Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12
This is the fifth in a series of posts in a book I am reading on my Philippines trip. It contains leadership insights from the most victorious team in sports history (winning percentage = 86% as of the writing of the book): The All Blacks, The New Zealand National Rugby Union Team.
“In fact, in answer to the question, ‘What is the All Blacks competitive advantage?’, key is the ability to manage their culture and central narrative by attaching the players’ personal meaning to a higher purpose. It is the identity of the team that matters — not so much what the All Blacks do, but who they are, what they stand for, and why they exist.”
Wayne Smith as quoted by James Kerr in Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business of Life (London: Constable, 2013) 13.
The All Blacks manage their cultural and central narrative carefully by building individual and team identity. Related to generosity, there has been an expression in my family for at least three generations.
This expression focuses not on what we do but who we are. We say, “This is what it means to be a Hoag.” Then we add a statement linked to identity that explains who we are which shapes what we do.
Related to generosity we talk frequently about the fact that ‘we are blessed to be a blessing’ and that we are ‘conduits’ not ‘containers’ of God’s material and spiritual blessings.
When identity is shaped by a family or team, it then shapes the culture and the central narrative or the story of the family or team. What story will your family or team write?
Answer that by focusing on who you are and not what you do as an individual, as a family, and as a team.