ix) Observations From Sporting World

Some interesting observations from the sporting world that are applicable to individuals in organisations. Norm Smith, the legendary coach of AFL club (Melbourne), stated

"...perseverance beats brilliance..."

"...the harder you work, the luckier you get..."

"...if you're not making mistakes, you're not trying..."

as quoted by Ben Collins, 2008

Len Smith was the brother of Norm Smith and was also a successful AFL coach; he observed

"...If anything goes wrong, analyse yourself first because you might be the problem..."

"...Before you try to understand others, you're got to understand yourself..."

"...Confidence is infectious. It spreads through an entire side, and so does the lack of it. If you lack confidence, you create hesitation, and when you hesitate you are lost..."

as quoted by Ben Collins, 2008

Five tips for high performance

Based on the experience of successful sporting coach (Eddie Jones) in rugby, he lists 5 key performance tips:

i) have a mentor (ideally someone who has just retired, or about to retire, in your industry as they are more likely to share 'their secrets' than a person who is still holding a position; in fact, visit and talk with as many 'retirees' from your industry as possible)

ii) improve 3 things, every 3 months (develop a personal development plan every 3 months that focuses on a maximum of 3 things, such as improving communication skills, asking more questions, being more collaborative, etc)

iii) have a ridiculous vision (develop a vision for yourself and/or organisation that is very 'stretchie' so that 'business-as-usual' is not the best option; linked with the vision is courage, ie to do something differently or different, and to challenge and break with the status quo)

iv) stay curious (try to find better ways of doing things; be restless; create a learning environment; look for diversity of opinion, ideas, etc; read widely around a variety of topics, etc)

v) go beyond harmony (encourage diversity of ideas and backgrounds; respect other people's points of view

Remember
"...conflict will naturally stem from having diverse views and styles, and to that extent it is positive..."
Eddie Jones as quoted by Sally Patten, 2022

However, good leaders manage conflict to everyone's advantage.