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Image: The All Blacks performing a haka prior to a Test match against France in 2006 by [Sonya & Jason Hills from London](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2443929)

Everyone has their bad days. Perhaps your business is floundering, and you're feeling low. As low, in fact, as the All Blacks were, after their [catastrophic quarter-final failure](https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/70523712/) in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It left them shocked and demoralised.

" _There's a sort of desolate decay and the smell of death,"_ was the dismal description of the changing sheds by All Blacks retiring hooker Anton Oliver at the time. The loss was put down to many things, but one reason rose to the top: the All Blacks were in desperate need of [good leadership](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blogs/Leadership).

[**Free Whitepaper Download** :](https://thegrowthfaculty.ac-page.com/leadershipqualities) [10 Leadership Qualities That Will Help Solve Challenges in 2024](https://ideas.growthfaculty.com/l/1071223/2024-06-12/5q9w2q)

Shocking loss a catalyst for transformation

It's incredible to see what self-reflection and good leadership did to turn the All Blacks around. By 2011, forwards coach Steve Hanson was explaining an extraordinary change to _The Guardian._

_"The leadership within the group is a lot better than it was then. It is shared, and everyone has taken ownership of the team."_

Could improving your teams sense of ownership and their leadership skills **help your company build high performing teams** too?

[**Free whitepaper download**: The ROI of a Thriving Culture](ROI of culture - https://ideas.growthfaculty.com/l/1071223/2024-06-12/5q9w2b)

Deciding to make a team of leaders

James Kerr's bestseller _Legacy_ does a deep analysis of the world's most successful sporting team, the New Zealand All Blacks and their famously consistent team culture.

Self-reflection by the executive led to the creation of **15 elegant mantras**, and the power of these mantras incredibly turned the fortunes of the All Blacks around. It is a truly inspirational read that addresses the challenges of adapting a personal leadership style to build a teamwork culture that achieves sustained success.

In our interview with James Kerr we discovered how the All Blacks' mantras became the lived values of the team, both inside the changeroom and outside the pitch.

In this article we list out the All Blacks' 15 Mantras (including the especially elegant "_No dickheads")_ and explain how great leaders use them to motivate their staff to give their best.

The turning point for the All Blacks: No dickheads.

The mantras are central to how the All Blacks came to dominate World Rugby, and become one of the **greatest sporting teams** today.

As a leadership framework, the 15 mantras won't apply to every company. However what makes the All Blacks great can inspire you to create your own set of motivational tools to **create a high performing team culture**. And, armed with 15 transformational mantras of your own, **you can have a successful and winning team.**

James Kerr Legacy

The All Blacks' 15 Mantras

It would be easy for the All Blacks to develop out-sized egos and lose personal discipline. After all, they now dominate their code, and have millions of adoring fans.

But, how can anyone take their success too seriously when expected to literally and figuratively **'sweep the sheds'** - the smelly dressing rooms.

It's how the All Blacks express and **practice humility**, which they marry up with pride.

Pride in performance; total humility before the magnitude of the task.

Mantra #1. Sweep the Sheds

_When you're on top of your game, change your game._

This is a lesson in always **self-improving**. Never become complacent.

Just as in "sweep the sheds", the All Blacks are taught to be aware that today's rooster can become yesterday's feather duster if the **rot of complacency** sets in.

A winning organisation is an environment of personal and **professional development** , and sustainable competitive advantage is achieved by the development of a continuously self-adjusting culture.

Mantra #2. Go for the Gap

_Ask Why?_

The only way a team effectively pulls together in one direction is by knowing what the **higher purpose** is.

The sense of direction is needed to create belief and personal meaning in each player.

A **clear vision** , well-communicated, is what keeps the All Blacks surging forward, and successful teams energised.

Mantra #3. Play with Purpose

_Leaders create leaders._

Liz Wiseman fleshes out this "pass the ball" in her concept [_Multiplier leadership_](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/multipliersanddiminishers) , where leaders encourage those around them to realise their **true potential**.

_Leaders rooted in the logic of multiplication believe:_

_1\. Most people in organisations are under utilised;_

_2\. All capability can be leveraged with the right kind of leadership;_

_3\. Therefore, intelligence and capability can be multiplied without requiring a bigger investment._

Leaders are not just the captains of the staff (or industry); every person in a workforce should take responsibility and ownership for improvement.

Mantra #4. Pass the Ball

Patrick Lencioni, author of the inspiring handbook, _The Ideal Team Player,_ says a [pillar of high performing cultures](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/thoughtleaderpatricklencioni) is that players in any organisation should be humble, hungry and smart.

> _Leaders who can identify, hire, and cultivate employees who are humble, hungry, and smart will have a serious advantage over those who cannot._

Coaches especially want hungry players.

Players who want to learn and develop their game, who constantly strive to improve.

However it does not mean it is solely the coach's responsibility to teach. The All Blacks actively encourage players to share learnings and mentor each other, as well as taking responsibility for ensuring they themselves remain a winning team.

Mantra #5. Create a Learning Environment

_Follow the whanau (spearhead)._

This is shorthand for the term "hive mind." Following the spearhead means flying in formation and **being of team**.

Perhaps the most important lesson, in a sport that so often lionises individuals, the All Blacks learn that no one is bigger than the team, and **individual brilliance** doesn't automatically lead to outstanding results.

One selfish mindset will infect a **collective culture.**

Mantra #6. No Dickheads

_Aim for the highest cloud._

**Dream big** is the message behind this lesson. Successful leaders set their **expectations high** , and try to exceed them. Of course, the higher the goal, the greater the risk of failure.

Fear of failure can be both motivating and debilitating.

The All Blacks are taught to **embrace fear of failure**, and cleverly use a healthy loss aversion to motivate even greater performance.

Mantra #7. Embrace Expectations

_Practice under pressure._

Like the U.S. Navy SEALs, the All Blacks place great emphasis on **exceptional training** and specifically training to win.

This is the secret to the All Blacks' famous ability to perform under pressure. They have literally conditioned their brains and bodies to do so. They train under pressured conditions, and they train to develop their skills.

As James Kerr says in _Legacy_ , most people have the **will to win** ; few have the will to **prepare to win.**

Mantra #8. Train to Win

_Control your attention._

Decision-making under **pressure** can separate the best teams from the poor ones. We have all seen "hot heads" blow their fuse in any number of sports.

A blue head is the opposite of a hot head. It's a cool, controlled, pattern-seeing state, when you **retain your awareness** and your decision-making power. Bad decisions are not made through a lack of skill or innate judgement: they are made because of an inability to **handle pressure** at the pivotal moment.

Mantra #9. Keep a Blue Head

_Keep it real._

Self-awareness is the catch-cry of many of the world's most admired thinkers from [Brené Brown](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/BrenBrowntoptipassumeothersaredoingthebesttheycan) (_Dare to Lead_) to Patrick Lencioni (_The Ideal Team Player_). It is also one of the most critical components to a healthy organisational culture.

High-performing teams promote a culture of honesty, authenticity and safe conflict, and leaders lead the way on this.

Mantra #10. Know Thyself

_Sing your world into existence._

A vocabulary and shared set of beliefs glues players together. A strong sense of **community and belonging** cements All Black players to their team.

Core values underpin the stories that give rise to this vocabulary and community spirit.

Shared understanding of what the All Blacks stand for, and why they stand for it, is how the bonds are strengthened that make them so invincible.

Mantra #11. Invent Your Own Language

_Create a culture._

In business parlance, it's the founder story that brings depth and emotion to a company.

The All Blacks involve team members in rituals that point to their shared history, reminding and reigniting their **collective identity and purpose** and helping to bounce back from adversity.

Their team culture is unique, and is based on their heritage as a nation and rugby team. This is part of creating the legacy that others will inherit.

Mantra #12. Sacrifice

_Whakapapa_

This is stewardship of the past, reflected and reinvigorated through rituals and responsibilities.

It is leadership that cares about contribution to the **lineage of the company** and the team, even the planet, and about our contribution as individuals to a deeper continuum.

Mantra #13. Ritualise to Actualise

_Plant trees you'll never see._

This is the moment where All Blacks are asked to **leave the jersey in a better place.** In a nutshell, it's about individual players adding to the legacy of this great team.

True leaders, by being **stewards of the future**, can simply outlast the competition. See also [our interview with All Black legend Dan Carter.](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/dancartertheartofwinningsummary/?campaign_id=701RG00000CbTKPYA3&promo=SC&type=Affiliate) 

**Character** is highlighted here. And character takes a higher place in the All Blacks than reputation, because _your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are._

Mantra #14. Be a Good Ancestor

_This is your time._

Imagine this you've finally cracked a spot in the All Blacks. You are handed a **small black book**. It shows the jersey from the 1905 Originals, the first tour, and another from the 1924 Invincibles. There are other jerseys, and many pages of information about being an All Black.

But pages of the book are blank, for you, the new player, to fill in. You know what the All Blacks stand for, you know what makes a great All Blacks team member.

Now, you are charting your **own journey** to decide what your legacy to the All Blacks is going to be.

_Better people make better All Blacks_, writes author James Kerr in his global bestseller.

Mantra #15. Write Your Legacy

So, your company is in a desperate situation.

Or, perhaps your business has an uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, but isn't ready to achieve world class standards. You can create a foundation for resilience, excellence and sustained success by taking effective leadership lessons from, arguably, the world's most successful team and applying them to your own business environment.

Start with the mantras.

*   How can you be better?
    *   How can you make the team better?
    *   How can you make the future better?

And, first step, get rid of any dickheads.

## Growth Faculty membership

They say that when organisations are **moving fast**, there's rarely enough time and space for informal training and support, particularly for managers.

Our [immersive live virtual learning program](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/) with Growth Faculty membership is one option to consider when researching how best to develop leaders.

Growth Faculty recently launched a good value [Enterprise plan](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/#plans) for larger companies to develop leadership skills in teams of 20 or more employees.

15 mantras for winning like the All Blacks at Team Culture: James Kerr's Legacy

Powerful and practical lessons for business culture from book studying world's greatest rugby team

Keep informed
Stay Inspired

15 mantras for winning like the All Blacks at Team Culture: James Kerr's Legacy

Powerful and practical lessons for business culture from book studying world's greatest rugby team

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired