As I was reading the news last week I came across the article where they were discussing Rassie Erasmus and the team of coaches he has chosen to assist him at the Springboks. It is very clear that Rassie has only one mission on his mind and that is three World Cup wins in a row. It has never been done before and if he manages to do this, he will be immortalized.
When you are assembling a high-performance team there are various factors to consider but I will focus on the top five and in no specific order of importance.
STRONG LEADERS APPOINT STRONG PEOPLE:
It is very important for a guy like Rassie to have the best person for the job in every position. Yet he has to look at local and international candidates and have a good combination of youth and experience. The addition of Jerry Flanery (Ireland) and Tony Brown (New Zealand) shows that Rassie wants people with an “outside” view that can give a different perspective.
TEAM CULTURE
When you have a very strong team culture that has come over many years, it is important that you pick people in your team that can fit into that culture. Somebody might be the best in his or her position, but they might breakdown the team culture and that can divide the team and affect team spirit. High performance teams are driven by a culture of continuous learning and I am sure Rassie and his management will learn an enormous amount for their International compatriots
ADAPTABILITY
When you appoint someone, you must be sure that they are very adaptable and that they don’t mind change. High performance teams embrace change and therefore staff and team members must be able to adapt. Mark Twain said “ If you always do what you have always done, you will get what you always got”. In a fast changing world it truly is adapt or die.
RESILIENCE
This seems like such an arbitrary thing to mention but trust me, resilience is not a common trait these days. I think our children are growing up in an era where when things get tough, then it is OK to quit and start again in another environment that is more convenient. No team in business or sport has ever achieved anything significant without showing a huge amount of resilience. When you want to add someone to your team then ask them a few questions about resilience.
BEING HUMAN
We are growing up in a society where computers and AI are taking over everything. Unless it is an online purchase, the issue is that people buy from people and not from companies. When you are building a high-performance team you have to appoint people who are real and that other people can relate to. When I was in China a few years ago I was fascinated by how the general guy in the street had a work ethic second to none. Without being derogatory they worked like robots. Pick team members with a warm heart, great values and a solid work ethic and you are halfway there.
GET IN TOUCH
If you would like to get in touch with me about my key note presentation, Debunking Motivation, please send an email to corne@cornekrige.com. Visit my website to review my speaker sheet for more info. I also share my story on my social media pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.