Thursday Night Lights

Thursday nights, I’m in the arena.

You’ll find me strategising, pacing about, voice raised under the glare of a spotlight, and locked in a brutal contest.

No, this isn’t politics… it’s coaching Colts 4 rugby.

When I took on the role of assistant coach for under-21s University rugby, the first job was to build a team that could not only do their individual jobs in their positions, but work together and trust each other, as well.

In every walk of life, we find ourselves working with people who were once strangers. Looking back to my first day as coach, I saw 30 young men who didn’t know each other but were all chasing one objective: winning the illustrious Colts 4 Tuckey Cup!

My day job requires me to work with clients whose objectives, some would argue, carry great significance for our nation. Either way, the lessons I’ve learnt from my passions translates directly to my profession, and vice-versa.

As coach, I needed this cohort of individuals to understand our shared objective, appreciate each other’s roles, and trust that everyone would do their part. We needed to build relationships in order to become a team. 

Whether your objective is a project of national significance or just to build a team who work well together, here are three lessons from my experience as coach for Colts 4 rugby:

• Communication is the bedrock of every relationship
• You have to build appreciation for each other
• Trust grows naturally from there.

My message is simple: take those three points and put them into practice. You might just hit your short-term objectives, or, along the way, you might also build lifelong relationships, the kind I hope my boys are forming with their teammates right now. 

I see the same thing at the SAS Group every day. It’s brilliant watching my colleagues build genuine connections with each other, the trust they have, and the way they stand by each other. And it’s that very same ethos we extend to both clients and friends across all walks of life. Being a trusted advisor is at the heart of the SAS Group’s mission; building lasting, genuine relationships is in our DNA.