pool can make an organisation more relevant to a broader swathe of society [17:15].

Henry Breckenridge X | LinkedIn

John Portch X | LinkedIn

Listen above and subscribe today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and Overcast, or your chosen podcast platform.

Alex Hill’s Centennials: The 12 Habits of Great, Enduring Organisations is now available in paperback from Cornerstone Press / Penguin Random House

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By Luke Whitworth

Nearly three-quarters of practitioners believe that their organisations could be better at using data to make decisions.

That is according to a straw poll of attendees at a recent Virtual Roundtable hosted by the British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences [BASES] and the Leaders Performance Institute.

We have collaborated with BASES on a three-part series called Advances in Performance Analysis and kicked things off with a first session, titled ‘The Influence of Performance Analysis on Organisational Strategy’.

Leading the conversation were Natasha Patel, the Director of Sporting Analytics at US Soccer, and Simon Wilson, the Director of Football at League 1 side Stockport County.

They began by leading a discussion of the biggest challenges facing people who use data analysis in sport. There were four that stood out:

1. Integration: it is difficult to set up efficient datasets that allow different data points to intertwine. One attendee referenced performance analysis and skill acquisition as particular sticking points. The sheer volume of metrics collected can lead to a lack of clarity and inability to prioritise.
2. Communication of data: data should tell a story but, at present, it is hard to visualise and communicate to athletes in a way that ensures data or analysis is understood and actionable.
3. Buy-in: as one attendee observed, those in charge of the budget occasionally lack the understanding around the value of performance analysis so won’t invest in it or see value in other disciplines. Similarly, head coaches often call the shots but do they truly buy-in? There is also the question of how you measure impact. Departments are being encouraged to demonstrate the influence of their work.
4. Data management: it is a time-consuming process to regularly assess data quality, validity and reliability – time many simply don’t have. A participant observed how one can get stuck in a mindset of data collection versus the type of analysis that can truly have a performance impact. In fact, knowledge translation is another sticking point, particularly given the general lack of education around performance analysis.

Patel and Wilson, who began their careers in sport as performance analysts, shared a series of considerations rooted in clear principles, effective communication and strategic benchmarking when leveraging performance analysis to drive organisational success.

Establish key principles

Both Patel and Wilson continually referred to the importance of key principles. These, as Wilson explained, must outline how you are going to work and how data and analysis inform this; this allows for more creativity (and alignment) when you move through the layers. Patel, who worked at Premier League club Southampton across two spells, explained that from the beginning of her first spell, between 2011 and 2019, there was immediate buy-in from the technical director, who valued data and video analysis hugely.

Have a clear game model

A game model – a common requisite in football as well as other sports – can inform everything that follows, including data analysis. Patel said she better understood the coaches’ needs and how they want analysis delivered when there was a game model to follow. She and her colleagues were able to gain the buy-in of coaches when being intentional in spending time with them. This allowed the analyst to shine when they were able to take information from the coaches themselves and the athletes, turning it into digestible data and visuals that could help everyone. Similarly, Wilson explained how Stockport’s game model has informed their squad building and helped to generate a well-filtered target list of players who may improve the team.

Consider the end user

As Patel said, it is important to consider the end user and what performance analysis looks like to them. Once you have identified the end users, you can then work out how to get the best process for them and, subsequently, enable the trickling of information to help influence the end user, whether that be to help support or challenge their way of thinking. She referred to this as ‘stakeholder mapping’. In her second spell at Southampton, between 2022 and June 2024, Patel came to understand that each stakeholder had a unique information threshold and that more education could have been provided in-season for different stakeholders. This was a good reminder to Southampton that as performance analysis teams and departments grow and mature, so does the quantity and depth of insights.

Know the journey

Wilson, who has been with Stockport since 2020, shared that at the beginning of their current seven-year plan, they adopted a version of the Elo Rating System (derived from the world of chess), with support from a third party, to showcase the quality differences between clubs, leagues and countries. Wilson explained that the system provided objective insights into how much better the team needed to be and how they needed to grow to progress through the leagues. Engaging in this benchmarking exercise then informed the business case of how much to invest in players, staff, facilities and other infrastructure.

Patel spoke more specifically about the influence of performance analysis on player and athlete auditing and the amount of impact it has had in this space. When primarily operating in an academy environment, there are also decisions to be made around retaining and transitioning players. These metrics formed a core part of how decisions were made at Southampton, whether they were to challenge opinions and assumptions or to simply create more productive conversations. As a matter of course, Patel’s department collected athlete maturation data, leveraged the Premier League’s game-wide injury data and, finally, garnered insights from character profiling.

By John Portch

Elite sport has long looked to dramatic arts for inspiration and Budi Miller, the Co-Artistic Director at the multi-centred Theatre of Others, sees the parallels.

“An actor is an athlete,” he told an audience at the Leaders Sport Performance Summit at Melbourne’s Glasshouse, while accepting the obvious differences.

“We use our bodies, we use our emotions, we use our intellect, we use our voices – we use everything we can to get you to believe that we are who we say we are.”

Miller took to the stage alongside Kit Wise, the Dean of the School of Art, Design and Social Context at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology [RMIT], who shared his own views on the trainable psychosocial skills in talent development in the arts.

Here, we explore Miller’s thoughts on addressing questions of self-awareness, fear and resilience in a learning environment.

Self-awareness: the base for all development

As an actor learns to use their body, emotions, voice and other facets, Miller explained that it “requires a sense of awareness” and “from that awareness we [develop] an authenticity.” This ‘authenticity’ includes the taking of calculated risks as actors stay true to themselves. Miller helps actors to develop a deep awareness of their bodies and actions as well as a healthy attitude towards self-inquiry.

There is also a collective element. “We have an agreement that when we walk through the door we meet each other at our best.” That can be anything on any given day “and then everyone in the room is doing what they’re doing best at this moment; and what happens is they start to work and everyone’s level has increased”.

Fighting fear and constraints

Miller mentioned that fear can get in the way of talent development. In response, he emphasises the role of playfulness and fun in learning environments; that when actors are free of fear, they can stay motivated and free of unnecessary stress and self-consciousness. It’s a process he describes as the “de-socialising of the body”

He also cited the “speed of fun”, which is a concept devised by Miller’s former tutor Christopher Bayes at the David Geffen Yale School of Drama. The concept encourages actors to be present and spontaneous, enhancing their performance by keeping them in a state of flow and playfulness. “Bayes said that ‘fun is faster than worry and louder than the critic’ and it forces you to be on the front of your actions”. It is a primal rhythm that actors use to stay in the moment and maintain a high level of energy and engagement. “As opposed to thinking about the binary of ‘good and bad’ you’re just in. That happened. Get back to the rhythm, get back to the pace.”

Miller also advocates for a “body-first, not psychology” approach. “Psychology is a response to what’s happening in the body,” he said, adding that he will take actors through a series of fear-relieving exercises. “The body is leading me first; so if you have the awareness of understanding your body and how the body works, you can change the pattern that’s getting in the way.”

The role of the coach and collective in building resilience

Miller discussed resilience as it stems from a sense of connection in a supportive environment. The topic was raised in light of the risks posed to actors who chase external validation. “Whenever you use an external stimulus to identify your self-worth you are always secondary,” said Miller, who spoke of actors chasing grades and roles rather than finding internal fulfilment.

It takes an empathetic teacher and Miller made his point by referring to the Hindu faith where the god Shiva told his wife, Parvati, ‘through you I know myself’. Miller sees the struggles of his students and recognises that he was in their shoes once upon a time. “By integrating this empathy you’re able to change them without them even realising they’re being changed just by that energetic connection.” Miller must embody the traits he is training in others if he is to best engage students in their own development. “If I have the courage to have that vulnerability and just allow myself to be present, then we get to look at what the actual problem is, because oftentimes the problem is external.” As with playfulness, there is a collective element. “How can we as a team interact to solve this external problem together without the walls between us?”

By Luke Whitworth

The old adage that people learn best through experience is not necessarily true – at least not on its own.

For learning to take place, people need to both reflect on and make sense of the experience; then they can think through how they will apply the knowledge gained.

Therefore, it follows that one of the most powerful applications of coaching is to facilitate learning through an effective debriefing process; to squeeze as much richness out of the experience as possible.

Done well, it can drive a very steep learning curve, build responsibility and confidence, and increase the focus on results.

In short, the high performance organisations that best sustain success know how to debrief.

What the literature says…

Debriefing was at the heart of the most recent Leadership Skills Series session, where members of the Leaders Performance Institute spent time considering some academic findings on the topic.

A 2008 study in the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport found that coaches only recall between 16.8 per cent and 52.9 per cent of events. This underlines the notion that if coaches don’t debrief consistently well, they are missing out on potentially rich conversations and insights.

Here are some further numbers:

• Leaders who engaged in reflection and debriefing improved their decision-making skills by 18 per cent, according to a study in the Academy of Management Journal.
• Reflective practices in leadership were linked to a 25 per cent increase in innovative solutions and problem-solving abilities in organisations, according to a report by the Center for Creative Leadership.
• Looking through a sport-specific lens, a survey of professional coaches found that 90 per cent believe debriefing is crucial to athlete development, with 85 per cent reporting noticeable improvements in performance and strategy understanding following regular debriefing sessions.

The positive effects of good debriefing

• The process builds self-awareness and enables ownership of individual and collective learning.
• Consistent and well thought-through debriefing fosters an openness to feedback.
• Helps to build relationships and team cohesion.
• Can decrease negative emotional effects.

What Leaders members are doing well in this space

During the session, members were invited to rate their teams’ debriefing skills on a scale of one to five and the mean was 2.8. Much room for improvement, no question, but there were a list of things that people believe they are doing well:

• At most teams, there is a genuine honesty and curiosity around enhancing performance.
• Intelligent framing and consistency.
• The creation of a safe space.
• Prioritising the debrief as a crucial source of information about how to get better.
• Appropriate priming. Differentiating between a ‘hot debrief’ and a post-event review. If it’s a review then sharing content beforehand allows for productive discussions.
• Taking nothing personally, instead, taking feedback professionally with the goal to be better – detaching from the emotional side of things and sticking to facts.
• Sensitively-phrased questions that focus on positive outcomes and changes even when asking what could have been better.

Six steps towards an effective structure for debriefing

The following is a six-step approach to debriefs. Consider each when designing the structure that works for you and your team:

1. A focus on reviewing where you are against your goals.
2. Dedicate time to draw out the learning around what has gone well.
3. Explore areas for improvement and insights around what’s not gone well.
4. Focus on learning, not blame.
5. Use root cause analysis.
6. Understand the key lessons and how they inform future actions.

David Kolb’s learning styles model

The session explored the work of educational theorist David Kolb, who devised a structured approach to understanding how individuals learn from their experiences. It involves a four-stage cycle and four separate learning styles. Much of Kolb’s theory concerns the learner’s internal cognitive processes, therefore can be a useful model to consider when thinking about both individual and collective debriefs.

The four stages of learning:

Graphic designed by Educational Technology.

1. Concrete experience

The learner encounters a concrete experience. This might be a new experience or situation, or a reinterpretation of existing experience in the light of new concepts.

2. Reflective observation

The learner reflects on the new experience in light of their existing knowledge. Of particular importance are any inconsistencies between experience and understanding.

3. Abstract conceptualization

Reflection gives rise to a new idea or a modification of an existing abstract concept (the person has learned from their experience).

4. Active experimentation

The newly created or modified concepts give rise to experimentation. The learner applies their idea(s) to the world around them to see what happens.

Kolb developed his four learning styles to illustrate different ways people naturally take in information:

Graphic designed by Educational Technology.

1. Diverging (concrete experience/reflective observation)

Learners who prefer the diverging style are best at viewing concrete situations from multiple perspectives. They prefer to watch rather than do, tending to gather information and use imagination to solve problems.

2. Assimilating (abstract conceptualization/reflective observation)

Assimilating learners prefer a concise, logical approach. They require a clear explanation rather than practical opportunity. They excel at understanding wide-ranging information and organising it in a clear logical format.

3. Converging (abstract conceptualization/active experimentation)

Learners with a converging style can solve problems and will use their learning to find practical applications for ideas and theories. They prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects.

4. Accommodating (concrete experience/active experimentation)

Accommodating learners are ‘hands-on’, and rely on intuition rather than logic. They use other people’s analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences.

The STOP model for live debriefs during the event

The session also discussed the STOP model, which is useful for ‘in the moment’ debriefing (sometimes known as ‘hot debriefing’).

Stand back: take a helicopter view of a situation or problem.

Take stock: analyse what is happening in the moment.

Options: explore options around what you can do differently.

Proceed: step back in and take action. Then assess what impact your new approach has.

The features of a great debrief

• Psychological safety and the notion of creating a calm, positive and supportive space.
• An approach that underlines belief in the potential for great performance, that encourages learning and reduces defensiveness.
• Reduces the impact of power differentials between leaders and those they lead.
• It involves good questioning. Use open, non judgmental questions and be prepared to follow-up.
• Focuses more on learning than results and allow time for reflection.
• Strikes a balance between focusing on the positives and areas for improvement. People learn quickest by reinforcing what works.
• Pays attention to group dynamics in order to get the best possible contribution from all individuals.

By John Portch

It’s difficult to imagine Dan Carter looking awkward or out of place in an All Blacks environment so we’ll have to take his word for it.

The former first five-eighth (fly-half), who won back to back Rugby World Cups with New Zealand in 2011 and 2015, was one of a “legacy group” of former players invited in August 2023 to observe the team’s preparations and answer any questions the younger players might have ahead of their World Cup campaign.

“It’s a new bunch and you guys know pretty well that when you finish playing, you get invited back into the changing rooms or the team room and it’s quite awkward,” Carter told former England internationals James Haskell and Mike Tindall on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast.

It was a changing room Carter had shared with a number of that All Blacks squad. “I don’t know if you guys feel it but going back into that environment, you kind of feel like a spare wheel.”

At no point was this the perception of the players, coaches or the All Blacks’ high performance team. In fact, two months later Carter, Keven Mealamu, Richie McCaw, Conrad Smith, and Liam Messam were invited to return at the Rugby World Cup in France, which took place in October and November.

“Talking to our team’s leaders, they got the most from the legacy group because the players are the ones who are having to drive along with that in the environment and the playing group would look up to them,” said Mike Anthony, New Zealand’s Head of High Performance, at February’s Leaders Sport Performance Summit at Melbourne’s Glasshouse.

Here were some of the most-esteemed guardians of the All Blacks culture coming back to reinforce the connection between all those who have worn the jersey.

Anthony continued: “That group had been through adversity. They’d lost World Cups and won World Cups. They knew what it took. The legacy piece for us is important.”

Legacy – a word long-associated with the All Blacks – is crucial in bringing to life the ambitions across the ‘teams in black’ i.e. the All Blacks, the Black Ferns (current women’s world champions) and both programmes’ sevens teams.

Their three core ambitions are:

1. To be the most dominant team in history.
2. To leave Mana in their wake.
3. To include the players in shaping the team’s vision.

These ambitions help to plot the path towards a performance culture described by Anthony as “unwavering at it’s core, it’s inspiring, it’s empowering, it’s inquisitive, and it’s responsive to change.”

The last point is critical. “How do you bring it to life day to day and how do you refresh it so that’s it’s relevant to your current group?” asked Anthony. “I’ve observed teams being successful and then they continue to run with what worked before as the group changes. It comes down to induction: how do you make sure your vision is relevant for your current group?”

Here, we unpack how the ambitions of the teams in black are brought to life through their behaviours and habits.

The building of a legacy: the All Blacks have won three World Cups; the Black Ferns have won six of the last seven Women’s World Cups. This enduring excellence burnishes their legacy year on year. “We talk of leaving the jersey in a better place,” said Anthony. “You’re the guardian for a short time, so when you leave it to the next person, you hope to add value.”

A team-first attitude: this is a challenge for New Zealand Rugby as a whole, with the growth of individual brands and the often more lucrative opportunities on offer abroad. Yet New Zealand’s best players invariably remain at home during their peak years to pull on the black jersey. The allure runs deep and it requires selflessness. “You’ve got to be selfless,” said Anthony. “You’re an All Black or Black Fern 24/7 and it’s in the little things you do when no one’s watching. You’ve all heard the analogy ‘sweep the sheds’ – it is genuinely something that our guys do. It’s not the job of somebody who’s paid to clean up after us and we take pride in how we do that.”

A player-driven environment: Anthony explains that buy-in is at “100 percent” amongst the players and that some players “never want to leave” New Zealand. This is in part because the team is intentional in its efforts to encourage players to speak up and contribute to the culture (“you have to create something pretty special to keep players here”) but it is also due to the increasingly creative ways that players are incentivised. “We give guys sabbaticals to go away because we know the money’s good; then we bring them back and that’s worked really well,” said Anthony.

Alignment: it is obvious that no two people are alike but that does not necessarily prevent them sharing a common vision. Said Anthony: “For me, ‘alignment’ is when people understand and are deeply connected to your vision.”

It is also a consequence of effective leadership, which he distilled into several traits while adding the caveat that you have to, above all else, play well. “I think we sometimes burden our leaders and they feel cluttered,” he said. “We want the spine of the team playing well first because, generally, they’re your best players. You have to get the balance right there.”

In New Zealand rugby, leaders embody…

Humility. As Anthony said, “you’ve got to be humble and vulnerable because that’ll encourage others to step into that space and contribute.”

Inclusivity. Anthony felt that although teams want everyone to have a voice, there is too little focus on schooling people in how to give and receive feedback. “If we want our players to challenge their peers, we’ve got to give them the tools”.

A growth mindset. There is always a performance gap; always a challenge. “It’s never about ‘we’ve arrived’,” said Anthony. “That gap creates that discomfort and itch that you want in a high performance environment.”

Ownership. Being an All Black or Black Fern is a 24/7 commitment. Anthony described Richie McCaw as the embodiment of that view. “It’s doing the unseen things,” he said. “It’s easy to sweat, but when you go home, what you’re eating, your sleep, how you present around your family – those are key.”

Finally… he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata

Anthony wrapped up his presentation with a whakataukī (Māori proverb):

He aha te mea nui? Māku e kii atu, he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.

What is the most important thing in the world? Well, let me tell you, it is people, it is people, it is people.

“The price of entry is technical knowledge,” said Anthony, “but get the people right and hopefully you can build the right environment for a performance culture that supports the athletes.”

By Luke Whitworth

How efficient is your multidisciplinary team?

The chances are that for all your fine work fostering a collaborative multidisciplinary team there are challenges you still face daily.

At a recent Leaders Virtual Roundtable, we encouraged members to reflect on areas where there is room for improvement and areas where they have made real inroads.

Some responses, such as limited time, busy schedules and the decentralised nature of some programmes were raised by members time and again but, below, we focus on communal challenges.

Common issues that prevent efficient collaboration

Misalignment of needs, expectations and responsibilities: such issues still endure, as evidenced by the number of members who mentioned the lack of alignment within departments and teams. One mentioned a lack of role clarity and, in turn, knowing with they should collaborate or bring into the conversation at the right times. Some cited the challenge of matching the expectations of individual staff and the collective needs of the team. Others noted situations where there are competing objectives and priorities.

Expertise bias: a Leaders member cited ‘discipline protectionism’, which resonated with most attendees. There are enduring examples of intellectual arrogance from some disciplines or an expertise bias that impacts communication, information sharing and can reduce general curiosity. These are all collaboration killers.

Team makeup: there are several elements here. Firstly, when team members are hired in at different stages there is a natural impact on the functionality of the team. There are also different personalities and communication preferences. Several attendees also noted that some environments are geared towards individuals highlighting their own impact and values as opposed to the greater good of the team.

Other considerations: the leader’s ego; a lack of psychological safety; finding the space and time for reflection; a lack of understanding about what optimal multidisciplinary work looks like.

Potential pathways to better collaboration

Centralised communication: can lead to a higher quality of comms between all stakeholders. Perhaps you can profile your team members and better communicate agreed expectations.

Consistent data capturing: when multiple departments are capturing data consistently, instead of sporadically, it can create more alignment around communication and collaboration with other disciplines.

Humble leadership: the leader or leadership team must be humble enough to accept when change or re-organisation is required. They need the humility to step back, evaluate their approach as a leader, as well as the situation, and enact change. This is where clearly defined needs and a common understanding are useful.

Clear standard operating procedures: a well-functioning system promotes better asynchronous information sharing. If you can outline standard operating procedures for communication between platforms it can prevent key information and messages being missed.

Team structure and role clarity: as a team leader, it’s worth considering the effectiveness of your onboarding and offboarding approach to minimise the impact. Diversity of thought is also essential, but it’s worth considering how to feed this into the design and operation of the team. One roundtable attendee suggested hiring an independent auditor to help outline role clarity, the sharing of best practices and, in general, promoting leadership – in essence, they act as a critical friend. Additionally, discipline or team leaders can create networks within their teams to enable such sharing. Another member explained that they have adopted a ‘team of teams’ approach e.g. a structure based on a ‘constellation’ of smaller teams that work together closely. It has yielded some positive results. Finally, in an effort to encourage a team-first approach, consider how you profile team members and communication of expectations.

What’s missing and what are the further opportunities?

Support for new leaders

How are you supporting new leaders in your teams? Often we see those in technical expertise or ‘tactician’ roles move up to a leadership position but lack the requisite skills to lead effectively. The role inevitably changes, so what are you or we doing to help them ‘lead’ their teams and embed true collaboration?

Robust and thoughtful feedback

Be intentional in creating a robust and thoughtful feedback mechanism that allows for variations of approach. Detailed feedback can support team learning on a consistent and ongoing basis. True, it can be a challenge, but therein lies the opportunity.

Psychological safety and empowerment

How can we better empower people more effectively to take targeted risks within their roles, whilst still feeling safe and secure? There needs to be a team-wide understanding of what psychological safety means and what it looks like in your environment.

By Rachel Woodland, Sarah Evans and Lottie Wright

• Use the critical moments to reinforce your culture.

• Expansion franchises must recruit staff who want to be challenged and challenge themselves to be the best they can be.

• Challenge yourself as a leader to have a diverse staff, so that when you are recruiting female athletes, lifestyle and protecting the longevity of their career can be just as important considerations as pay.

There has never been a better time for women’s sport in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In March, Bay FC began their inaugural NWSL campaign to great fanfare.

The club was co-founded by former US women’s national team stars Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slayton and Leslie Osborne, who propelled the project from an ambitious idea to a grand reality.

They hired Lucy Rushton as General Manager. Rushton, who was the second woman to serve as GM in MLS when she joined DC United in 2021, spoke at this month’s Leaders Sport Performance Summit at Red Bull in Santa Monica.

Rushton is no stranger to the Leaders stage having also spoken during her time at Atlanta United, whom she joined following excellent spells with Watford, Reading and the Football Association in her native England.

She sat next to another trail blazer, Ohemaa Nyanin, the newly appointed GM of WNBA expansion franchise the Golden State Valkyries, who will join the league in 2025.

Nyanin, a Ghanian-American, had been with the New York Liberty for five years, most recently as Assistant GM, jumped at the chance to bring further basketball prestige to this corner of southern California. She previously served as Assistant Director of the US women’s national team and helped Team USA to Olympic gold in 2016 and World Cup gold in 2018.

The duo delivered insights into how they are shaping the cultures of their nascent organisations; how they’re working or planning on working with their athletes; how they’ve chosen to lead; how they’re supporting their staff; as well as how they’re changing the sporting landscape.

Owners must establish the culture and values

The Bay culture was clear well before Rushton had even accepted her position: everything is about the people, from the staff to the players. The owners want everyone to be B-A-Y. That is:

Brave – the ownership want the franchise to be bold in the industry, pushing boundaries, breaking barriers by being innovative.

Accountable – the staff turn up everyday and are responsible for their actions and drive, and push themselves forward.

You – Bay FC also celebrate themselves as individuals and bring their true authentic selves to work every day.

The three concepts have helped shape the mindset each day and give the staff and players something tangible to hold onto. The organisation’s vision is to be a global sport franchise at the head of innovation and change.

How can these be measured? For Rushton, “it’s the feeling when you go to bed or wake up and how you feel about going to work the next day or that morning”. She believes the staff feel good and know they can influence what is happening; they know it’s a positive environment and everyone is striving for the same things.

Women’s sport should not simply replicate men’s sport

Rushton’s experience of men’s football taught her a valuable lesson. “Coming into a women’s franchise, it’s so important that we understand and appreciate the difference to men’s sport and don’t try and replicate it,” she said. The club has been intentional on that since day one and strives to be people-first, player-centric, and celebrates and promotes good female health.

With Bay midway through their first season, Rushton reflected on how the staff live the values every day. They all want to work hard, but care, kindness, and mutual support are just as critical for an expansion team. You need people who want to be there, who have the grit to go through the ups and downs, but support each other when you might not have the same resources as the teams that are 5 or 10 years old.

“How we approach training everyday and present ourselves to the players gives them energy,” she continued. “Which in turn the players buy into and end up energised and galvanised.” The key is how you present yourself and how you turn up and how you live by the standards that have been set, and the biggest factor is togetherness and collaboration of all departments.

Measure success through environment and collective wellbeing

Nyanin left a household name in the New York Liberty, but her goal is not to merely recreate that team in the Bay Area. Nor does she simply want to recreate the Golden State Warriors (Valkyries co-owner Joe Lacob is also the majority owner of the Warriors). Nyanin wants the Golden State Valkyries to stand alone.

She needs to find people that are interested in a vision of winning championships, in alignment with the ownership group. Success will ultimately be measured in trophies. They are the first WNBA expansion team since 2008, so Nyanin is considering what it looks like to build a successful organisation. She said: “We need to find individuals who are interested in being challenged every day, leaning into the team. Do you want to come to work everyday, and serve the athletes everyday in a way that provides for an innovative space, that provides for us to do what we know we can do, and how quickly can we get there?”

With this question in mind, Nyanin reflected on the qualities she seeks out as the Valkyries hire and write job descriptions. “Being an expansion team means you have to be entrepreneurial. By embracing the unknown can you be empathetic too,” she added.

Rushton asked Nyanin about measuring success from a cultural perspective rather than through championships. In response Nyanin said it is about the climate of the people that come in the door. “When we ask how you are doing they might say ‘I’m fine’ or ‘I’m good’, but if you say ‘how are you doing in the terms of a climate?’; so ‘sunny, or ‘cloudy’, or ‘rainy’ – it adds depth. A way of measuring success is how we can collectively come up with our non-results-based success criteria, how do we make it such so that everyone is sunny?”

For Nyanin, ‘sunny’ doesn’t mean super excited, or super extroverted – you can be introverted but still be sunny. Success is ultimately defined by how the Golden State Valkyries create their own definitions of safety in the workplace; it stems from executives to coordinators, to players, and even changing the way agents and external stakeholders engage with the organisation.

A culture born of diversity

We all know the saying about the best-laid plans, so Rushton and Nyanin spoke of the importance of allowing culture to shape itself. For Rushton, the critical moments are when things haven’t gone to plan. “How you react to things not going to plan is how you create culture. Actions taken in those moments show the players and staff what’s acceptable and what’s not,” she said.

Some decisions have been made that may have impacted performance outcomes but certainly reinforced their culture and values. They might have been a “nightmare” at times, but they’re critical. The backing of the ownership and the Head Coach, Albertin Montoya, helped give Rushton the confidence to go ahead. Showing the group that the leaders are aligned was powerful and gave them the confidence that it was the right thing to do and that the leaders had each others’ backs.

For Nyanin, it is important to give newly-hired executives their own blank slate to contribute to the masterpiece. She said: “If everyone has a different background, you have to listen to their ideas as they’re all coming from different spaces. So it’s still being architected from all different walks and types of cultural differences.”

This means that it’s important to Nyanin to have each executive bring their own unique experience. Through these different experiences and backgrounds the culture develops. This will bring challenges and added work, as you have forces leaders out of their comfort zones. It also means that you have to be willing to think differently.

“It’s like explaining basketball to children, who all ask ‘why?’ People from different backgrounds are going to ask why do we need to execute things this way, and will ask good questions, and bring contributions beyond asking ‘why?’”

In return, Nyanin believes that the athlete will benefit, especially the female athlete who comes with different complexities. “If your own staff can challenge you and ask you why before the athlete does, then you’re giving the athlete a space for them to feel safe to be elite at their sport.”

Athlete care is paramount

What about their appeal to female players? Bay spoke with the potential recruits about player-centricity of club and how they were going to elevate player care. From starting from a blank slate, they were able to accelerate mechanisms that can help with impacting the salary cap through player housing for example. The club emphasised treating them like the athlete they are in comparison to some of their poor experiences in other environments.

In Rushton’s experience, the priorities are very different to male athletes, where pay often dictates the direction of negotiations. With females, it’s about living standards and how the organisation will elongate their career. It’s important to give them confidence in the staff who would give them the best care, medical treatment, and infrastructure. Rushton is proud that, as far as she knows, the players have no complaints about the level of care and how the organisation treats them as female athletes.

On a day to day basis it boils down to two things in her mind. Firstly, helping them be in the best position they can be for the longest time possible and, secondly, to help them live a nice lifestyle outside of football.

This focus on player care resonated with Nyanin, who was pleasantly surprised at the rapid expansion of the NWSL given her own experience of the WNBA. Bringing it back to athlete experience is hugely important because, in WNBA, athlete experience tends to focus on ‘how you do get elite talent to come through?’ Nyanin explained that longevity in the sport is different, although is it changing, because the majority of the athletes play six months in the WNBA and then go and play overseas where the conditions are often worse, but they’re getting paid more money. “Understanding the motivations of the athlete prior to them coming to your organisation and engaging in your space is important,” she said.

Attracting elite practitioners from male sport

How might top level practitioners be attracted from historically better-funded male sports? Both Nyanin and Rushton believe that efforts must be based on the vision, culture and concepts the organisations trying to build.

For the Valkyries, as Nyanin explained, the vision is to “build the best, to be the most elite, to build a space where people feel they’re being heard and their ideas being executed in a way that results in excellence. Why wouldn’t you want to come? How can I create an environment for you to thrive, and how can we do that together?”

Rushton agreed. She said: “it shouldn’t be about the gender. It does matter though – many wouldn’t be right for women’s sport. I want to make you the best practitioner in what you do, and give you the platform to excel in your specialisation.”

New franchises means recruiting for those who are willing to challenge themselves and go outside the box with their thinking. It becomes about finding the people who are comfortable with the associated risk in order to better themselves. Rushton believes they have to “believe that they can go there and make a difference.” Rushton also observed that, “a lot of males would find it refreshing to come to a female athlete team because it’s a totally different environment, with totally different feeling and vibe.”

For Rushton herself, when she moved from men’s to women’s football there were two main factors that drew her in:

1. Knowing what the owner was striving for, and it being incredibly ambitious, and the level of care and his values as a person. She said it’s rare to find someone that ambitious but be about the process and the care that is shown in achieving it.
2. Giving back to the game and being a role model. When Rushton was younger the women’s game didn’t have the opportunities; and for many years she was the sole women working in the footballing environments that she was in. Now she can show there’s a pathway to make it a profession and a career. All the staff are in positions where they can help the youth see bigger prospects for the future within sports and the women’s game.

How fans contribute to a team culture

There remains another crucial component of a team culture: the fans.

The final moments of the session were used to discuss how both Nyanin and Rushton, and their organisations, are forging connections with their fans. As Nyanin said, fans expect communications, but there are times when you can’t share with them. This is a dilemma considering that the fans are also investing in the franchise and so they deserve communication. It becomes about finding the balance around what to do when things aren’t going well. Working on being honest in their communications so that the fans understand that the leaders and everybody involved is working to solve any issues.

Similarly, Rushton and Bay have been deliberate in how they present the organisation to the fans. The Business Operations team at Bay go to the fans and ask them to bring the energy and passion; to be part of their story. They seek to empower the fans and have them be part of the journey. Bay have gone out to the community, had fans come and watch training, and prioritised outward action in the build-up to launch. People now want to be a part of their journey.

Rushton spoke of how Bay deliberately tell the stories of their players. This means that people become invested in the emotional side of who the player is, so if the team lose a game, the fans are more invested in the person than the result. The outcome is one of which she is proud and the Valkyries hope to emulate. “The fans have fallen in love with the team, despite the record.”

Results will surely follow but, here and now, both women are intent on proving that new women’s sports teams are not only viable but can thrive.

By Luke Whitworth & Henry Breckenridge

The topic of team culture continues to dominate member conversations across the Leaders Performance Institute. Yet relatively few teams have proven able to sustain a successful culture over a prolonged period of time.

There are a wealth of barriers that work against the creation of strong and positive cultures in high performance.

However, there are also enablers that have served members well in their teams.

This split was in evidence during a recent Leaders Virtual Roundtable when we asked attending members to rate their organisations’ cultures on a scale of 1 (‘very weak’) to 5 (‘very strong’).

While 43% considered their team’s culture ‘strong or very strong’, 14% perceived their culture as ‘weak’, with a further 43% suggesting their team’s culture was ‘neither strong nor weak’.

There is plenty of room for the weak to improve and for the strong to get better too.

Here we explore how to best build, sustain and renew your team culture.

Before we get into that, let’s look at the main barriers.

Poor results. The inevitable starting point. Negative results can lead to a blame culture and, in some of the worst cases, the beginning of a downward spiral. Even teams with good intentions can stall. One attendee said: “we have strong expectations at the start of the season, but as soon as the season starts, there’s lots of grey areas and we find it difficult to upload our expectations and we end up going off in silos.”

Differences of opinion. If there is minimal alignment or collective belief in what matters between the senior representatives of your team then it can be a killer for culture, especially if results begin to go south.

Unconstructive / non-existent feedback. Blame culture is one thing, ultra criticism another, but several members admitted they can struggle to glean feedback from younger generations of athletes in particular. This hinders their team’s efforts to create an environment that is about more than just winning.

A lack of psychological safety. While also recognised as an enabler (see below), is psychological safety truly attainable in a high-performance (and therefore high-risk) environment? The jury is still out for some people in sport.

With these barriers in mind, let’s turn to the positive influences on team culture.

Clarity and alignment: these are by-products of environments that have been able to define, manage and model their expectations – essentially those that take the building, sustaining and reviewing of culture seriously. Get this right and it helps to provide a framework for constructive feedback that extends beyond culture to performance. Moreover, if the performance side of your team has meaningful interaction with the business side (and vice versa), it can enable the different groups to see how their work impacts others and it provides the foundations for wider cultural alignment.

Celebrate positive behaviours: no, this is not a silver bullet but it can work wonders as part of an intentional and consistent approach. “It’s about giving it more than lip-service,” noted one member. “It’s about calling it out when people aren’t meeting expectations but also celebrating culture in action.” Crucially, this practice is not results-based. It separates the desired behaviours from the performance outcome.

Storytelling: this is a useful tool for instilling purpose, inducting new athletes, and enabling periodic cultural resets. There is a tendency to fall into the trap of not renewing your culture at the end of a natural cycle and basing your work on the assumption that everyone knows where they need to be. Yet sport is transient in nature and the central cast is continually changing. Meet that challenge by giving your athletes, old and new, the opportunity to write the next chapter of your story. Storytelling can build connections and help people to explain where they see themselves and how they want to be known both individually and collectively.

Let’s wrap up with some key questions to ask yourself:

Who are your cultural leaders? They need not be your head coach – in fact they may be the wrong person – it is important to identify and empower your cultural architects, whoever they may be. They will be able to ensure you are consistently celebrating positive behaviours.

Are you hiring the right people? One attendee shared they would rather have the “right” person doing the job not quite as well than the “wrong” person having the skill and competency but continuously undermining the collective.

Do your people feel they belong? Belonging is a significant enabler and comes from psychological safety, where individuals feel safe to take interpersonal risks. These dynamics play out differently in each environment. How it looks in your environment is for you to determine. One attendee, for example, suggested that female athletes need to feel they belong in order to play well, while male athletes need to play well in order to feel like they belong.