Culture is what’s there when nobody’s watching

Robbie Deans has an unexpected definition of culture: “Culture is what’s there when nobody’s watching.”

He explains, “From a coaching perspective, culture is what's there when you're not there. Not while you are there. What's there when you walk away?”

And if the real measure of culture is what’s happening when the leaders aren’t around, how do you know if you’re on track?

When Robbie managed the Crusaders, he’d keep an eye on culture by seeking feedback from people the team encountered.

“It might be the bus driver. It might be reception, might be the chef, you know, just people that we encountered. I would just get anecdotal feedback, ‘Tell us about your experience of the group.’”

“We were checking on our own perceptions. We had this idea of how we wanted to be, how we perceived ourselves, but did that actually reflect reality?”