{"id":676,"date":"2020-09-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/epp-miniseries-are-you-ready-to-shoot-your-performance-sacred-cows\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:11","slug":"epp-miniseries-are-you-ready-to-shoot-your-performance-sacred-cows","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/epp-miniseries-are-you-ready-to-shoot-your-performance-sacred-cows\/","title":{"rendered":"EPP Miniseries: Are You Ready to Shoot your Performance \u2018Sacred Cows\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Sep 10, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

EPP Miniseries: Are You Ready to Shoot your Performance \u2018Sacred Cows\u2019?<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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The moment is still too soon for Ulster Head Coach Dan McFarland but his non-hierarchical approach to leadership and the team\u2019s adaptability stands them in good stead.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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\u201cIf you\u2019re not bothered about slaughtering a cow – and you think that cow needs slaughtering – then it probably never reaches the status of being sacred, does it?\u201d<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch and Dave Slemen<\/h6>\n

So asks Dan McFarland, the Head Coach of Ulster Rugby, who has taken time out of his day to speak to Dave Slemen, Founding Partner at Elite Performance Partners<\/u><\/a>\u00a0[EPP], a search, selection and advisory firm working across elite sport and specialising in performance, and the Leaders Performance Institute.<\/p>\n

A bespectacled McFarland takes the Zoom call in his office, as indicated by the white board visible on one side. He is jovial despite Ulster\u2019s defeat to Connacht the previous weekend and answers our questions enthusiastically. So focused is he that he does not break his flow when halfway through the conversation a colleague pokes a head around the head coach\u2019s door just as we pose another query.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s too early to say if we\u2019ll be shooting sacred cows,\u201d he says at the outset. It causes his inquisitors\u2019 hearts to miss a beat, as the proverbial shooting of \u2018sacred cows\u2019 – obsolete practices or processes that once seemed sacrosanct – at Ulster was the primary reason for arranging our interview.<\/p>\n

The topic is ripe for discussion across high performance sport, as EPP discovered during their conversations with leaders such as McFarland during the lockdown period. Conversations which began around furlough, cost-cutting and new regulations soon moved on to a realisation that in moments of deep uncertainty everything is on the table, and nothing is sacred.<\/p>\n

At one of EPP\u2019s confidential Leadership Forums, which bring together performance leaders from across sports to share and debate issues and ideas, the group went one further agreeing that not only could<\/i><\/em>\u00a0the sacred cows be shot, but that it was an imperative for all of their sports that they should<\/i><\/em>\u00a0be. The group argued that the worst thing that could happen was for teams to emerge from the lessons and insight of the pandemic unchanged, still clinging on to the traditions no longer relevant to their game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ulster may not be there just yet but McFarland, a former playing colleague and friend of Slemen\u2019s,\u00a0and a long-time associate of the Leaders Performance Institute, works through his response to the sacred cows question with customary thoughtfulness and allays our fears. Perhaps his answer provides more food for thought for the wider performance community than a trail of slain cattle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything immediately stands out as something we didn\u2019t need to do before,\u201d he continues. \u201cWhat I do think – and something that\u2019s struck me – is the importance of an environment where you need to be adaptable, where there are unusual occurrences and some teams are not necessarily prepared for that the level of autonomy within their organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

One can see the cogs turning in McFarland\u2019s mind. It is in keeping with his deliberate approach to leading and coaching and, in typical fashion, he is candid when walking one through that process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve looked at coaches like this doing interviews in the past,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve looked at them and going \u2018it\u2019s all about getting this out there\u2019 or \u2018talking about that\u2019 and stroking your own ego.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually learn an incredible amount from doing this and the reason I learn is that you have to articulate what you believe in. Just the process of answering questions around that is formulating philosophies; helping to mould and sculpt philosophies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our job as leaders we have to sell ideas. If you have an idea you\u2019ve got to be able to sell it; you\u2019ve got to be able to have the right language, use the right language; put it in positions in front of people that people are interested in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that I am talking to you about it, it\u2019s difficult on Zoom. If I\u2019m talking about an idea that I have or believe in, I can pretty much tell if I\u2019m selling it or not with you. Are you falling off your chair asleep or are you interested and asking secondary questions? It gives me massive feedback for going and speaking to these guys out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heading into the unknown<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Guinness Pro14, which contains the provincial teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa, was one of the first competitions to suspend play on 12 March. Ulster, however, played their last match, at home to the Cheetahs of Bloemfontein, on 22 February. Their scheduled trip to the Treviso-based Benetton the following weekend was postponed as the first wave of Covid-19 ravaged northern Italy.<\/p>\n

A full six months had passed before Ulster next took to the field [a defeat to Connacht on 23 August] but the team swiftly returned to form. First, Edinburgh were defeated away in the Pro14 semi-finals and now McFarland\u2019s side will take on Leinster in this Saturday\u2019s final at Dublin\u2019s Aviva Stadium [12 September]. There will be no let-up either, as the team will travel to play Toulouse in the European Champions Cup quarter-finals on 20 September and then there is a mere two-week hiatus before next season\u2019s Pro14 group phase begins on 3 October. It is a programme unheard of in rugby.<\/p>\n

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For all that, McFarland saw it coming down the tracks. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time and there\u2019s been so much evolution through it and a big chunk of it was so unusual that we\u2019ve almost got used to things being unusual,\u201d he observes. \u201cI don\u2019t mean that in the sense that we\u2019ve gotten used to unusual things, what I mean is we\u2019ve gotten used to the fact that there are going to be unusual things. That breeds an adaptability in us and the fact that we are going to be heading into the unknown. Even going into the Connacht match: how do you prepare for games after six months out? Nobody\u2019s ever done it before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adaptability and vulnerability are two of the traits EPP look for in leaders across the board, irrespective of sport or role, and it is clear that those who have embraced the ambiguity of recent months, maintaining long-term clarity while pursuing necessarily short-term goals, have responded better than their peers. \u201cIt\u2019s about asking the right questions, and not needing to know all the answers,\u201d explains Slemen, adding, \u201cgreat leaders create followership around a culture and values that mean all are aligned in service of a common goal rather than committed to a certain way of doing things.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was the notion that led EPP to suggest the interview with McFarland, after hearing him speak early in the lockdown period about how Ulster had taken the time to clarify their values in light of the new situation, so all understood that they remained relevant and could use them as a basis to pull together despite being physically apart.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

McFarland is certain that a hierarchical leadership style would simply not have worked. Is that because it is not his personal style to be authoritarian or is it because that was not what the team needed?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of both,\u201d he replies. \u201cI aspire to a distributed leadership style. I am at the mercy of confirmation bias here, but I don\u2019t see hierarchical leadership as being sustainable. I don\u2019t see it as being effective, actually; but I don\u2019t see it as being sustainable because one of the biggest drivers we have here, and I would have in my personal philosophy, is growth and also being able to enjoy your job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think personal growth and autonomy go hand in hand with enjoying your job. I\u2019ve always aspired to getting people to take on tasks that they can take responsibility for.\u201d His approach has reaped dividends since his arrival in 2018 after what had been a turbulent campaign for the province.<\/p>\n

The ability of McFarland\u2019s support staff to work within their specific domains was essential as the managerial meetings piled up in March. \u201cAt the start of the lockdown, there was so much information coming in, particularly in our environment where in the nature of where we\u2019re set in Northern Ireland, and crossing over a number of jurisdictions and a number of governing bodies,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThe amount of guidelines that we have, that the complexity of working out how we\u2019re going to proceed, it required me to channel a lot of the oversight that I would possibly have spread out in other areas into a specific area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only has this changed someone like McFarland\u2019s role, but it\u2019s forced initiative on other team members, allowing those who are ready to step up and do things differently. Changes in environment, with less people able to be physically present at training grounds and matches has also had an interesting impact \u2013 during the \u2018good years\u2019 when many sports were well financed, EPP found a growth of specialists for every role, and a certain presenteeism that eroded the power of the individual and created an element of groupthink as people spent the vast majority of their time together.<\/p>\n

Being part of a team while still having a strong sense of self is an important skill for clubs to cultivate, as is breaking down the remaining silos and developing leadership potential in practitioners from an early stage.<\/p>\n

EPP predict one big change we\u2019ll see is a return to the specialist-generalist and T-shaped practitioners capable of playing more than one role \u2013 for example physiotherapists who are also passionate S&C coaches \u2013 taking us back to slimmer structures more akin to days past and reducing the need for specialists for specialists\u2019 sake.<\/p>\n

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Back at Ulster, McFarland was attending more meetings than ever during the lockdown. \u201cI was on senior management team meetings every week at the start and previously I would have rarely gone to senior management team meetings because I could be updated by Bryn Cunningham, our Operations Director,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThere and then I needed to be present; so straight away it\u2019s something totally different.\u201d<\/p>\n

To underline his earlier point about distributed leadership, McFarland proceeds to name check a fair number of his staff. \u201cWhat ends up happening is that people like Tom Clough, our Head of Athletic Performance, people like Chris McNichol, the Lead Physiotherapist, Mike Webb, our \u00a0Medical Director, Stephanie Gleadhill, our Lead Nutritionist – these people were in areas where really they didn\u2019t even have to be asked; \u2018this needs to be done and we need to have a plan here. What is happening around this?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt varied across the stages of lockdown but if they didn\u2019t pick up the ball and run with it, it was going to be a mess. It wasn\u2019t a case of me wanting to stand over them; I didn\u2019t – I just couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only in those circumstances where you can realise and see that competent people, they excel in circumstances like that. I suppose at the end of it I was really pleased that it felt like we recruited well and we do have good people here.\u201d<\/p>\n

When will McFarland know the time is right to shoot a sacred cow? \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting one because the game is the feedback,\u201d is his reply. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a long time away from the game and we\u2019re only coming back to the game now and seeing the feedback. From our point of view, the start hasn\u2019t been great. We\u2019ve not started off where we left off so there\u2019ll have to be some serious review around that.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, my personal opinion is that I have a good idea why we are where we we\u2019re at. We will review that but we won\u2019t do that until we get into the start of next season.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is an opportunity for his support staff and, if there is a practice or process to be discarded, there will be an open discussion. \u201cI use the phrase that you\u2019re trying to create space for them to shape it,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you fill that space they\u2019ll never shape it. To be fair, some people don\u2019t want to be involved in shaping; they like to be told, they\u2019re happy to follow, but if that space isn\u2019t there be to be filled because I\u2019m filling it constantly or somebody\u2019s filling it constantly, people won\u2019t be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since speaking to McFarland, Ulster have returned to form just when it mattered most. Attention now turns to Saturday\u2019s clash with Leinster before the return of the European Champions Cup. Perhaps the cattle will live to see another day after all.<\/p>\n

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Looking for more performance insight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Performance<\/em> 21<\/em> is available for download now and leads with a selection of insights lifted from our At Home With Leaders podcast series, which has featured the likes of England Rugby\u2019s Eddie Jones<\/strong>, the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Mark Shapiro<\/strong>, and Chelsea\u2019s Emma Hayes<\/strong> speaking directly from their home offices.<\/p>\n