What if the keys to sporting success could be applied to business? Have you never dreamed of being Bernard Laporte ?
Managing a team and taking it to the highest level is a common challenge between the sports world and business. Whether on the field or in business, effective team management is essential to achieve objectives.
When thinking of a mentor, a leader capable of inspiring their people to give their best, the image of the sports coach often comes to mind. Sports coaches indeed have a lot to teach managers, as they know how to mobilize human resources to achieve results.
During this Rugby World Cup season, here are our top 14 rugby-inspired rules for team management that you can apply in your business.
Rule #1: Managing a Team Means Protecting Your Own and Taking Responsibility
As a coach, it’s important never to shift responsibility onto your players. Regardless of the outcome and atmosphere, it’s important to protect them from external pressures, from the hierarchy. The coach takes their share of responsibility and never criticizes a particular individual but can draw attention to negative or inappropriate behaviors.
In business, the idea is the same. You manage individuals, but these individuals are part of a team.
Rule #2: Test Players with Short Assignments
Here, you need to consider time management for your employees. Dividing a difficult mission into shorter, successive tasks will be much easier. Similarly, immediately praising an employee will encourage and motivate them to improve their performance.
Rule #3: Managing a Team Means Building the Future with Your Members
Patrice Lagisquet, backs coach for the French national rugby team (XV de France), told his teams “From now on, we start thinking about our game, and what we want to build for the future.”
In short, you need to have a precise strategy and share it with your teams. By building a strategy with your teams, you might encounter some pitfalls during implementation, but the commitment gained, the extra spirit generated, will prove to be a winning bet.
Rule #4: Don’t Stress Your Teams, Learn to Manage Them Effectively
If a coach puts too much pressure on several matches, it becomes counterproductive. Striving for success in every aspect can have the opposite effect; your teams get stuck, and failure is guaranteed. When you manage a team in business, it’s the same; putting too much pressure on your employees risks holding them back. To counteract this, explain the ins and outs of what you’re asking of them by clearly communicating the deadline if there is one.
Rule #5: Become a Leader
Without good game leaders, who act as intermediaries between the coach and the players, the team is disoriented. Build connections with your teams. Make sure they trust you. Fabien Galthier confided “If your team feels that with you it’s good, that with you it’s better, then on the field they will want to fight, they will want to succeed, for themselves first and a little for you.”
Discover the guide to strengthen the bond with your team and become an inspiring leader
Rule #6: Give Yourself Time
While the president or shareholders are always eager to see results, the coach sometimes needs to know how to allow time for talents to emerge. According to Fabien Galthier, “sharing your knowledge, giving time, accompanying, encouraging, inspiring, enduring – these are all the elements that will make them realize you are there for them.” By giving them time, you will see your employees grow, flourish, and become increasingly effective.
Rule #7: Set Achievable and Motivating Goals
Don’t try to rush things. You need to set achievable and appropriate goals for yourself and your employees. Take the time to clearly define your team’s objectives. Make sure they are motivating, that they are “SMART”: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Rule #8: Foster Positivity
A small success will trigger your teams’ motivation. The golden rule to keep in mind is “Focus on the positive.” Praise your employees step by step for the work they have accomplished, and you will see their motivation increase.
Rule #9: Channel Egos to Better Lead Your Team
Within the French Rugby team, players’ egos are quite pronounced. You need to make them coexist. According to Bernard Laporte, strong egos are not to be avoided; on the contrary, they should be channeled. They drive the team forward by setting an example. These are people who pay attention to details and generally have a great need for communication. It is therefore essential to debrief collectively. Players, even the best ones, must be able to accept others’ perspectives and be exemplary.
Rule #10: Develop Game Intelligence
The ‘genius’ players are those who are always one step ahead of their opponents, who possess game intelligence. If they see the opponent’s defensive strategy change, they react immediately, adapt, and modify their own strategy. This notion of adaptability also exists in business. However, be careful not to confuse in-action adaptation, which corresponds to taking initiative in the moment, with the overall strategic choice, which should be a more thoughtful approach.
Rule #11: Instill Team Spirit
A good individual, however talented, with a negative attitude and who doesn’t accept criticism, can spoil the performance of the entire team. In selecting a rugby team, it’s the complementarity between players that is sought. In a business, the idea is the same; you need to find a way to involve each team member in the journey, so that everyone understands the importance of each individual. “I would never have scored points if they hadn’t passed me the ball,” this humble statement from Thierry Lacroix, top scorer of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, highlights the obvious: the collective is everything.
Rule #12: Rediscover a Space for Creativity
In any field, technique is necessary. But then you need to know how to let go, rediscover spontaneity, and become partners. An effective team must master technique, spontaneity, and innovation. Creativity is an essential tool to help you manage a team.
Rule #13: Build for the Long Term
Selecting a French Rugby team is a long-term process. The coach must be on the lookout for new talent, but also know when to pause the integration of new players to consolidate the team. In business, even during periods of growth, when you will want and/or need to recruit new employees, take the time to consolidate your team. A structure built on poor foundations is destined to collapse.
Rule #14: Be Sincere
Managing a team means being direct. A manager must be honest. They must be open and sincere. They must explain their strategy and approach, while respecting each individual.
As you will have understood, to manage a team, you need to value effort, take your time to build a winning long-term strategy, and focus on the collective. Sports management has a lot to teach us on this subject. Dare to dream of winning and achieving long-term success.
Alright, because we like you, here’s a final piece of advice from Bernard Laporte: “Isolate yourself if you want, but never alone”.
To learn more, check out our guide The Manager Coach here.