What can we learn about team culture and high performance from The Test?
Corina Roobeck
Cricket fans will love the latest offering from Prime Video: The Test. It documents the rebuilding of the disgraced Australian Cricket team following the events of the ball-tampering scandal. In non-cricketing terms: the Australian team cheated and were caught on camera.
For 18 months cameras follow the new coach and the team as they face their challenges of self and team development, and the pressure to get results - home and away against the best teams in the world culminating in the 2019 World Cup and the all-important goal to retain The Ashes Test series against England.
We get a front-row seat to the dressing room, team meetings, coaches meetings, the celebrated highs, and the crushing individual and team lows while they go about working to their purpose - Make Australia Proud - and put their team behaviours and ethos into action.
Intrigued? Add it to your watchlist AND if not a cricket fan but a fan of team culture and high performance check out my top 11 takeaways:
Great players also need to be GOOD people. Expectations need to be super clear, so everyone can decide then if they are IN or OUT.
"Good behaviours make for a good culture and a good environment where everyone thrives."
Tap into stories: what moves you, the sacrifices the people around you made, those that came before you, your heroes, role models, purpose.
Flow is fun and sometimes looks weird - embrace the weird.
“Enter the bubble, everything else is just noise.”
Learn and get better every day. Group debriefs take courage, especially in defeat. Proactively ask for feedback.
Be real. “Can’t sugar coat shit.” Speak to the elephant in the room.
Celebrate the good.
Leaders need to let go. Trust and support.
Top performers step up more when they get to take responsibility for their results and own their contribution to the team.
Presence under pressure. “Focus on the process, the next ball - it is the most important thing in your life right now.”
And for 12th bonus takeaway :)
Teams are stronger and smarter together. Leverage the collective intelligence. You don't get success without it.