VII. We Sweep The Sheds

'We sweep the sheds' is about servant leadership and it's the first core value of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team. Few (if any) teams in any sport can match the All Blacks record of dominance over the last 100 years. Looking at recent history, their win rate is over 86 percent since rugby's professional era began in 1995. Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us about the Business of Life by James Kerr provides great insight into the All Blacks organizational culture. Ian Brooks wrote a great summary of the book, highlighting the teams' core values (The First XV). Brooks writes:

Before leaving the dressing room at the end of a game, some of the top players in the team – including Richie McCaw and Dan Carter – stop and tidy up. They literally and figuratively 'sweep the sheds.' It is an example of personal humility, a cardinal All Blacks value. Though it might seem strange for a team of imperious dominance, humility is core to their culture. The All Blacks believe that it’s impossible to achieve success without
having your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Also on servant leadership, there's a great passage in Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield:

I will tell his majesty what a king is. A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear, nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads, but provides it to them. He serves them, not they him.

And finally, I just recently bought Why Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek and I'm excited to read it. Here's what's on the back cover:

Leaders are the ones who run headfirst into the unknown. They rush toward danger. They put their own interests aside to protect us or pull us into the future. Leaders would sooner sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours. And they would never sacrifice what is ours to save what is theirs. This is what it means to be a leader. It means they choose to go first into danger, headfirst into the unknown. And when we feel sure they will keep us safe, we will march behind them and walk tirelessly to see their visions come to life and proudly call ourselves their followers.

Here's a video presentation by Sinek on "Why Leaders Eat Last":