Chasing great
KEVIN ROBERTS IS FOUNDER OF RED ROSE CONSULTING; BUSINESS LEADER AND EDUCATOR; AUTHOR AND SPEAKER; ADVISER ON MARKETING, CREATIVE THINKING AND LEADERSHIP.
I AM WRITING this overlooking a white-capped, grey, freezing cold Pacific Ocean in Cordova Bay on Vancouver Island.
We’re staying with an old Canadian teammate and friend, Robin Dyke – a published poet, brilliant HR leader and thinker, stand-up paddle-boarder and still regular rugby player [a centre] at the ripe young age of 76!
Yesterday we went up to Shawnigan Lake School. It’s a top school in every way, with a great rugby programme directed by an old teammate of Robin’s, Tim Murdy, ex assistant head coach to the Canadian national team, and Ander Monro who led Canada’s backs in two Rugby World Cups.
During our time there we talked a lot about what it takes to win at the top level as overall standards improve everywhere and the gaps and margins become ever narrower.
Brian Ashton, ex England coach and a true coaching visionary told me it all started with the ABC’s – Ambition, Belief and Courage – and I was reminded of how true this was when I caught the Richie McCaw movie Chasing Great on Air New Zealand the other week while returning to Auckland.
His ambition was clear – be a ‘GAB’ [Great All Black] – and his belief and courage were second to none.
He single-handedly delivered New Zealand a Rugby World Cup in 2011 – and then was there to slay the away dragons and bring us another in 2015. At the heart of his success was clear thinking and mental toughness.
Contrast this with the leadership fiasco among England’s finest when Brendan Venter’s Italians flummoxed the entire England team for 40 minutes with the novel [ but not original] no ruck approach.
The famed Clive Woodward 2003 TCUP [Thinking Correctly Under Pressure] approach went out the window as Dylan Hartley and James Haskell asked the referee to help them out to understand what was going on.
Romain Poite’s response: “I’m the referee, not a coach,” will go down in history as one of the fastest put-downs ever heard on a rugby field.
At times like this it’s mental toughness that counts. The ability to clear the mind, focus on a solution and execute it.
Under Steve Hansen, led by example by Richie McCaw, the All Blacks have led the world in what will ultimately be the difference between the champions and the second placers – both great teams but one has institutionalised mental toughness as a way of life.
So, what is this mental toughness? It is the psychological edge that enables you to cope better than your opponent with multiple performance demands and being consistent and superior in your determination, focus, confidence, resilience and control under pressure – or always finding a way to win. For a team to be mentally tough it needs: a clear goal a clear direction to be unshakeable to be resolute to share [Think the All Blacks.] And mental toughness [funnily enough] has two components – mental capacity and toughness capability. Mental capacity incorporates the 5 Cs: Confidence Concentration Composure Control Completion Toughness capability is based on the 5 Ps: Practice Precision Problem solving Positivity Performance When the All Blacks were put under pressure in 2011 and 2015 they responded with blue heads – they stayed calm and focused.
They believed in ACT – Alternatives, Consequences, Task. England had red heads – HOT – Heated, Overwhelmed and Tense. And their thinking closed down.
Bad decisions were made – not through lack of skill or innate poor judgement, but because of an inability to handle pressure with a blue head at the pivotal moment.
The rule of three helps in a pressure crisis.
For pilots it is: Aviate. Navigate. Communicate. For paramedics it is: Assess. Adjust. Act. And the same applies to rugby players. Mental toughness is currently the single biggest advantage the All Blacks have. Let’s see what the Lions can bring to the table in this area. They’ll have the opportunity to show it during week number one in New Zealand – with the Blues, Crusaders and Highlanders all switched on and ready to test them.
New Zealand will be Chasing Great.