Reflections of a coach without silverware

REACTION: He may not have won any silverware, but Sharks Currie Cup coach Joey Mongalo believes he has impacted on the lives of many in his first season as a head coach.

After his team was knocked out in the semifinals of South Africa’s premier domestic competition last week, Mongalo took to his LinkedIn profile to post a brutally honest and heartfelt review.

He started off by pointing out how many had suggested it was a ‘demotion’ when he left the Bulls’ United Rugby Championship team – where he was the defence coach – for a role with the Sharks’ Currie Cup team.

“I saw it as an opportunity to grow a head coaching profile,” Mongalo said.

“My intention was to test myself as a head coach at senior provincial level.”

In his reflective ‘memoir’ he reveals the issues he felt he could have dealt with better, including the ‘shortcomings’ he will work on going ahead.

Despite the Sharks being knocked out in the Currie Cup semifinals, Mongalo impressed his bosses enough to be rewarded with a position as the senior team’s defence coach for the 2023-2024 European competitions – the United Rugby Championship and Challenge Cup.

Below is Mongalo’s reflection* in his own words* of the 2023 Currie Cup season

We didn’t win silverware but…

* We did impact and influence lives

* We created and maintained standards that challenged us to be better versions of ourselves

* We represented the Sharks brand with pride, while players and staff reignited a love for the game

As much as I love winning and have a strong dislike, (almost hatred) for losing, the above brings me great joy and acts as some sort of consolation prize for not finishing the season in the way we had envisaged. This is a post campaign reflection piece in the hope that some may gain from it, as we have been beneficiaries of an incredible experience. My desire is for some leadership and/or team cohesion principles to be extracted from here and used to make someone’s boat row faster or add fuel to the fire that is their mission.

One staff member put it this way: You brought a belief back into the Sharks, a grit that we haven’t seen in years. Although the result did not go our way, I think you should still be extremely proud of yourself. The whole journey was amazing to watch. Thank you for what you’ve done Bringing pride back in the jersey. Creating brotherhood and bonds. I’m sure when these guys go to their new respective teams, they will carry the song, the feeling with them for a lifetime. Thank you for championing this.

One player reflected on the season like this: Coach I want to thank you for the opportunity you’ve given me. And for backing me always coach. Thank you coach. You reignited something I had lost and did not think I’d ever get back. I had lost my confidence and almost the love for the game itself. I will forever be grateful, coach, you have made me a believer again, coach. And I owe you a lot for that. It wasn’t supposed to end like this, but I believe there’s a bigger plan for us.

I promise you that this is not about me. I do not know of one person who has achieved anything of significance without a group of skilled, faithful and servant hearted people around them. Everywhere I am referenced to above, I include my fellow coaches, JP Pietersen and Philip Lemmer as well as the entire core staff team (Bahle, Barries, Blake, Curt, Jo, John, Legs, Mike, Phume & others) . We together led this campaign.

Context

Roughly 12 months ago I left the Bulls URC defence coach job to take up a role as the Currie Cup head. It may have seemed like a demotion of some sort but I saw it as an opportunity to grow a head coaching profile. My intention was to test myself as a head coach at senior provincial level.

Fast forward to 17 June 2023* we ended the round robin stage of the season in second place; winning 10 out of 14 games, including a 7 game winning streak and painfully losing a home semi final to the defending champions 20-26.

Below are my thoughts, reflections and learnings on leadership and team cohesion. I am happy to double click on any of these with those who are interested.

Part One

Prelude – Pre engagement:

* Do your homework

* Minimum requirements conversation – WIN (what is needed)

* Set yourself up to succeed

Coming into a new environment, I should have done a lot more investigative work about the environment that I was landing in.

* What resources are available to me?

* Where does my sphere of influence start and finish?

* What is the new environment’s current way of play* on field & way of being* off field (culture: the way we do things in this context) ?

* Which staff team would I be working with?

Answers to these questions will determine whether an individual is set up to succeed to set up for failure. I have come to realise that the pre engagement conversation with a new employer is a critical one. It is important to know what you need to succeed in the new role and you need to fight to get those things in order to give yourself the best chance of succeeding. This must happen on the front end, before day one of duty.

One has to make a stance at this point. A friend of mine, more experienced than me at these things has said to me, “you must be willing to walk away if the minimum requirements aren’t agreed, because you are unlikely to succeed without those minimum requirements in place”. I would sum this section by stating that the way you enter will have a significant impact on the way you land and deliver in the new space. Set yourself up for success by doing homework and fighting for what you deem necessary to make a success of the new opportunity.

Part Two

Place – Observing to understand the new context

* Context is a key concept

* What is the new normal* adapt well, adapt authentically

* When in Rome… but Rome may require touch ups

The ability to understand how things are done in a particular space, helps us position ourselves in a manner that will allow us to be most effective and influential within that context. No two environments or teams are the same. Each has its own souls, own way of play and their own way of being. This doesn’t mean we fake who we are to fit in, it’s more about using wisdom to understand how one should best fit into the space. Once we fit appropriately, we can go on to influence significantly and lastingly. Just because it worked in one setting, it is not guaranteed to work in the next one. It may be a case of the same principle that one believes in, but a different application to suit the new context.

In my case, moving from the Bulls to the Sharks* I had to take stock, sit back, learn the new language, new calls, observe what is deemed acceptable behaviours, then make an assessment on which behaviours should be kept and which should be challenged and changed. It was important to try to figure out what the power dynamics were and what those translated into regarding organisational decision making.

Part Three

People & partnerships – People make or break the mission – get on the same page asap

* Get to know the staff team early, individually and as a collective

* Create mutually agreed upon rules of engagement* how do we handle conflict* what are our expectations of one another* how are we likely to deal with pressure, what is appropriate and what isn’t in those high pressure moments etc.

* If you can, bring in a faithful staff member from the past* I was fortunate enough to ask for the services of Philip Lemmer, who I coached with for a number of years at the Lions, both at junior and Super Rugby level.

In hindsight, I should have done deeper work of getting to know the staff as well as collectively setting clear rules of engagement* especially with the medical, and strength and conditioning staff. I should have enquired things like* Who they are and what they do away from rugby ? Why are they here and what they are motivated by ? How I could help add value to their journey? Do some work to go deeper than the surface with them. I should have made a better attempt to engage the person before the physio. Everyone wants to be ‘seen’, ‘appreciated’, and ‘valued’. People who perceive to be receiving those affirmations will go above and beyond the call of duty.

I believe that relationships provide a solid foundation for team members to encourage, challenge and admonish one another. The belief stems from motive. If we have a relationship and I know your motives are pure, then I do not second guess the motive behind my fellow staff members’ challenge or correction. My friend Sean Erasmus refers to this concept as ‘belly to belly’, as in the ability to have face to face conversations about tough and uncomfortable subjects and situations. My inability to create a space for us to set and agree upon expectations and clear rules of engagement led us to some uncomfortable conversations in the early parts of the season. Those conversations could have yielded better outcomes had I led better in this area.

Part Four

Plans & processed – Progress take time, persist with your beliefs

* Back your way and be patient with it

* Live and die by your own sword* stand for something or fall for everything

* Do not change for the sake of change

In the early parts of our journey, setting and maintaining standards was met with some degree of resistance. Calling people to a higher standard is never going to be an easy process. We fought to stay united and consistent on this front. It takes one person to drop the bar or accept something less than the standard to compromise the entire mission while in its infancy. Calling people to a higher standard, higher purpose is a team effort, in which no weak links can exist. By grace we stayed the course and by doing so we began to see behavioral change. We experienced buy-in. The environment was taking shape and it became a place that naturally separated the wheat from the chaff. The wheels of change were turning ever so slowly but more and more assuredly.

On field was similar, the training method was different. It asked more of the players. It took them time to understand and then to adjust. We started the season with a sequence of win one, lose one for the first 6 games of the season. But then, because we stayed at it, we backed our systems, it started to click, the players began to see and experience the method behind the madness, they grew in cohesion and stature. They went on to win an impressive seven consecutive games, culminating in a home semi-final qualification. Played 14, won 10, lost 4. We went on to lose in the semi final because of a decision that I made the week before.

To read more about that, b!

Part Five

Pathway – invest in leaders, they become custodians of the mission

* Define leadership for your context

* Leadership development is the key to sustained success

* Create a leadership that grows to think and feel like the coaches

In our context, we define leadership as follows:

‘Any individual who strives to embody and personify our team’s vision and values, in a manner that inspires, encourages and challenges others to follow suit, while enhancing the experiences of their peers’. In short, live the values, challenge others to do the same, in a manner that humainses them.

Once we had chosen a group of leaders who lived out this definition and others who played in decision making positions; we met once a week with them to get their views on the game past and the game to follow. These leaders then led a players’ game review meeting with their peers. These guys, over time, took more and more ownership of the team prep process. In the ideal world, this leadership group would act as the link between players and coaches, especially to bring player ideas, concerns and opinions to the coaches to challenge the coaches. For me a sign of team development or growth, is when the ‘lower ranked’ members feel free to voice suggestions, concerns and challenges and they have clarity on which channels to raise those via.

In my aim to develop leadership within the team, one area I need to coach better is that leadership is not a popularity contest. Leaders should seek to be respected not liked. I have found respect to come when leaders set and maintain standards consistently, while they themselves champion those standards. I have also found that respectful yet truthful and direct conversations help leaders to stay the course, to remain fair and above reproach. I was fortunate enough to spend a week with the Springboks in Dublin as they prepared to play Ireland in the 2022/23 end of the year tour. There I was able to witness first hand some of the best leadership I have ever seen. I saw a man be real, not the fancy word authentic, but real, and consistent in his realness, I saw direct truths being spoken, I saw alignment that came from hours of edifying group work, as a result, I saw men who were willing to die for their leader. My life has never been the same since and it will never be the same.

In closing

Go out and chase your dreams, make a difference and impact the lives of those around you. Our team song has these lyrics that I challenge you with* live and work in a way that produces results and relationships that will last into eternity.

He said, “One day, you’ll leave this world behind

So live a life you will remember”

My father told me when I was just a child

“These are the nights that never die”

My father told me

Thank you.

Regards,

Joey Mongalo