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Welcome back to House of Leadership. We explore what it really takes to grow and lead successfully in a fast-paced, high-performance environment.
We publish every Thursday and Sunday.
Thursdays are deep and tactical, practical frameworks, real examples, and leadership tools you can use immediately. Sundays are calm and reflective, with one book, one visual, and one question to sharpen how you think. Thursday builds your capability; Sunday builds your perspective.
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What did we learn this week?
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📘 One Book: Legacy – James Kerr
The Big Idea
Legacy studies the culture of the New Zealand national rugby union team, one of the most successful teams in sporting history.
Not because they have better tactics.
Not because they always have the best players.
But because they obsess over who they are before worrying about what they do.
The core idea:
Better people make better All Blacks.
Not the other way around.
Culture isn’t a poster. It’s a set of daily behaviours.
Sweep the Sheds
One of the most famous lessons:
The best players clean the changing rooms.
No task is beneath anyone.
Status doesn’t exempt you from standards.
This creates a powerful signal:
Leadership is service, not rank.
Leave the Jersey in a Better Place
Every player is a temporary custodian.
You don’t own the jersey.
You borrow it.
Your job is to pass it on stronger than you found it.
That mindset changes everything:
Short-term ego → long-term stewardship
Individual glory → collective responsibility
“My success” → “our legacy”
Character Before Talent
They select for:
Humility
Work ethic
Coachability
Team-first mindset
Skills matter.
Character matters more.
Talent gets you in the door.
Character keeps you in the room.
No D*ckheads
Blunt. Memorable. Effective.
Brilliant culture is fragile.
One high-performing toxic individual can erode trust faster than ten average performers can build it.
They protect the environment ruthlessly.
Small Standards = Big Outcomes
Culture isn’t built in speeches.
It’s built in:
Being on time
Preparing properly
How you speak about teammates
How you behave when no one is watching
Tiny behaviours, repeated consistently, become identity.
The Signal for This Week
Here’s the quiet signal from Legacy:
You don’t build culture with values. You build culture with behaviours you tolerate.
Not what you say.
Not what’s written on walls.
What you walk past becomes the standard.
If you want a better team, don’t start with a new strategy.
Start with raising one small standard and enforcing it consistently.
Culture compounds.
🗞️ Things worth checking out
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🧠 One visual to sit with
❓ One Question
What is one small behaviour you currently tolerate that’s quietly shaping your team’s culture in the wrong direction?