Reinforcing and Sustaining Change: The Case of New Zealand's All Blacks The All Blacks are New Zealand's professional rugby team, and a great example of sustaining change. Depending on when you start counting, the All Blacks have won between 75 percent and 85 percent of their games since the early 1900s. They won the 2015 Rugby World Cup as well as the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the first team ever to win two cups in a row. Their story isn't just about sustaining a particular change but about sustaining a winning culture over time.

The current story of reinforcing change begins in 2004 when, despite their storied history of sustained success, the All Blacks finished last in the annual Tri-Nations tournament (now called the Rugby Championships). They had won the tournament in the previous two years. Following the final game, the All Blacks team members got so drunk, the players from the winning team who were staying at the same hotel had to drag some of the All Blacks to safety. Many key players and coaches were talking about quitting. It was a time of both threat and opportunity for an organization that was already considered successful.

When the team returned home, the coaching staff had a long meeting to discuss the team's dysfunctions on and off the field and to make future plans. What emerged from that conversation was a broad objective or overall vision for the change they wanted to see: "to create an environment that would stimulate the players and make them want to take part in it."

It wasn't an issue of skill or talent. All of New Zealand and many of the surrounding territories and countries were completely oriented toward identifying and supplying talent to the All Blacks team. Many young men dream of playing for the All Blacks and, to a person, current and past team members say that one of the best days in their lives, sometimes the best day, was the day they were selected to be a part of the All Blacks organization. The objective and the vision, what the team needed if it was to maintain its pre-eminent position in the sport, was to create an organization that engaged the players' hearts and minds.

As part of that same meeting, the coaches decided on a strategy, a phrase to capture how the organization was going to achieve the vision: "Better People Make Better All Blacks."

As described in multiple accounts of the change and the organization, the All Blacksboth players and coachesset themselves on a path of change that followed an organization development process. The case for change, a clear decline in sustained performance both on and off the field, was clear. As a result, they developed a compelling vision of their future, and through their strategy and actions established a sustained capability to change. By looking at the elements of the All Blacks culture, we gain insight into the organizational systems that have sustained the changes made following the 2004 season.

For example, some of the leadership practicesthere is a strong norm in the All Blacks organization that players do the leading, an idea consistent with the visionare an evolution of practices started early in the team's history. Importantly, these practices were driven by the nature of the work they do. The "back seat of the bus" ritualwhere senior players on the team literally sit in the rear of the buswas started because of an arcane rule that prevented a team from gathering face-to-face until 48 hours before the game. Since it was difficult for the team to discuss tactics and strategy in advance, the senior players would gather during travel to talk over how to approach the next game. Such discussions were among the players; the coaches were not involved. Eventually, the meeting in the back of the bus was less about game specifics and became more about communicating the culture and enforcing the norms.

This structure has evolved. After the Tri-National loss in 2004, the All Blacks instituted a clear, but shared, leadership system. Their long-held beliefit's the players who playled to the formation of leadership groups within the organization where senior players had a portfolio of accountabilities including the on-boarding of new players, public relations, game planning, and internal communications. In the time leading up to a game, the coaching staff lays out high level issues and proposes strategies. During the week, responsibility for the plan is transferred to the players, and a few days before the game, the players own all facets of the strategy.

The culmination of this period of preparation, the reinforcement of who is responsible for the performance of the team is among the most visible and famous artifacts of the All Blacks culture: the pre-game haka. It is a ritual set of motions (that do change from time to time) led by the team captain and derived from Maori culture. The ritual itself has a long history; it was almost abandoned because the players did it so badly and it had lost its meaning. Far from being a war ritual (a common, if mistaken interpretation), the haka is a sequence of moves and chants intended to remind the players of who they are, what they share as beliefs, and why they are playing. As one writer put it, the opposing team isn't playing the All Blacks team, they are playing against a system and a culture that is sustained.

Another change that was initiated by the Tri-National loss was the creation of a learning organization. To sustain the All Blacks record of performance excellence, they needed an organization that could continuously learn, improve, and adapt. Their competition was not standing still. The All Blacks had to be able to learn and as with other changes, it was about creating the right environment. It began with selection. The All Blacks decided that it wasn't about selecting the most talented rugby player, it was about selecting the rugby player with character. Players who do not behave with a "growth mindset" or who put their own achievements ahead of the team's success are asked to leave.

Surrounded by others who want to learn, who stand for and believe in the purpose of the organization, everyone is encouraged and supported by systems and processes to get better. After every game while things are still fresh, win or lose, there is a debrief by the players and the coaches about what they did well and what they can improve. Whether it is learning a new skill, learning to perform an existing skill better, or learning how to think about some part of the game differently, everyone is expected to improve themselves in service of the team's performance. Toward that end, the organization has developed a unique language to remind the players about right and proper behavior, including "sweep the shed" (which means never avoiding the small things that need to be done) or "keep a blue head" (which refers to practicing under pressure so you can play well when the pressure is on).

Recognizing the organizational dysfunctions that were manifest in one disappointing loss, the All Blacks made specific changes to the way they planned and played their game. Specific changes in recruiting, practice schedules, new member on-boarding, or playing were made in alignment with a vision and a strategyBetter People Make Better All Blacks. Over the course of months and sometimes years, these practices became routines imbued with meaning. In the end, they have been able to achieve a learning organization where the values and the ways of behaving are embedded in the organization. A system where everyone knows the principles and believes they represent the right way to do things.

Which of the following is not an indicator of reinforcement for the All Blacks' change intervention? a. Preferences b. Unionization c. Value consensus d. Performance