I’m not glad we cheated. I’m just glad we got caught cheating.
Because we have been caught we have an opportunity to change. If they had not been caught, the cheating might have continued and our culture would have become even worse.
There are two ways to change culture. The really hard way and the really, really hard way.
The really, really hard way is when we suspect there is something wrong and we have the courage to make some changes, even though it’s hard and it’s unpopular and people resist. This is a slow burn and in organisations and institutions, it doesn’t happen enough.
The really hard way is when a crisis occurs and we have no choice but to make big, hard changes. Based on the recent events in South Africa, we have an opportunity to become better as individuals, a cricket team and a Nation.
The individuals in the team need to understand that there is no honour in winning if you cheat. Cricket Australia needs to take some responsibility for not acting when the culture started going off. We, as a Nation, should demand better from our representatives.
What’s going on in your organisation that needs to change? As leaders we need to have the courage to say ‘something’s not right and we need to fix it’ otherwise we may find ourselves facing a crisis and then be forced to act.
We should learn from this painful experience and take stock of our own culture, and have the courage to act.