“Better People Make Better Teams”: Building a Winning Culture with Lessons from the New Zealand All Blacks

The All Blacks, the most successful sports team in history, demonstrate that culture, values, and leadership are the keys to sustained excellence. Discover their 15 principles and how they can inspire transformative organizational change.

MT6 Media

The Power of Culture in High-Performance Teams

Culture isn’t just a catchphrase—it’s the DNA of sustained success. Whether in professional sports, the military, or business, culture defines how teams perform under pressure and adapt to challenges. It shapes behavior, decision-making, and ultimately, outcomes. The New Zealand All Blacks, the most successful professional sports team in history, exemplify this truth.

With an extraordinary international match win rate of over 77% spanning more than a century, the All Blacks have demonstrated consistent greatness. Their achievements are a testament not only to their athletic prowess but also to a deeply ingrained culture that prioritizes humility, accountability, and resilience. The All Blacks have proven that success stems not just from talent but from a set of shared values, principles, and behaviors.

James Kerr’s book Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life dives into this winning culture, exploring the 15 mantras that define the team’s ethos. These lessons provide a roadmap for any organization striving for high performance and resilience in a competitive, ever-changing world.

The Role of Culture in Sustained Success

At its core, a winning culture is about alignment. It ensures that every team member understands and embraces a shared purpose, vision, and set of values. This alignment fosters unity, clarity, and a collective commitment to excellence.
Great cultures are characterized by:

• Defined Vision and Goals: Teams need a clear destination to direct their efforts.
• Shared Values and Principles: Uniform adherence to values strengthens cohesion.
• Accountability at Every Level: Leaders and team members alike must embody and uphold the culture.

Importantly, culture doesn’t evolve overnight. Transformations start with incremental changes that, over time, lead to profound shifts in organizational effectiveness and health. These changes enable teams to thrive in uncertain, ambiguous environments and drive success regardless of external circumstances.

The All Blacks exemplify this incremental approach. Their culture is rooted in the understanding that success cannot insulate a team from hardship. Still, it equips them to respond to adversity with resilience and determination.

The All Blacks’ 15 Principles for Success

The All Blacks culture is guided by 15 principles, or mantras, that create a framework for excellence. These principles, as detailed in Legacy, offer valuable insights for any high-performance environment:

• Sweep the Sheds: Humility is key. Players, no matter their status, clean the locker rooms after games. This practice underscores the importance of discipline and humility, ensuring no one is too big for the team.

• Go for the Gap: The team is committed to continuous improvement. They believe that when you're at the top, it's time to evolve. This mindset prevents complacency and fosters innovation.

• Play with Purpose: Knowing the "why" behind their actions keeps the All Blacks motivated. Purpose provides the direction and meaning needed to sustain collective effort.

• Pass the Ball: Leadership is about empowering others, which requires selflessness. The All Blacks emphasize creating leaders within the team to share responsibility and foster collective ownership.

• Create a Learning Environment: Incremental improvement is a core principle. By constantly striving to be 1% better, the team achieves compounding gains in performance.

• No Dickheads: Individual brilliance is meaningless if it undermines the team. The All Blacks enforce a zero-tolerance policy for toxic behavior, ensuring cohesion and collective focus.

• Embrace Expectations: The team sets high internal benchmarks, using the pressure of expectations as a motivator rather than a burden.

• Train to Win: Exceptional preparation under pressure ensures peak performance in high-stakes situations. The All Blacks train intensely to replicate game-day conditions.

• Keep a Blue Head: Maintaining composure under pressure is critical. The team trains to stay calm, focused, and clear-headed during pivotal moments.

• Know Thyself: Self-awareness and authenticity are vital for trust and integrity. The All Blacks foster an environment where players are honest with themselves and each other.

• Invent Your Own Language: Shared language and stories create a strong sense of belonging. This helps reinforce team identity and values.

• Ritualize to Actualize: Rituals like the haka connect the team to their heritage and collective purpose. These traditions remind players of their shared identity and goals.

• Be a Good Ancestor: Players are encouraged to leave the jersey in a better place. This long-term perspective fosters stewardship and accountability.

• Sacrifice: Champions go beyond what's expected. The All Blacks emphasize selflessness and commitment to the team's success.

• Write Your Legacy: Each player contributes to the team's ongoing story. This principle instills pride and purpose in their roles.

https://joshlinkner.com/invent-your-own-language/

Culture Lessons for Business

The All Blacks’ principles transcend sports and offer valuable lessons for leaders in any field. Nike, for example, built its success on nine core principles that shaped its culture and drove its growth. Similarly, businesses can adopt frameworks like the All Blacks to build alignment, resilience, and long-term success.

Research shows that organizations with strong cultures outperform their competitors. High-performing cultures foster employee engagement, organizational health, and adaptability when facing challenges. A study by John Kotter and James Heskett showed that companies with strong corporate cultures had a 756% increase in net income over 11 years, compared to 1% for companies without strong cultures. Similarly, a PwC Global Culture Survey in 2021 concluded organizations that prioritize culture report 29% higher levels of employee engagement and improved financial performance. While no culture can prevent failure, it shapes how organizations respond, recover, and learn.

The Path to Cultural Transformation

Transforming culture requires patience and consistency. Leaders must:

• Start Small: Identify incremental changes that align with your desired culture.
• Define Your Vision: Articulate a clear purpose and communicate it widely.
• Model Desired Behaviors: Leaders must embody the values they want to instill. Remember, 'People will be what People Can See.'
• Encourage Accountability: Foster an environment where every team member takes responsibility.
• Celebrate Progress: Acknowledge and reward behaviors that align with the culture.

Resilience, Alignment, and Legacy

A great culture doesn't eliminate hardship but determines how teams navigate it. The All Blacks have faced their share of setbacks, including their devastating 2007 World Cup loss. Yet, their culture enabled them to reflect, adapt, and return stronger, culminating in their 2011 World Cup triumph.

For leaders, the All Blacks’ story underscores the importance of alignment, resilience, and shared purpose. As James Kerr writes in Legacy, “Better people make better All Blacks.” Better people also make better teams, organizations, and communities.