Captaincy
I’ve been spending a lot of time recently looking at achieving ‘Psychological Safety’ in organisations. Effectively that means creating an environment that allows everyone to feel safe to say and act exactly how they want without feeling fear or anxiety.
Often the captain in a sports team is a good litmus test for this. If he’s being authentic and fearless and can say to his head coach exactly what he thinks without any fear of reprisal then it’s a very powerful indicator that the culture is a positive one, and it’s also encouraging the other players and staff to feel and then do the same.
In this video I’m talking about Osea Kolinisau, the finest captain I’ve had. We came from different cultures and backgrounds but we both operated on the same wavelength and mutually respected each other all the time. I was very fortunate to have him shoulder to shoulder with me.
Vei Lomani.
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Really interesting. I’m a new rugby coach based in Jakarta, Indonesia. I’m about 8 weeks in and keen to foster an open (growth mindset) environment where the Captain, senior players & new players have space to speak up and question the coaching during training sessions. What this blog made me think more carefully about was how to effectively make clear (from the start of sessions) that the environment is indeed a safe one and one that allows questions / comments / suggestions. Through constructive challenges and working together we will hopefully communicate better (and understand outcomes better) at training for solid results in the sessions and season ahead. Look forward to reading more of this blog. It is awesome. Really inspired by the blog and your journey. Thanks again, Dave
Great blog, thank you!