Building high performance teams. A conversation with Shane McLeod, hockey coach

Hockey is one of the fastest and demanding sports in the world. It requires individual skill, team work, and strategy in order to win. In this episode of Tarmac Talks, we welcome Shane McLeod, who has been the coach of the European, Pro League, World and Olympic title-winning Belgian men’s team to share his insights and experience on building high-performance teams.

Hosted by Inge Diels, Managing Partner, Talent and Piet Vandendriessche, CEO of Deloitte Belgium, Shane discusses his philosophy on empowering a team, and the comparisons and contrasts between winning in the worlds of sport and business. What should be front of mind in a business when people are starting and departing? How do you go from a collection of players from different clubs, to a powerhouse team like the Belgian Red Lions?

Shane shares 3 steps for success, one of which is the culture of a team: "We created an environment where there was a huge degree of trust in the group, and that became one of the biggest building blocks for what we wanted to do later." Sustaining and supporting a team and an organization also requires focus on the individuals within. Inge explains that with a firm foundation of trust, "today even more important than in the past, we are creating purpose for the team and making sure that people find meaning in their individual tasks and role in the team".

Of course, a sporting team needs to peak at critical moments like championships, while in a business a team needs to perform continuously. Yet Inge and Shane both believe that coming together to celebrate success and learning from failure in safety enhances a team’s achievements in every context. They describe how being motivated, committed, and united in the pursuit of success are all supported by opportunities for fun. Inge also agrees with Shane that the best approach when things don’t work out is to "take it as an opportunity to learn and do better the next time. It’s very similar to sports".

This episode explores how any organisation that performs at a high level creates positive results across multiple arenas. As Piet explains: "the definition of success in business is often expressed in a narrow way in terms of profit, which is a bit old-fashioned. Today, we look more at the broader impact… on our talent, clients, suppliers, and broader society as a whole".

Tune in to gain valuable insights into how the principles of high-performance in sport can be applied to business, and discover how to foster a winning culture that allows teams to reach their full potential.