"I didn't sense back then the rationale for playing was the legacy, you just played around as a young child growing up who dreamed of one day being an All Black. You were infatuated by the game. You followed the game, you read about the game, you got the weekly rugby news."
"Suddenly this young recently retired former rugby player in his early 30s had to go and present why he should get the Sport Waikato Chief Executive position ahead of a more seasoned campaigner. They obviously saw potential in me around leadership, the potential that comes with a very strong brand built throughout my decade with Waikato, and they took a punt."
"You've got to be true to what your values are, and you've got to be true to who you are."
"Being genuine and authentic and being true to your “why” can also be tough when it comes to leadership because you must make decisions based on relevance, based on tomorrow and based on the economic climate to ensure that we are fit for purpose. It can never be personal or individual, it always must be what’s best for the organisation."
"Our philosophy was leaner to get stronger and there was real clarity about our lane that we play in. I believe now it was definitely the right move. Was it easy? No, because we had to let go of really good people. They were doing what they were tasked to do, and they were doing a really good job, but we had to disrupt, we had to shift."
"Once you are very clear about what your why is, you have genuinely consulted and listened to your people, you’ve sense tested it with stakeholders, the process and rationale for change becomes quite straightforward."
"I'm big on getting the right skill set - surrounding yourself with quality people and rewarding them appropriately. That’s leadership! If you've got complimentary leadership, life's enjoyable and it's fun."
"A very underrated word and equally the most powerful question is why? Just asking ‘why’ can be incredibly powerful for both your understanding and for the person you’ve asked to enable them to be super clear on what they’re doing and how they can improve."
"You need to be resilient and adaptable as things don't go right all the time. As a leader always have your vision and purpose on standby to ensure your people stay in the right lane!"
"I have the philosophy at work, “clean the sheds”, and it goes back from the days of Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith when they would sweep the sheds after a Test Match – the All Blacks still do."
"Sometimes I go back to that sporting stage when dealing with a problem in this course or business and remind myself about being at Eden Park in front of 50,000 people, 40m out with a penalty to beat Auckland. Back your process, back your technique Coops. That mentality back then can easily be and has been applied to my journey in the business world."
"If you're good at connecting, you’re good at relationships, and you put yourself out there, you’ll be in good stead."
"One of the key things I'd say is first connection is about the relationship; it's not about the sale. The sale can come later."
"Understand what your strengths are. Be honest, be genuine, stay true to who you are. Have a strong understanding of today’s world and really get under the word innovation. What does innovation look like? Because the world needs innovative solutions. We need to innovate especially digitally. Be community minded. Be aspirational but be realistic and patient in terms of your journey. "
"Understand the financial world, what’s your plan? Maybe having a goal that once you've got your OE etc out of the way that you have something that you can really target such as an investment property. It could be the catalyst that keeps you motivated."
"It's your choice and you drive your attitude, don't let somebody else drive it."

"I didn't sense back then the rationale for playing was the legacy, you just played around as a young child growing up who dreamed of one day being an All Black. You were infatuated by the game. You followed the game, you read about the game, you got the weekly rugby news."

"You've got to be true to what your values are, and you've got to be true to who you are."

"Once you are very clear about what your why is, you have genuinely consulted and listened to your people, you’ve sense tested it with stakeholders, the process and rationale for change becomes quite straightforward."

"I'm big on getting the right skill set - surrounding yourself with quality people and rewarding them appropriately. That’s leadership! If you've got complimentary leadership, life's enjoyable and it's fun."

"A very underrated word and equally the most powerful question is why? Just asking ‘why’ can be incredibly powerful for both your understanding and for the person you’ve asked to enable them to be super clear on what they’re doing and how they can improve."

"You need to be resilient and adaptable as things don't go right all the time. As a leader always have your vision and purpose on standby to ensure your people stay in the right lane!"

"I have the philosophy at work, “clean the sheds”, and it goes back from the days of Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith when they would sweep the sheds after a Test Match – the All Blacks still do."

"If you're good at connecting, you’re good at relationships, and you put yourself out there, you’ll be in good stead."

"One of the key things I'd say is first connection is about the relationship; it's not about the sale. The sale can come later."

"Understand the financial world, what’s your plan? Maybe having a goal that once you've got your OE etc out of the way that you have something that you can really target such as an investment property. It could be the catalyst that keeps you motivated."

"It's your choice and you drive your attitude, don't let somebody else drive it."

Pinnacle Post — Inspiring Successin Waikato’s Next GenerationBy William Kingsbury

Pinnacle Post — Inspiring Success
in Waikato’s Next Generation

By William Kingsbury