He’s one of Britain’s most successful sporting coaches, but Sir Clive Woodward’s skill extends way beyond the rugby pitch and has learning for professionals across the wealth management profession too.
The man who guided England to victory in 2003 is now one of the UK’s most sought-after expert speakers. Here the former Team GB Director of Sport shares exclusively with the Inspirational leadership speaker agency what he believes are the six key steps to create a winning mindset and to build a top-team, including why the ‘C’ in CEO should stand for culture!
1. The ‘teamship’ concept
Sir Clive dedicated seven years to coaching the England Rugby team, culminating in the 2003 World Cup victory. If he asks any of those players about Lombardi time, they’ll all know it means being 10 minutes early.
This is thanks to a concept Sir Clive terms ‘teamship.’
Fed up with lecturing players on timekeeping, he asked them to discuss it without him. The team themselves came to an agreement that they’d arrive 10 minutes early to everything.
They based this on American Football coach Vince Lombardi’s iconic phrase that “Early is on time. On time is late.”
Sir Clive explains: “The most important thing about ‘teamship’ is the leader is still in full control.”
“They report back to you. If you don’t like what they say, you go no. It doesn’t go far enough. If you like what they say, you go yes. And it becomes a ‘teamship’ rule.”
Once a group understands the importance of standards, they hold each other accountable. ‘Teamship’ is fundamentally an agreement between coach and players, or leader and workforce.
2. Have a sponge between your ears
The Covid19 pandemic has fundamentally shifted our working patterns. With huge numbers of employees working from home, leadership faces new challenges.
Getting teams together in-person is still really important.
“I like having people around. I like having coffees and lunches. I think that’s when new ideas can actually spread. In an office environment, a lot of learning is happening subconsciously,” says Sir Clive.
As people lose interaction with each other, Sir Clive thinks people need to be responsible for their own learning.
“The number one thing for me is having a sponge between your ears, not a rock between your ears. In other words, you like taking on new ideas, learning and putting yourself out there”
3. Do 100 things 1% better
Sir Clive has over 40 years expertise in the sports and business industries. But for him, there’s no difference. Both are about delivering results through people.
“I’ve never worked in any business or sport where we come up with this massive idea that’s going to completely be the game changer.”
The secret is in the detail.
“The common denominator in successful teams across sport and business is doing 100 thing 1% better.”
It’s about breaking down big challenges into manageable goals. Sir Clive inspires his players and staff to do everything a little better each day.
4. The inclusivity equation
“I can’t think of any organisation that doesn’t want to create more inclusivity around their workforce.”
For Sir Clive, the key to creating a more inclusive environment is psychological safety and production challenge.
In a meeting, everyone should feel safe to put forward ideas- even if it involves criticising their leader or organisation.
At the same time, these challenges should be phrased in a productive rather than negative way.
“Have you thought about this? Have you thought about that? Maybe we can build on that. All of these great sayings can create productive challenge.”
It’s very simple, but it’s very hard to actually do.
5. Orthodox thinking is the real curse
“Orthodox thinking is the real curse. If you’re just stuck in the way you’re actually doing things, you can never create transformational change,” says Sir Clive.
So he did something unorthodox.
Whilst coaching England Rugby, Sir Clive invited guests to spend time with the team. But they had nothing to do with rugby.
They were bankers, hedge fund managers, police officers, a school head mistress and pharmaceutical industry experts.
The guests sat at the back of the room and kept out of the way. But they saw everything the team did.
The agreement? Don’t go gaga when Jonny Wilkinson walks in. And have at least one thing the England Rugby squad could do better.
Over Sir Clive’s 7 year tenure, he invited well over 50 guests to spend time with them team. Every single person drew from their backgrounds to challenge the England Rugby status quo.
6. The C in CEO
“Great teams are made up of great individuals,” says Sir Clive.
“If you get every individual working at their optimal level, they will actually respond to you and the teamwork becomes a lot easier to actually do.”
But winning characteristics are rarely something people automatically have. It comes down to leaders coaching it.
“Let’s face it, anyone can do anything when there’s no pressure. Real champion individuals perform well under pressure. But it’s not something that you’re born with. It’s something you can teach people.”
Leadership is also about valuing your team’s contributions.
“I used to think leadership was all about the guy at the top of the organisation coming up with all the ideas. I’ve moved on from that. I think the idea of leadership is listening to your team, then really understanding what they’re saying to you.”
“Creating a positive change in the workforce doesn’t happen just by luck. It’s by really making sure your team feels engaged and that they can put forward new ideas on a continuous basis.”
“I think the C in CEO should stand for culture,” says Sir Clive.
