Wallabies in dire need of new culture

Russell Bell PHOTO/FILE

No one enjoys watching the All Blacks beat the Wallabies probably more than me, although over the years it has gotten to the stage that I am starting to have sympathy for our long-suffering rivals.

Such was their eventual capitulation last Saturday night that I spent a fair amount of time reflecting on why they are having such struggles at the moment.

I watched highlights of the game and noted that the Aussies lacked the structure of the ABs but, more tellingly, I noticed right about the time that we scored our first second half try that the body language of the Aussies was clearly downcast.

Heads had dropped, players were walking slowly to set pieces and communication between players took on a critical air. Individuals weren't totally at fault for their losing - they lost as a team.

Culture is a critical aspect of any team and is especially important in business. This encompasses what you might have referred to as "EQ" rather than "IQ". And much like a sports team, your team may be highly skilled and experienced but if your culture is compromised you will find that performance will not match expectations.

To match my intuition about the team performance there was an insightful article in the Sydney Morning Herald which effectively said just that in relation to the younger players in the team and how their behaviour and attitude was causing rifts and divisions in the wider team - leading to under-performance on the team. The article went on to criticise Robbie Deans (the former Wallaby coach) for allowing the situation to exist and then grow within team ranks.

Given that the players cited as negative influences were/are their most skilled and exciting playmakers I can see the thinking coach's tactics in trying to harness their skills for the eventual betterment of the team. The problem is that these tactics were wrong and, ultimately, lead to underperformance.

For businesses it is much the same - attitude determines altitude and ignoring cultural challenges or using half measures often result in exacerbation of any problems.

Management need to be aware of culture and its impact on performance and enlightened businesses are realising significant gains from investing in getting the most out of their organisations culturally through strategic alignment and recognising the import of the 'soft' factors which drive organisations.

Having worked recently on projects which have involved redesign of structures and culture change, I have seen firsthand the benefits of understanding organisational culture and addressing challenges head on. There are also significant opportunities which, almost certainly, result in improved financial and productive performance when organisational culture is analysed and addressed.

And in most cases business owners, managers and staff will be well aware of cultural difficulties but unfortunately will not be able to deal with them without expert help.

I hope that the Wallabies get help with their cultural challenges, not because I want them to beat the All Blacks, but because it would be nice if the games were more competitive!

+ Zenith Solutions has the expertise and experience to assist your business in identifying and addressing cultural challenges and improve performance. Call 347-9997 or 021 244 2421 for a no obligation discussion