Building Team Jersey – thoughts for Commonwealth Games 2014
Building a high
performance team is one of the greatest challenges of management, leadership
and change. The Commonwealth Games 2014 provides a unique opportunity to apply
the best in current thinking to create the very best in people, performance and
perception building a community of outstanding individuals and unbeatable team
spirit. Below are some of the topics that I will be exploring over the next six
months as we approach Glasgow 2014.
MISSION, VISION
VALUES AND CULTURE
Building a high performance team perhaps starts with some
form of mission or vision statement and must inevitable discuss values and
culture. These are all hot topics in management, leadership and change, and there
are some really good case studies (of success and failure) in business and in
sport. Perhaps the most recent example is the Olympics and London2012, which
for the host nation was a fantastic success, but for others presented some
challenges which impacted team morale and individual performance.
STAKEHOLDERS
The Commonwealth Games is athlete centred, but there is an
awful lot that needs to happen to be athlete centred. Most people like the
simplicity of an iPad, but the amount of thinking, design, technology and
research that goes into making something simple is actually very complex. The
same is true of being athlete centred. A lot of work needs to be done by team,
coaches, managers, officials, supports and sponsors as well as the community to
create the conditions which will reward all the stakeholders with outstanding
performance.
Outstanding performance isn’t just about coming 1st
in an event; it is about the improvements made between the start point and the
end point. It applies to coaches, managers, officials, supports and sponsors as
well as the community, and is central to London2012 approach toward legacy and
building a better future for everyone.
PRIDE AND LEGACY
This idea of doing something BIG is very important. Nobody
will make sacrifices or contributions to something that is insignificant,
meaningless or small. Commonwealth Games 2014 will be attended by 200 world
leaders, 7000 athletes and watched by over 5 billion people. In terms of social
media it may be the biggest event ever, bigger than Olympics and London2012.
For athletes it may be the biggest challenge of their life,
and for some it may define them as a
person and be something that sets a new course for the rest of their life.
Similarly for coaches, managers, officials, supports and sponsors this is a
unique opportunity to be with and learn from the best and most talented of
people in their fields.
Having a sense of purpose, having pride, creating something
for yourself, others and the next generation is central to humanity and
inspires art, music, sport, architecture and many other things which will
out-live the event. Change Leaders are able to inspire this in people, and we
remember the best business and community leaders only because they have done
this. Those who have not are simply spectators and administrators are quickly
forgotten.
I CAN DO THAT HERE
I have long been inspired by Robert Dilts and a key phase
“I can do that here” or indeed “I can’t do that here” because it breaks down
some of the key components of values and culture into things we can easily
understand and manage.
I – Is about me, myself, my core belief, my talent.
(Individual)
Can – Is about capability, competence, and capacity. (Belief)
Do – Is about action, permission, freedom, responsibility.
(Capability)
That – Is about values, culture and behaviour. (Behaviour)
Here – Is about place, environment and timing. (Environment)
Now what is interesting about this model is that whilst
ostensibly it starts with the individual who thought a step-by-step process
might change the world, it also suggests (going in the opposite direction) that
the world might step-by-step change the individual.
This is an essential piece of information for any coaches,
managers, officials, supports and sponsors as well as Business and Change
Leaders!
COMPONENT NO1:
ENVIRONMENT
Having the right environment is very important. There are
many case studies which show that office workers who are able to shape their
environment are much more productive. This is more than eliminating
distractions and having everything laid out in an ergonomic way. It is also
about colour, music, and atmosphere. The things that make your home different
from anyone else’s’ home!
There is a world of difference training in a 50 meter
pool rather than a 25 meter pool. A running track is better than a grass track.
A massage is better than just stiffening up. There are so many things that we
can do to shape our environment and it will have an impact on us and others.
The right environment encourages the right behaviour.
Broken tools, shoddy kit, wrong information, bad management and poor communication
all undermine the positive attitudes and behaviours for high performance.
For the Commonwealth Games I have invited “Team Jersey”
to come up with ideas and activities which will create an environment both
before and at the Games which will help build “Team Jersey” and outstanding
individuals and unbeatable team spirit. Already people have suggested a games
room of play-stations to unwind and quiet areas to relax, notice boards to keep
people informed.
I would like the accommodation to have 200 tons of sand,
a surf board, a VW Combi, palm trees and Nerina Pallot. I would like “Team
Jersey” accommodation to be the envy and interest of 200 world leaders, 7000
athletes and watched by over 5 billion people.
COMPONENT NO2:
BEHAVIOUR
Having commonly agreed mission or vision statement and
values and culture will help create consensus and necessary compromise over
behaviour. Agreeing how we treat each-other, how we communicate, co-ordinate,
collaborate are essential to trust which is a pre-requisite to performance.
This can include agreeing the uniform (what we wear), the
language (what we say and how we say it) and those little non-verbal actions
which speak loudest of all – turning up late to meetings, distracted by mobile
phones etc.
COMPONENT NO3:
CAPABILITY
So often I see talent that isn’t best used because people
feel that they cannot express an opinion, or it isn’t their responsibility or
authority to do something.
Clearly if you have the right environment and you and others
have the right behaviours it creates the circumstances where action,
permission, freedom, responsibility all align to all the individual and team to
be capable of achieving the target, goal, aim or mission.
Often breaking things into simple steps can make even the
most complex tasks sufficiently straight forward that they can be done.
Athletes and Coaches do this all the time with drills and rituals which help
then break-down components into simple tasks and then bring them together to
create a symphony of movement and performance.
COMPONENT NO4: BELIEF
If the above are all achieved then it is inevitable that
there will be an increase in self-confidence based on developing capability,
positive and supportive behaviours and a nurturing environment.
In Melbourne 2006 I attended a talk by Team Canada which
discussed the importance of athletes and athletics in developing self-respect,
self-worth and self-believe in people and communities which had an overall
beneficial impact beyond sport.
One of the legacies of Olympics and London2012, was not just
that more people took up sport, but that the economy picked up as a result of
increased confidence.
It is worth remembering that belief in the form of religion
often uses the above components to promote, encourage and support believe. The
churches, synagogues and temples provide the ENVIRONMENT, the bible, Koran or
other scriptures guide the BEHAVIOURS and by following tasks and rituals people
become more CAPABLE at the things which are important to them, and respected
for that capability.
COMPONENT NO5 : THE
INDIVIDUAL
If the above are all achieved then it can transform people,
families and communities.
There is so much talk about the importance of nature
(attributes we inherit by birth) and nurture (things we learn by experience) in
the development of people. The above are all examples of things that influence
and nurture, and this surely is our role as coaches, managers, officials,
supports and sponsors: to nurture outstanding individuals and unbeatable team
spirit.
CONCLUDING
/SUMMARY POINTS
The above are just
some of the topics that I will be exploring over the next six months as we
approach Glasgow 2014. If you have any comment, queries or suggestions please
don’t hesitate to get in contact.
CONTACT
Tim HJ Rogers
Athletes Representative
Email TimHJRogers@Hougue.Com
Mob 07797762051
Assistant to General Team Manager
& Chef de Mission
Commonwealth Games Association
Jersey
CGAJ Website http://www.cgaj.org/newsite2012/
Zeus System https://cgajey.amo-sport.com/admin/Login.aspx
Athlete’s Rep Blog http://cga-jerseyathletesrepresentation.blogspot.com/
Glasgow 2014 http://www.glasgow2014.com/
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