Leadership lessons from the Lions

A week is a long time in sport. Just a few days ago, British & Irish Lions supremo Warren Gatland was being pilloried by media and fans alike for his controversial call to drop Lions legend Brian O’Driscoll ahead of the team’s must-win showdown with Australia in Sydney on Saturday night, and pack the side with the Welsh players he’d worked with so successfully during his time as the country’s national coach. Today he’s being hailed as a genius.

Much of the criticism bordered on the vitriolic, if not downright hysterical. And, hands-up, as a die-hard rugby fan I’m man enough to concede I thought he’d erred in not picking one of the greatest players Europe has ever produced.

But following the Lions’ thrilling – and utterly commanding – victory at the weekend, by a record points margin where they outscored the Wallabies four tries to one, Gatland could be excused for telling us all to go to hell. Professional coaches 1, armchair pundits 0.

So where did Gatland get it right? And what can businesses learn from the past seven days? Below, we’ve highlighted some key lessons gleaned from Saturday’s game, as well as an interview we conducted with Gatland a few years back on MeetTheBoss TV that is worth revisiting in the wake of the weekend’s triumph. And what is clear is that Gatland knows what it takes to succeed. As he says, “it’s all about winning, isn’t it?”

Having the courage of your convictions is crucial – and sometimes, that means making tough calls that others don’t like. But just because a decision is unpopular, doesn’t mean it’s not the right one at the time. Gatland showed the strength of character to trust his instincts and go with what he believed to be right, even when everyone else was telling him he was wrong. That takes clarity of vision and an ability to look at challenges without sentiment or emotion – as well as some serious stones.

Gatland on results: “Even though it’s not finance and figures, it comes down to performance and results. And it’s very, very similar in terms of the people that you’re working with … motivating them and empowering them, giving them that ownership, getting the best out of them, building the team for us to ultimately get performance and results on the field.”

Identify your leaders

Alun-Wyn Jones’ may not be the most experienced of skippers, but he was inspirational on the day and led from the front. Having worked with him at national level, Gatland clearly knew what he could expect from Jones as captain and how he would respond to the extra responsibility. But in the modern era you need leaders across the park, and everyone from midfield general Jonny Sexton to lineout captain Geoff Parling to player-of-the-series Leigh Halfpenny stepped up to the mark and imposed their collective will and experience on the game. Having a strong leadership group is essential.

Gatland on leadership: “One of the challenges that we find, in terms of identifying the leaders within the squad, is they often don’t push themselves forward to the front … That’s been incredibly challenging, trying to get players to come out of their comfort zone and put themselves into the spotlight … And it doesn’t always have to be the most experienced person.”

Trust your team – all of it

Gatland had a firm gameplan designed to target Australian weaknesses and make the most of the resources at his disposal, and identified the players best suited to implementing that strategy. It worked to perfection, with his starting selection more than repaying his faith in their abilities. But rugby is no longer a 15-man game; it’s about getting the right support structures in place. Management, coaches, physios – even those players not selected in the matchday squad – had a crucial role to play, helping to prepare and support those that were, and keep morale, motivation and focus levels high. O’Driscoll himself showed the true nature of the squad ethos Gatland had built by offering to do extra work with centres Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies in training ahead of the final Test. Now that’s leadership.

Gatland on trust: “I want to empower the people that I’m involved with … It’s about building trust, loyalty and about being honest. And I think those three values are incredibly important.”