Teamwork Lessons from Success in Business… and Rugby

For a definitive example of high-performance teams, the University of California rugby team is hard to beat—literally. Head Coach Jack Clark's teams have won 21 national championships, 12 of those in consecutive years. More importantly, 97 percent of Cal Rugby’s players graduate and there has never been a hint of scandal in his program.

For the first decade, though, Clark was not a full-time coach. He was paid $1 a year when he started in 1984. Meanwhile he was working his way up through the business world, at Xerox, a securities firm, Grubb and Ellis, and eventually his own firm, Pegasus Capital. By the time that was sold in 1991, it had profits of $10 million a year.

So if there was ever a coach whose sports lessons could help in the business world, I think this is him. A profile in California Management Review by a business lecturer at Cal, Dr. Holly Schroth, walks through his approach to teamwork.

Unlike most coaches who actively recruit players, Clark prefers to make kids show an interest first. "'We don't want to sell the program to a bunch of people who are not right for here,'" he is quoted as saying.

After Clark identifies a prospect, Schroth says, "He makes sure that the recruits know there are lots of rules they are expected to follow." He also walks them through the team values. As described by Schroth, these include:

• "The players are expected to make mistakes, but they have to be honest about them."
• "They are responsible for holding themselves to a higher standard, always presenting a professional appearance, and acting with the utmost respect to others both on and off the field."
• "All team members, players and reserves, are also expected to participate in venue set-up and break-down. Clark believes this instills a sense of ownership."

Notice that he is explaining all this before the person is on the team. Clark works hard to identify people who are team-oriented. "'Those who don't believe in team believe that they give something up or do someone else's work without getting credit,'" he says. He thinks even a team of egomaniacs could work if they believed, as he puts it, "'One fail, all fail.'" However, "'There is never one guy so great that you can't pass him up.'"

Co-Captain Eric Fry says mistakes are openly discussed so expectations are clear and people learn. However, a lot of the team's development is led by the team itself. "'Leadership is the ability to make those around you better and more productive,'" says Clark. Fry likes this model because it means everyone on the team can be a leader. Clark believes having a few people at the top while everyone else competes for authority "'is not a powerful leadership model.'" Note that the rugby team has 60 people, the size of a small company.

The team's captains are not necessarily the best players. They manage the relationships between players and help teammates on and off the rugby pitch. "If they see someone making a bad choice, the captain will step in and intercede," Schroth writes.

Clark empowers the captains to handle those situations. Fry explains, "'We always know what is expected and where to go, but have the freedom in how we get there… he will give us a lot of different options and tools, but it is up to us to determine what will work best in the situation.'"

As with any good sports team, and too few business teams, there is constant performance feedback, usually given in the moment the issue arises. Players are required to analyze their own performances after each game, and coaches critique the analyses. The coaches also use a process they call "modeling." Before the start of the season they identify the player's skills, goals, and roles on the team, and create a plan for their performance including statistical goals. "'This process becomes a living document that we constantly refer back to and adjust where appropriate,'" Clark says. There also is a post-season "audit meeting."

Clark does not buy into the idea some managers have of treating their employees as pals or family. "Clark, in contrast, made it clear that whereas families allow for unconditional acceptance, membership in a high-performance team is conditional—based on performance and teamship," Schroth writes. Fry adds that Clark feels he cannot be as frank if he becomes a friend.

The coach stays informed about personal issues that might affect a player's performance, and mentors them when such arise. But he does not want to be a father figure: "'I wouldn't be as good of a coach if I was the most popular guy in the world—it is easier to be liked than to be a good coach,'" Clark says.

Conflict is managed before it blows up. When one player kept saying inappropriate things, Clark told him to stop talking and the other players not to ask him questions. He felt the youngster would learn to "filter himself," but in the meantime eliminated the source of potential problems. I wonder how this approach would work with that person at your job site. Most sites have at least one!

Coach Clark admits he is not perfect. For example, "'I always need to work at remembering to praise.'" He recognizes the positive impact when he does it, but praise "'doesn't come naturally to me'" because he does not need much himself. On the other hand, he can be too emotional, he says. "'I don't want to make a mistake in tactics, relationships, or teambuilding, and I find myself vulnerable to making mistakes when I allow emotions to enter into my decision-making.'"

A final piece of the picture comes from Cal and Olympic water polo coach Rich Corso, who says of Clark, "'His mission has always been the character development of young men at a diverse world-class university.'" The way to win, in other words, is to focus on helping your team members be the best humans they can be.

Action Item: Pick any one item in Coach Clark's philosophy that you do not follow now and figure out how to try it in your role with your team.

Source: Schroth, H. (2011), "It's Not About Winning, It's About Getting Better," California Management Review 53(4):134.