How to use sporting strategies to succeed in business

Businesses have always struggled to ignite similar levels of enthusiasm and dedication in their people. But my sporting background has made me realise that there are striking similarities between the success of sporting teams and businesses. In both areas, number one key to a team’s success (or failure) is its people. And what’s the number one key to the success of your people? Engagement. While most forward-thinking organisations now appreciate the importance of investing in engagement strategies, they must also take the necessary steps to foster a winning culture.  Strong culture and engagement go hand in hand.

A quality culture can be defined as one united group with the same positive mindset owning and working towards the same winning vision. Many organisations believe that strong leadership, and an exclusive focus on the development of their leaders, is the key to a winning culture. They are mistaken. It is the people and their contribution that will make or break your business. Organisations live and die by the people they employ – no matter what industry. People who aren’t actively engaged won’t really care. At the centre of the most successful teams is the strategic empowerment and development of all team members, ensuring a clear pipeline to leadership and engagement.

In sport, the best teams know that success relies heavily on the contribution of everyone in the playing group. The trust and camaraderie within the team keeps them aligned and on track. While business would benefit from adopting this sporting methodology, many attempt to do so with limited or short-lived success. So how do we implement it – and quickly?

We start by putting the right system and strategies in place to ensure massive, rapid and sustainable change. This can be best achieved via the introduction of what I call a ‘structured in-house collective engagement and unity strategy’.  It must be action-based, be run in-house and include everyone in the team or business. Everyone needs a voice, and everyone needs to be held accountable.

There are three key program requirements:

1) Schedule weekly group discussions aimed at creating new habits and growing both the individual and the organisation as a whole

2) Set a three-month limit with set individual and team accountabilities, as well as a focus on the end goal

3) Use a proven system to uncover everyone’s neurological touch points, as we all have different motivational drivers

For an organisation to accelerate ahead of their competitors, engagement must come first, naturally flowing into leadership development and a power culture. About 90 per cent of today’s business leaders think an engagement strategy has a positive effect on commercial success, yet only 25 per cent of them have a game plan! In today’s competitive world, your people are your power. Old-school business strategies and ‘knowledge-dumping’ training programs are no longer sufficient when it comes to employee activation. The game has changed. Have you changed your game to keep up?

Richard Maloney, chief executive, Engage & Grow

Richard Maloney is the author of The Minds of Winning Teams – Creating Team Success through Engagement & Culture. Richard specialises in the development of high-performance teams, individuals and organisations. He currently leads a team of engagement specialist coaches as chief executive of Engage & Grow. To learn more, or to register for their half-day events, visit www.engageandgrow.com.au