“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle
Imagine if each and every team member in your business played his or her role.
That they knew exactly what to do, how to do it, how to operate within the boundaries of the business and how to support the rest of the team to do their roles and create success for the business.
Imagine if you were that team member and how you would be feeling. Having clarity on what you had to do, the role you played within the organization and the difference you were making to the bigger picture.
Just imagine what the results would look like for you and the business.
I witnessed one of the greatest teams in the AFL create sporting history on the weekend. Love them or hate them, the Hawthorn Football Club are an amazing team and to watch them play is a lesson in teamwork and leadership. Each and every player clearly understands the role they play as an individual and how they fit inside the team structure. They know what success looks like each quarter, game end and season end. They’re like poetry in motion and as a Tigers supporter it seems to be only something I can dream of for my team!
As leaders, we can learn a lot from what the Hawthorn Football Club is. Whether you own the business, play a leadership role in business or you are the business, there are strong lessons to be learnt here.
The Hawks aren’t perfect. They’ve faced into many challenges this year and have had off games. But the key point to their success is clarity. When you are clear on the vision, when you are clear on the how and what success looks like along the way, you’ll have success. When you have mechanisms in place to ensure you’re on the right track, communicate effectively and consistently and grow a team of leaders you’ll have success. Even if that’s simply growing you.
When you are able to disrupt your thoughts and plans to ensure you’re game plan is fresh and dynamic and you can stay ahead of the game, you’ll have success. And when you’re willing to put the hard yards in, the research, to define your message, to reinforce the message and coach your team, and that may be just you, to success, you’ll experience what most of us dream of.
What the Hawthorn Football Club does isn’t rocket science. It’s smart consistent business. And they have confidence they do it well and they now have so much confidence in each other and the vision they are formidable.
We can be a formidable unit too, if we choose to make the sacrifices, make the choices and the decisions that we need to. And if we choose to be consistent.