Our Springboks made us proud. We did it! It is however the superb performance that makes you think of some corporate lessons on how to realize the highest dream. There are lessons from this team that you can pull through into the corporate world (someone can now go and set up the presentation)
Let’s start at the top. Jake White had a vision four years ago that he wanted to hold the world cup. He shared this vision with everyone and said that there will be pains along the way. Many people laughed at him, but he stuck to the vision. He then got an inspirational leader in John Smit and although the public did not agree with the decision, he committed himself to his leader and together they created a shared goal to win the world cup.
The players were selected to become the team members and together they started working towards a common goal. Jake had a vision and his captain had to lead the team towards that goal. Together they backed their team through thick and thin and took the criticism on the chin. They showed that when you have a clear vision and a common goal which the team can work towards, the sky is the limit.
Jake also realized that a team needs to be a blend of youth and experience. He brought to “old”, nearly forgotten, members into the team to help keep the youngsters in line. Os du Randt and Percy Montgomery played vital roles in the team. They showed that if you have a big team, it is not necessary the hard working energetic youngsters that will pull you through, but the cool and calm heads of experience to ensure they get pulled in the right direction. It is visionary that the Os lead head first on the shoulder of his captain and the experienced, calm Percy was there to cover the last outpost.
The next part was to introduce young raw talent in people like Francois Steyn, JP Pieterse and Pierre Spies. The latter unfortunately dropped out due to injury, but it did not derail the campaign. They youngsters bought a new energy to the team and also sometimes did stupid things, but they showed the team that the old traditional way of thinking is not always right and that you should sometimes leave people to try new ways of doing things, like popping over unlikely drop goals. Fortunately the old hands were there to give advice.
Mistakes were made – think of some selections, but ultimately the right decisions came up trumps. That showed that as long as the shared goal and vision is chased, mistakes are permitted. You are allowed to make mistakes and although you will sometimes lead to irate clients (read supporters) and management (read SARU), if you believe in yourself and your team, you will succeed.
During the match, Percy got shoved into a camera by Toby Flood. Flood lost his cool and Percy kept his. That is the way you want to see your seniors conduct themselves. Do not get sidetracked by personal attacks and keep your mind on your goal. Don’t be intimidated when other people start personal attacks, but react only when it affects your goal. Anything else is not worth bothering.
When England nearly scored, the desperate lunge from Danie Rossouw probably saved the day. That proved that you should never give up, no matter how hopeless it seems. It looks inevitable that a major setback would occur, but one member put up his hand and gave his all to save the dream.
Bismarck du Plessis came on as a blood replacement and had to take one very important lineout throw. England had the momentum and one mistake would have lead to a try. Bismarck hit the mark 100%. That shows that when you introduce someone for a short period of time into your team, let him be an expert at what he does so that he will not let you down. The same applied to Wicus van Heerden who played a short while, but made a critical steal in the loose. Apply experts from outside the initial team when required.
Bryan Habanna and Juan Smith were absolutely superb throughout the tournament. They proved that although all the members are making contributions in the bigger team towards the shared goal, there can always be stars as well. If the team members are empowered and allowed to use their own creativity, someone will always put up his hand and show why he is the star.
At the end of it all when the goal was achieved and the vision realized, all participated in the festivities. Even the members that were on the fringes and did not directly participate were allowed to share amongst accolades as they also played a part – no matter how small – in the ultimate success. When your team has delivered make sure that everyone is thanked for their contribution and not only those in the direct limelight.
Finally, the man who had the vision in 2004 and the captain who got appointed to lead the team to war should get special thanks. The coach everyone wanted to fire and the captain no one wanted have now become heroes because they delivered on the vision in time and on budget! They were key to this success story
Be proud of the team South Africa. Be very proud!
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