It is increasingly prevalent for forward-thinking individuals within various organisations to seek insights from other domains and explore novel practices that have been applied with success elsewhere. Coming in as an outsider also allows the separation and distance that is necessary to offer an objective assessment of where things currently stand. In either scenario it is becoming more widely recognised that there is merit in seeking out different perspectives. A different way of considering the problem naturally opens up new possibilities for solutions. One route to achieving this cognitive diversity is by recruiting individuals from different backgrounds, such as importing expertise from overseas and those who bring experiences from other arenas. An alternative strategy as we will explore is to engage individuals in a performance consulting capacity.
Within professional sport there is a current trend for bringing in overseas practitioners and recruiting those with prior experience in other sports onto the performance staff. In general I am a proponent of this approach, having enjoyed the experience of adapting to new sports and different cultures throughout my career, and we can point to present examples of this recruitment strategy proving successful within professional sport in North America.
Equally, we should acknowledge it is not straightforward to manage the transition from other sports and sport institute systems in other countries. The incoming staff member not only needs to be afforded the time to acclimate to the new environment, but they also need to possess the humility and patience to gain the necessary depth of understanding of the new sport and the nuances of the context they are now operating in. Clearly this is a significant undertaking for all parties and it requires both bold and patient senior management.
Bringing in an outsider with experience and expertise in a consulting capacity would seem to be a pragmatic solution that offers similar benefits with relatively less risk. Certainly it does not require the same commitment as investing in recruiting an outsider as a full-time team member.
THE BAD AND THE UGLY…
Consultants have a bad name in some people’s mind. The negative association generally stems from less than optimal experiences with consultants in different domains, notably the business world. Equally elite sport is not free from those who are seeking to profit without any real interest or investment in resolving the problems of serving those who engaged their services.
A related issue arises with those who are too quick to impose themselves and propose solutions without first establishing what the specific problems are that need to be solved. Band aid solutions are little better. Once again the individuals providing the outside perspective need to be sufficiently invested to take the time to investigate and ascertain what the root causes of the present issues might be, rather than simply proposing short term fixes to surface level problems.
A mindset of serving others should be a prerequisite, however sadly at present there is no gateway requirement or quality assurance process for those operating in this space. An external partner who is genuinely invested in serving those within the organisation can be a rare find.
That said, there is an opportunity to enlist those who demonstrate the right qualities and make good decisions in selecting who to collaborate with. Besides being a good human, what prospective clients should look for is somebody who demonstrates a commitment to finding lasting solutions and leaving the organisation better equipped following their involvement.
INSIDER-OUTSIDER STRATEGY…
Recurring themes of the recently released title ‘Prepared’ are that there are commonalities between different realms of human performance and as such there are fundamental principles that have the power to cross over the boundaries between them. Equally, another central theme of the book is that to successfully adopt these lessons we need an ‘insider’ with the requisite understanding of the environment and the nuances of their particular context to adapt and implement effective solutions.
For an incoming staff member or those providing consulting services it is not about recreating environments or replicating solutions that have worked elsewhere. This can be an issue when bringing in individuals who have become accustomed to working within a particular structure, as they may be inclined to attempt to import and impose that particular way of working. There is no one size fits all model for a high performance organisation; just because it worked in another context does not mean it will work in a new environment and an entirely different context.
The real value of consulting is engaging somebody who brings expertise and a wealth of experiences in different environments to provide an external perspective for the purposes of enabling the staff within the organisation to solve their own problems.
When done well it is a collaborative process throughout. The initial fact-finding involves observation but also engaging with the staff for the purposes of gathering ‘insider’ insights to assemble a more complete and detailed understanding in context. Thereafter the objective is to work together to identify the specific issues and to contemplate the problem in different ways to provide novel insights. The role of the consultant in this context is both to facilitate and actively participate in the shared problem-solving process to jointly come up with solutions.
OUTSIDER INSIGHTS…
One of the fun parts about coming in fresh to a different country, new sport or unfamiliar environment is being able to ask the naive questions. It is both fun and illuminating to pose questions that begin ‘this might seem a stupid question, but…’. What might seem on the surface to be a naive question often gets to the heart of the matter.
Naive questions take us back to first principles. Posing what might under normal circumstances be the unspoken questions allows us to delve into what is otherwise taken for granted. As an exercise this also lets us tease out the underlying assumptions and expose them to scrutiny, often for the first time.
Having switched sports and moved countries multiple times I have had ample opportunity to observe this phenomenon! Given the benefits I have taken to posing the naive and yet fundamental questions as a part of my standard way of operating.
Being an outsider also affords the opportunity to ask ‘why?’ in relation to what and how things are being done. Asking this question repeatedly allows us to peel back the layers. It therefore pays to pose the same follow up question (‘why?’) whatever the initial response might be. By the third iteration of ‘why?’ we are generally getting pretty close to the truth of the matter!
Finally, an outsider has the freedom to ask ‘what if?’ questions. Beyond directly providing inspiration for potential solutions, the discussions sparked by these questions often have a cascade effect that provides fruitful areas for exploration.
STRUCTURE, PROCESS OR HUMAN ISSUE..?
The barriers to successful implementation of a high performance system may variously concern the structure, processes and practices that are in place. An interesting question is what is the optimal number of people for a high performance support staff, but beyond the size of the staff we also need to consider how the component parts are organised and integrated.
Equally, just as often the underlying problem constitutes a human performance issue. Where these elements intersect is what structure is in place and how communication is routed goes a long way to managing signal versus noise received by the performer. Clearly our aim is to minimise distraction and distortion but on a more fundamental level performers need to perceive that there is alignment in purpose.
Processes and practices similarly benefit from undertaking a periodic review or audit, and once again an independent viewpoint can help to identify flaws that we might have become blind to. Most often it is a questions of delivery and execution, which by definition requires deep subject matter expertise to evaluate and provide relevant insights.
TACKLING HUMAN PERFORMANCE ISSUES…
When a performance environment is not functioning as desired there is generally some element of a human performance issue involved. Whilst management structure and how the respective moving parts are organised can contribute to friction between working groups and team members, the issues on the ground tend to stem from the dynamics of the relationships between humans.
It has become popular to speak about culture and culture change initiatives. In reality, tackling issues with culture begins with a readiness to identify and confront what culture already exists within the organisation and deal with what lies beneath it. Whatever might be written on a mission statement or the values of the organisation that are displayed on the wall, the reality is embodied in the day to day actions and interactions of those within the environment.
Bringing in an outsider can be a useful exercise that the leadership can employ to confront whatever ‘elephant in the room’ issue has been festering within their team or organisation. Adopting this strategy takes advantage of having a neutral party to serve as facilitator and allow team members to unmask, unpack and tackle long-standing issues that may have been buried or deferred. An outsider also has the benefit of not having the Sword of Damacles hanging over their head as a full-time staff member might, which can free them up to be candid and have these difficult conversations!
SUCCESS REQUIRES COURAGE ON BOTH SIDES…
At the other extreme, as some of us will have experienced, independent reviews can sometimes be a futile exercise in going through the motions. There may not necessarily be any real commitment to tackling whatever issues are uncovered or readiness to enact recommendations that might be unpalatable.
In order to best serve the staff who make up the organisation there needs to be a readiness to ask the hard questions. The individual serving in a consulting capacity needs to reciprocate with a commitment to providing the unvarnished version and harsh realities even if it might upset those who engaged them to do the work. On both sides there needs to be a commitment to solving the problem, irrespective of whether the findings might upset prominent individuals in the short term, acknowledging that it ultimately serves nobody to gloss over these issues.
Those interested in learning about the services we offer to organisations and teams can find more via the consulting section on the site. You are also welcome to reach out via the Contact page.
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Also check out the Books section for a host of resources that take a deeper dive on various topics relating to human performance, coaching, athletic preparation and sports injury. The recent release Prepared: Unlocking Human Performance with Lessons from Elite Sport is now available worldwide.