Richard Moore’s book ‘Sky’s the limit. Wiggins and Cavendish: the quest to conquer the Tour de France’ provides fascinating insights into the vision, values, ethos, plan and execution of Team Principal David Brailsford, who is also Performance Director for Team GB Cyling. Among the many lessons is one that resonates deeply with me and I’ll explain why, later in this piece.
In the quest to win the Tour de France ‘clean’ with a British team, Richard Moore describes Brailford’s ethos on several occasions in his book – that the team is there to support the cyclists. Team Sky’s coaches, psychologists, sports scientists, therapists, doctors, mechanics, nutritionists, chefs and administrators have one aim – to serve their needs:
“Our philosophy has always been about everybody trying to support the riders to be the best they can be.”
“We – the coaching and support staff – are the minions. We’re there to help the riders. It’s all about the riders. They’re the kings and queens of their world.”
Brailsford is consistent with this message. In a BBC report in 2008, while talking about track cycling as opposed to road racing, he says:
“We put the riders in the middle; we’re just the minions around them giving them expert advice.”
“We know our place in the whole team and that’s really important and everybody buys into that.”
Now it’s one thing to say it. It’s another to actually do it. And to do it consistently, day in and day out requires humility – to take a modest or low view of one’s importance. It requires everyone to leave their ego at the door, so pay attention please, Premiership and England footballers. It’s interesting to note that FA Chairman David Bernstein is to bring in a code of conduct for England players. Perhaps humility will be one of the tenets of the code. We can but hope.
I mentioned at the beginning of this piece that David Brailsford’s humility and ‘minion’ approach resonates with me. When I joined Marks & Spencer as a management trainee in 1973, I was sent on a three week (yes three weeks!) induction programme with 35 other trainees. On the first morning, the Head of Training used an overhead projector to support his presentation. He drew out on a transparency – beamed onto a screen – a simplified structure of the business, starting with the Board of Directors, down through the executive and management layers to the shop floor sales staff. As he drew, he outlined the headcount for each layer and his diagram took the shape of a triangle – with a few people at the top, and many at the bottom. And then he did something that really surprised me. He turned the transparency round, so that it was an inverted triangle instead and said:
“We all exist to support the sales floor staff – we are all here to serve them, because they serve the customer. And without the customer, we don’t exist. Remember that.”
I’ve never forgotten it and carry that thought to this day. And some 35-40 years later, David Brailsford and his team who support the cyclists – whether on the track or the road – are achieving astonishing success following the same principle of humility.
Now compare that with your business or organisation. If you’re in a leadership position, who needs are you serving? Yours or those of the organisation? If it works for Cycling, could it work for you?
In his book ‘Good to Great’, Jim Collins describes his model: the 5 levels of leadership, with one being the lowest and five the highest level. He describes level 5 leaders as having a curious combination of humility and iron-will determination. Doesn’t that describe David Brailsford? Now take a look in the mirror: does it describe you?
Post a reply and let me know what you think. It will be great to hear from you.
Leadership Insights 