Culture lessons from the NZ All Blacks

I read a social media post recently about how a key to the NZ All Blacks success has been the introduction of a ‘no d!ckheads’ policy.

According to the original story, a d!ckhead is someone that makes everything about them, someone who puts themselves before the team, someone who thinks that they’re entitled to something, or who expect the rules should be different for them.

It’s likely that you have never heard of Gilbert Enoka, but he has played a major role in the overwhelming success of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team. With back to back World Cups, they are the world’s most successful sporting franchise, but Gilbert has never laced on an All Black boot. He has been their mental skills coach and custodian of the All Black culture for the last 16 years.

“You can have all the strategies in the world, but in the end, what will enable you to overachieve – or underachieve – is your culture,” he said. “As the custodian of the culture, I make sure everyone has a sense of belonging. When you walk to the pitch, you should feel you belong to this place and that it’s fed and nourished by the people. Too many organisations focus on the vision and values when they should feed a sense of belonging instead, especially if you’re working with a myriad of cultures.”

Who is the custodian of your culture? Have you made it clear what kind of things are acceptable and not acceptable for your people? Do your people call each other out when they need to?