From a tiny island country off the coast of Australia, one of the most elite cultures and organizations on the face of the earth has dominated the competitive landscape in their industry. The New Zealand National Rugby Team, the “All Blacks” as they are called, possess a rare blend of talent, tradition, training, and leadership.
If it is possible to crack the code of creating an elite culture, the All Blacks have done it. From all over the world, leaders, consultants, and authors have flocked to their training grounds to study this group in the same way scientists study lion pride or schools of fish. What they have created is mesmerizing inside and out.
Despite a small national population of just over 4 million people, the New Zealand National Rugby team has been excelling for over 100 years. The All Blacks have won at a remarkable 77% winning percentage throughout their history. By comparison in other sports the New York Yankees have an all-time winning percentage of 57%. The Brazilian National Soccer team has a winning percentage of 63%. Even the Dallas Cowboys (57% winning percentage) haven’t been close to matching the All Blacks. No other sports team has played with as much on field dominance as the New Zealand Rugby National Team.
In terms of championships, the All Blacks have won The Rugby Championship 16 times in the competition’s 23 seasons. Since 2003 they have held the top spot in the World Rugby Rankings more than all other countries combined. Since the Rugby World Cup began in 1987 New Zealand has won three of the nine titles played (1987, 2011, 2015). Ten times, a player from the All Blacks has been named World Rugby Player of the Year. No other team has won one third of the total championships played in their sport, while spanning success over 100 years - winning 77% of their contests. They might be the most dominant team to ever exist.
I’ve been involved in teams in a variety of settings for 21 consecutive years. From little-league to college athletics, to business and academia, I’ve never heard of a team that doesn’t desire elite outcomes. Every team begins each season with enthusiasm, goals, and objectives. I’ve been a part of some great teams and some awful teams. Yet, every team I’ve been involved with felt they had what it took to be elite. Some found this to be true, others found this to be way off from reality as the season played out. In hindsight - the separator with all of those teams, schools and businesses was not just talent - while talent does play a big role in success. But rather it was the culture and atmosphere within the team. How do we create great cultures in the teams we are a part of?
Here are five fundamentals of championship culture from the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby Team.
1.) They train to win
There is no substitute for an environment that is truly training winners in their craft. People will relocate their families and uproot their lives to move to join an elite training environment. When training does not push team members to the edge of their current abilities and beyond, it will diminish the buy-in. They will begin to look elsewhere. I have never found a team or environment that attracted top talent by having mediocre training principles. Now more than ever, team members in all fields want to feel a sense of top level training. An elite culture of camaraderie, servanthood, cohesiveness does not have to come at the cost of elite training. In fact, culture is enhanced by elite training and elite training creates elite culture. Without elite training and preparation in the precise areas needed to succeed in your competitive arena - your culture will suffer. The All Blacks have the best training in the world. Their coaching staff is at the forefront of their sport and they are knowledgeable in the tools and tactics in the sport to succeed. An elite culture is never far from elite training and preparation. They MUST exist together, feeding off of each other.
2.) They honor the past
What a powerful culture multiplier it is to have a history of success. This is so difficult to generate and it takes decades to create sustained success. There is tremendous power in tradition. It creates an embedded honor and respect that must be upheld. Most people want to be a part of an already established successful tradition. Great cultures recognize those who have gone before them, and jump at every chance to honor the past and preserve the success in the future. The New Zealand All Blacks honor their tradition with their world famous ‘Haka’. This is a Maori war dance the team performs before every match. The ‘Haka’ pays homage to the ancient island tribe who used to perform the dance before battle. While it is captivating and intimidating the ‘Haka’ dance most importantly connects the current team to the history of the organization. It honors those who came before the current team. It allows the current team to be a part of something bigger than themselves which is a cornerstone of creating an elite culture.
3.) Their leaders serve
In elite cultures and environments, the leaders are not served but rather they do most of the serving. I believe in the next 10-20 years we will see a shift in leadership where the leaders give up the reserved parking space, or the corner office and the extra amenities, and instead create an environment where the leaders do the bulk of the serving. Authentic leaders serve the needs of the team. The All Blacks captains developed a tradition in which the leaders “sweep the sheds.” The captains of the team sweep the teams’ storage sheds daily - a task that is pure grunt work. This activity could be done by the newest most inexperienced members of the team. Or this could even be hired out to a custodial staff. Instead, the most accomplished, experienced leaders of the team end each day sweeping the sheds. This creates a foundation that everyone is valuable, everyone has an equal status on this team or in this training environment. A leader must never be too big to do the ordinary tasks. A leader can be tempted to think that doing the menial tasks would make their team respect them less. Instead it will always make the team respect them more. Leaders sweep the sheds.
4.) They don’t allow jerks
One of the quickest ways to derail the team culture and environment is to have a large portion of the team operating out of selfish desires. Nothing quite slows the progress of the team down like personalities nipping at each other, bringing each other down and hoping to see each other fail. No level of talent or skill can overcome a selfish culture. When members of the team are selfish and combative it is like trying to drive in mud - it offsets all efforts to move forward, making it difficult to make any progress at all. The New Zealand All Blacks created an environment where one of the foundational rules was that it’s not okay to be a jerk. No one person is bigger than the group. A brilliant individual doesn’t always equal team success. One selfish mindset will surely infect the collective culture. Before elaborate business philosophies, or X’s and O’s on the court or field. How about starting with the rule that no one can be a jerk?
5.) They develop their future
In order to sustain highly successful performance, great teams and great cultures must raise up the future key leaders. An environment in which the leaders create other leaders has the potential for something special. The organization’s best future leaders are often the best current followers. Talent always graduates, moves on to other opportunities or gets promoted to different roles. Great cultures are always developing the talent they have to fill the future needs. A great culture is not demolished when the best talent leaves. Perhaps this is a sign you have a great culture - because great cultures are not just built on the talent of one person. To achieve sustained success over 100 years, the All-Blacks have continually raised up the next generation of players and leaders.
Stay The Course,
JB