Lessons in Leadership from Steve “Tugga” Waugh: former Australian Cricket Captain

E-ZINE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2006
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by Keith Coats

When it comes to the Australian cricket team there are very few neutrals: You either love them or hate them. However, regardless of which side of the fence you happen to be, the one thing that you cannot deny is the fact that they are, without fear of contradiction, the number one side in the world in both forms of the game. The Australian brand of cricket is professional, ruthless and bold. They would rather lose trying to win than play for a draw. And win they do, with a consistency to be admired and one that is unmatched by their rivals. In developing their winning culture, they have transformed the way test cricket is played and have become the benchmark for the chasing pack.

But cricket, as with life, is seasonal. The Australians have not always enjoyed their current dominance, having wrestled the crown from the West Indies in the early 1990’s. Embedded in the rise and ascendancy of the Australians are some valuable lessons for leaders everywhere. These insights are succinctly encapsulated by the life and career of former captain Steve ‘Tugga’ Waugh, in his excellent autobiography, Out of my Comfort Zone (ISBN 0-670-04198-1).

By the time Waugh inherited the captaincy of the test side from Tubby Taylor in 1999, Australian cricket already enjoyed worldwide dominance. Getting to that point had entailed putting in place a very deliberate process. It was a process that required patience, commitment and consistent application, all of which were fuelled by the desire to be the best. Steve Waugh’s character and leadership epitomized these characteristics that marked the process and in so doing, provide lessons for leaders everywhere.

Waugh described the role of captain as one that required him to be an advisor, mentor, friend, psychologist, mediator, spokesperson, politician and selector. Today’s corporate leader can identify with the multi-facetted role and nature that is contemporary leadership. In the emerging Connection economy leaders are required to assume many roles and any reluctance or refusal to recognize this reality, results in a one dimensional leadership in which the leader’s impact and effectiveness are diluted. Dexterity, flexibility and an ability to recognise what role is required are skills that are integral to savvy leadership. The normal corporate environment is a cacophony of diversity that demands of leaders the ability to respond in a variety of ways. This requires leaders to exhibit a great degree of emotional intelligence, understanding and sensitivity. It could be an interesting exercise to make a list of the various roles you as a leader have been required to play over the past four months and then to examine your performance as you have done so. Valuable questions then include: Which roles require further development? Which are the roles that energize and which have been the ones that have drained energy? What roles are needed, but are missing?

Here then are lessons that savvy leaders can take from the Steve Waugh story:

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SAA do it again

In the SAA lounge await flight 572 to Jhb. A bit grumpy to boot as who wants to be in the lounge on a Sunday afternoon (missing the finish of the A1 GP round the streets of Durban) anyway!

My flight is due to depart at 17:40. 17:40 comes around and there has been no announcement. Knowing that flight SA 570 has just been called is not a good sign as by anyone’s logic this is an earlier flight and I would guess by some distance.

I go to the lounge desk and ask what is going on only to be told…

“Sorry Sir, your flight has not yet left Jhb”. Unbelievable! Here we are facing at least a 90 minute delay and SAA have not even had the courtesy to announce a delay. I ask why no announcement and am told that they (SAA lounge staff) haven’t received any official notice and that once the flight has taken off from Jhb they will be able to give an eta. Well of course…but how about simply informing us of the situation as it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the maths as to the extent of the delay? Of course such logic and concern falls on deaf ears and the suggestion that they inform their clients is met with blank stares and no action. So here I sit…still in the lounge…still none the wiser…and longing for the government to stop covering for the shambles that is SAA so that they will be forced to get their act together!

Confirmation of a character Tsunami

Sitting in a lecture at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok listening to David Hastings talking about the tsunami that devestated this region on the 26th December 2004. Some interesting insights are emerging as to the systems in place through technology and networks that are designed to alert the region to the constant threat of tsunamis. When an earthquake occurs it takes three readings before the size and character of the quake can be determined. This got me thinking about personal feedback…

When one gets feedback that is ‘confirmed’ three times then perhaps it becomes possible to determine the ‘character’ of the feedback and respond accordingly. This offers a useful person check in utilizing feedback for personal development. Just a thought.

The other thing to stand out from what Hastings said was that there are times when the network fails to work – when a warning is not passed on – based on political or regional sensitivities. Hard to imagine that one country would intentionally withhold information that might save lives concerning a looming natural disaster but it seems that is indeed the case. Again, considering toxic personal networks that may exist within a corporate environment, perhaps it is not that hard to imagine the failure of the network in this regard!

Waugh of the Worlds

My Christmas stocking included Steve Waugh’s autobiography, ‘Out of my comfort zone’ – a mammoth 700+ page read but one highly recommended. Perhaps some of our Boys (the Proteas) should read it – they may well learn a thing or two!

Sometime around 1996 the Aussie cricketers formed a players association to take on the ACB (The Australian Cricket Board). Up until that point in time the Board were autocratic and pretty much did as they pleased, banking the ever increasing profits cricket generated without passing on the benefits to the players – the primary reason for the profits in the first place. The Board weren’t consistent in how they negotiated the respective contracts, couldn’t be trusted to consider the players rights or responsibilities when signing deals with sponsors and suppliers and nor were they transparent in their dealings.

But here was the gem.
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The Young & the Restless

As I sit here a day before Christmas, rain falling, birds in the feeder right outside my window and a sense of peace and goodwill pervading the atmosphere I am witness to another phenomena about to unfold: Roadtrip 2006. My about-to-be-20 year old son and several of his friends are preparing their Boxing Day Roadtrip that will take them along the garden route and returning to Durban (or should that be Gauteng-by-the-Sea) on the 4th January.
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The Dead: A Case in Point

Walk into The Chatterbox, a coffee shop in Westville, KZN, South Africa (now you know exactly where it is!). Only having about 30 minutes, I order a muffin and coffee. Settle back and switch on my laptop. Damn… need power but no problem, my table has a plug point right next to it. Plug in and get to work. “Sorry Sir” the polite waitress says…
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Flat Earth thinking when it comes to leadership

Following a conversation with Nainoa Thompson ( a Wayfinder who navigates the Pacific Islands without the aid of instrumentation) I was left with an uneasy feeling concerning the contemporary norm when it comes to leadership formation.

But let me backtrack to the conversation with Nainoa.

He described in gripping detail the fear he experienced when navigating the Doldrums. It was the fear of getting lost. The Doldrums is a dangerous stretch of ocean and Nainoa described how he had to ‘close his eyes’ in order to navigate. Successful navigation required something beyond the traditional Western means. He went on to describe how he now welcomes ‘getting lost’ for the value of what gets learnt when lost. If fact there are things that can only get taught when one is lost – and that rich learning is what Nainoa has come to prize.
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The Other Side of Leadership

For the past four years TmTd have been invited to participate in the Asia Pacific Leadership Program (APLP) hosted by the East West Center and based in Honolulu. Recently Keith was asked to write something to the participants on how best to write ‘leadership reflections’ � something that is required of the participants throughout the programme. This article is an adaptation of the memo that Keith wrote to APLP.

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From Hero to Zero

He came, he saw, and he conquered…well almost. SA swimming sensation Ryk Neethling was the star of the Mr Price gala in Durban this past weekend. The world record holder swam 7 races and won 7 races. He was cheered, mobbed and (mainly by the females present) goggled at. But there was a problem.

Swimming like any sport has its own etiquette and as in any sport, respect for one’s competitors is paramount. His swimming credentials beyond question, Neethling let himself, the sport and those watching down in his total lack of respect for both the code of conduct and his competitors.
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7 Things Savvy Leaders Do in order to Be Great Leaders

They recognise and cultivate healthy habits

Savvy leaders understand that character outweighs personality every time. Leadership, as so many presume, is not about personality, it is about character. And character is developed over the long-haul. Developing character is a series of intentional acts be those of success, failure, adversity or achievement. Developing character is to know your values � what you live for and what you would be prepared to die for � and to fashion continues acts from those values. Real character cannot be mimed, imitated or acted out � it is something that is consistent, recognisable and trusted. Consciously going about building those habits that lead to character is what savvy leaders devote themselves too. It isn’t something that happens all at once but rather builds over time and in such a manner that it is acknowledged by others before it is recognised by the carrier.

What those habits are will vary from person to person, the trick is to cultivate those habits that are true to you. To do those things that will make you a better person and not compiling a list of things to do because of their ‘show and tell’ value. A perusal of great leaders will reveal a backbone of personal habits that provided them with strength, relief, perspective, humility and courage. Developing habits that build character will necessitate a review of how you spend your time as you might need to find the discipline to change things around in order to do those things that are important, those things that really matter.

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What if leadership can’t be taught?

During a conversation with the Wayfinder Nainoa Thompson in Hawaii last week the realization of the futility of using the classroom to teach leadership impacted me with new force.

As Nainoa described some of his voyages where he navigated without any modern navigation tools finding tiny islands dotted throughout the vast Pacific the thought occurred to me that trying to teach leadership in a sterile classroom environment is like trying to prepare a soccer team using only the changeroom. This is where our preoccupation with a content-driven approach to education has led us. I am not suggesting that the classroom has no place but rather simply asking whether it has assumed far too important a role resulting in ‘leaders’ well able to articulate leadership but who fail to live it.
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Well done Jhb International

After a long flight home I was waiting for my luggage at Jhb International airport when to my surprise an announcement was made informing me on the progress that was being made in getting my luggage from the plane to me. That’s nice I thought and then was even more taken as further reports followed. Didn’t shorten the waiting time but certainly made it easier… just keeping the customer informed seemed to create greater tolerance and patience. This has never happened to me before so well done Jhb International!

It’s a small world anyway

So here I am in Hawaii with my head having just arrived in Atlanta. It still has about a 9 hour trip to catch-up with the rest of me. Added trouble is that I picked-up a nasty flu type bug as I was leaving SA and which then decided to make my head its home – I guess it recognised the uncrowded environment and knew a good thing when it saw it. Now I know the logic you working on is: How can my head be in Atlanta when here I am in Hawaii with a bug which just so happens to be in my head? Yes it is perplexing but such is paradox and I will leave it there for your further exploration. Any answers would be appreciated.

But let me get to the point.
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Are you wasting your money on leadership development?

Behaviourist B.F. Skinner maintained that, ‚education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten‛. Much has been written about the need to create learning organisations and more resources than fleas on a stray dog have been spent on leadership formation within organisations. The fact that leadership formation assumes such a high priority within most organisations is fully justified but in terms of how it is done, is it money well spent? In the face of this learning avalanche, a nagging question persists: Is the effort surrounding leadership formation producing learning or education (as per Skinner’s definition)? In other words, are organisations and the individuals within them, better off for all the attention on leadership development? Are our leadership programmes really making a significant impact on the way we think, do business, and live our lives?

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“Ah.. you must be the Motivational Speaker”

“No I’m not. In fact I am NOT a motivational speaker” was my emphatic reply. My take on a motivational speaker is a singular talk accompanied by word perfect delivery with every detail carefully crafted and a message, when really looked at – is often a message with very little substance. Harsh? Perhaps…but given this view, I simply don’t like to be labeled as a ‘motivational speaker’. Why is it that corporate conferences are preoccupied with wanting motivational speakers who will pump up the audience and induce a feeding frenzy? Do they really think this leads to lasting or authentic change?

Smart Women Don’t Box: Leadership in the Connection economy

The , exploring the subject of women and leadership, carried an article titled, ‘Women can beat men at their own game’.