Instinctive and infectious

I find it is some time since I posted here. The only apology I can offer relates to me being busy on a number of personal projects that have taken some effort to bring to closure and kept me away from the blogosphere.

Now I find myself with a little time and my mind flows to the England Rugby team who are enjoying success - at just the right time in the run up to the World Cup. As a long time England supporter I have experienced the full range of emotions across the years.

When we, England, reached the final in 2003 in Sydney I agonised over if/how I could get out there. In the end I didn't, but was found in a local pub at 7:30am, and yes, I yelled my head off when Johnny dropped THE goal.

We went off the boil, but then unexpectedly reached the final in Paris four years later. This time while I had no ticket or hotel I did get my car on the train and, with my brother and a friend, watched the final under the Eiffel Tower before driving through the night for a dawn train home.

Again we went into decline, it looked like we were trying too hard. There looked to be an over reliance on drills and pre-programmed play. No one had the courage or inclination to play the game when on the field.

So what has happened?

It may well be too soon to believe that everything is set, but given the last two showings against Wales and Italy, we have players backing themselves, supporting each other and above all enjoying playing. With Chris Ashton we seem to have a catalyst, a flamboyant one at that!

Of course the other players have to play well and I could name many others here, in fact more than the 15 who can be on the field at any one time, but it seems that Ashton's hunger and adventure is infecting the others. Just look at Mike Tindall's positioning for his try from a one handed, back handed offload from Easter - much more All Black than all White.

The papers are full of how Ashton learned his killer ability from others in rugby league, but I wonder if it is more that they helped unearth an instinctive ability, else many more would be able to copy it. Whatever the case it infects and enhances the performance of others - long may it continue.

As this blog is broadly about change I feel I have to draw some parallels. While we can drill project managers, real repeated success comes from some more instinctive qualities. When you find a star his/her example can infect others and create that holy Grail of a team that is greater than the sum of the parts.

As a leader of change the better we identify these talents and nurture them the better it will reflect on us all.