Image: FloSports, Rugby101.

My position in rugby was #2—smack bang in the middle, front of the front row. With eight people making up the scrum, there were about 1,800 lbs of weight driving forward, creating the pressure required to keep us on the front foot and the opposition on the back foot.

Alignment, cohesion, precision, focus, and agility were all key factors of success in the moment. Beneath and guiding these moments sat purpose, trust, mindset, team values, and a game plan.

Each member of the team had a slightly different role but contributed their own unique impact to the shared goals.

The same is true of leadership teams—or indeed any high-performing team in business.

Both in rugby and in business, the difference between the good and the greatest teams is that the greatest teams consistently work on getting better, even when things are going well.

The highest-performing teams continuously improve:

✅ They build on their strengths and fill in their blind spots.

✅ They give immediate, organic, and regular feedback.

✅ They don’t make excuses; rather, they look in the mirror as individuals and as a team to learn from their losses and mistakes.

✅ They keep a blue head under pressure.

✅ They understand the importance of trust but don’t view it as binary; rather, they see it as multi-dimensional—something they can practice and strengthen together.

✅ They don’t take criticism personally; they own it as a way of making themselves and each other stronger.

I’ve built, captained, competed on, coached, and led dozens of teams over the years—on and off the field. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be unpacking the difference between the good and the great.

PurposeFused does a lot of work coaching good teams to become great. We start at the top with leadership teams. Given they are (thankfully, still) made up of humans, there are always opportunities to get better.

Our fresh perspective, unique and effective tools, and dynamic approach meet every team where they are and take them beyond where they think they can go.

Interested in a Leadership Team diagnostic? Please reach out. We love it—and so will you!