Team Rituals to install discipline, psychological safety and that winning feeling - interview with Jeremy Moore

It is always a pleasure when I get to sit down and talk with Jeremy Moore, an experienced executive coach with a background of success with Olympic and corporate teams. We first met when I was building a mental fitness tech platform and I had the pleasure of spending some time with the rowing team at Leander Rowing Club and that was where I met Jeremy, who was coaching the team.  I remember he said something to me that stuck with me ever since. He stood up after I had been discussing mental fitness with the room full of professional rowers and he said 

“Your physical fitness is why you get to compete, broadly everybody has access to the same training schedules and equipment, but your mental fitness is how you win.”

I knew we were in for an insightful conversation on the topic of high-performing teams and the role of rituals in creating a positive work environment.

Our discussion began with Jeremy's perspective on the false promise of time management and the importance of energy management. 

"I think a lot of the problem lies with social media and mobile phones. Everything's set to automatically intrude into our lives. And I don't know how often you check your phone, even at seven, eight o'clock at night, have you got a message? And if you might be better at it than I am, but I'm always checking, has somebody reached out?"

This constant state of accessibility and the lack of boundaries, Jeremy argued, has led to an "illusion of busyness" that doesn't necessarily translate to increased productivity. 

"If you look across the whole of Europe, productivity hasn't really improved for about 20 or 30 years. Gross productivity, it has improved in certain areas, and it hasn't done generally. Aggregate productivity has not improved in 30 years. And that's incredible."

This topic of overwhelm is something I discussed in an interview with Helen Rickards, Global head of culture and Allianz and the state of business was also something I dug into a little in one of my previous blog posts - Why are we so damn busy.

As we delved deeper into the topic, Jeremy highlighted the importance of rituals in creating a more focused and productive work environment. 

"How often are you in a meeting and someone's just browsing, looking down at their phones. I think that's a terrible, terrible trait, a terrible habit and this sort of illusion of busyness is to blame."

To combat this, Jeremy suggested a simple yet powerful ritual:

"Get everyone to turn the phones off. I started doing this when I was working in formal settings, and you'll be amazed how much more productive a meeting is if you literally say, "We have a rule here, no phones on unless it's an emergency and you ask for permission, no phones on in a meeting."

This ritual, Jeremy explained, not only helps to eliminate distractions but also fosters a sense of respect and engagement among team members. 

"It's not what you say or do. It's a response you elicit," he said, emphasising the importance of communication and the impact of no communication, low involvement and traits like webcams off can have on team dynamics. When you are not responding or engaging that itself is a form of communication which produces a negative energy in the group. 

As our conversation progressed, Jeremy introduced the concept of 

"Critical non-essentials" – the behaviours and rules that a team defines to govern how they operate. "The teams that perform the best don't go straight on with the task. They go find a space, and they sit amongst themselves, and they work out, how are we going to communicate? What's our shared sense of meaning? How are we going to operate? What's our Code of Conduct? How are we going to get on with stuff in it?"

This idea resonated with me, as it highlighted the importance of establishing a shared understanding and a collaborative contract within a team, rather than simply diving into the task at hand. It's all too easy to be busy with the transactional nature of work and in doing so we miss the valuable affective trust that could be built in a team by sharing Rules of Engagement and taking the time to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses.

"It's in a sense, defining the respect we have and how we as a group function and work, and that effort you put in before taking on the task leads to the highest performing teams," Jeremy explained.

Delving deeper into the role of rituals in high-performing teams, Jeremy shared a powerful story about his experience when he had been flat sharing and living with an Olympic gold medalist, Steve Williams. 

"I suddenly thought of this concept.

You don't win gold medals. You collect them. 

I've been seeing him win that gold medal for three and a half years. He only collected what he'd already earned and that was the insight."

This insight, Jeremy explained, was a revelation about the importance of consistent, diligent behaviour in achieving excellence. 

"The winning starts today at every moment of every single day, not just a big gesture, you know, a month before the games, not just a big gesture before you start racing. It happens literally every moment of every single day. So you are collecting what you've already earned, you're not trying to win it."

This concept of "collecting" rather than "winning" gold medals struck a chord with me, as it highlighted the powerful role that rituals can play in creating the guided and designed discipline needed in a high-performing team. By establishing a shared understanding of expected behaviours and consistently upholding them, teams can create an environment where success is not a one-time event, but rather the culmination of countless small, deliberate actions.  which of course, align strongly with the marginal gains theory made famous by the British cycling coach, Dave Brailsford. When you famously took the British Cycling Team out of a long period of not winning to becoming gold medalists soon approach of 1% better in every small category from health hygiene and technical efficiency. 

As our conversation drew to a close, Jeremy emphasised the importance of understanding and leveraging team strengths, rather than expecting everyone to be excellent at everything. 

"If you have a business of 50 people and let's say, you're a brilliant manager, and you think so, I've got 50 people. That's 50 brains. 50 brains at my disposal to beat the competition. Let's get those 50 brains in a room. That's a lot of brain power to beat them. We must know the solution."

This perspective highlights the value of diversity within a team and the need for leaders to create an environment where individual strengths are celebrated and leveraged for the greater good. Ensuring all teams have high psychological confidence which can be encouraged and built in through a series of well designed rituals to ensure everybody feels confident to question, contribute and to challenge.

The conversation with Jeremy Moore underscored the profound impact that Team Rituals can have on creating a positive work environment and building high-performing teams. From establishing a sense of equality and shared purpose to fostering consistent behaviours and leveraging team strengths, Team Rituals offer a powerful solution to the challenges faced by modern organisations.

As we reflect on the importance of this debate, it's worth considering the psychological underpinnings of rituals and their impact on team dynamics. Research has shown that the neural response to performance failure is decreased during rituals, even through arbitrary actions that are repeated on a regular basis ahead of a performance challenge. This suggests that rituals can help to build resilience and a sense of confidence within a team, reducing the fear of failure and encouraging a growth mindset.

Furthermore, the concept of "critical non-essentials" aligns with the psychological principle of "psychological safety," where team members feel comfortable taking risks and expressing their ideas without fear of judgment or repercussion. By establishing these non-essential behaviours, teams can create an environment that fosters trust, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose.

For managers looking to harness the power of Team Rituals for their community, here are three top tips:

1. Establish Consistent Behaviours: Work with your team to define the "critical non-essentials" – the shared behaviours and rules that will govern how your team operates. Ensure that these rituals are consistently upheld and embodied by all team members.
   
   
2. Leverage Diverse Strengths: Resist the temptation to expect everyone to be excellent at everything. Instead, focus on understanding and celebrating the unique strengths of each team member, and create opportunities for them to contribute based on their expertise.
   
   
3. Foster a Sense of Belonging: Team Rituals can be a powerful tool for building a sense of community and shared purpose within a team. Experiment with different rituals, such as team check-ins or celebratory moments, to help team members feel valued, respected, and invested in the team's success.
   
   

By embracing the power of Team Rituals, managers can unlock the full potential of their teams, creating a positive, productive, and high-performing work environment that thrives on the collective strengths of its members.

Thank you Jeremy. I appreciate you for sharing wisdom.

This interview is part of a research series for The Ritual Playbook for Managers

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