Dylan Alcott is a man who knows a lot about winning.
A gold medallist in Australia’s wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (with a 2012 Silver and 2010 World Championship thrown in) before turning his attention to tennis, he will next week compete for a fourth-consecutive Australian Open title (to add to his existing Rio 2016 Singles, Doubles and US Open titles).
His advice for teams trying to succeed? Get your culture right first.
“You can have all the talent in the world but if you've got a poor culture you're never going to win,’ Alcott tells bluenotes.
“You can have all the talent in the world but if you've got a poor culture you're never going to win.” - Alcott
“I find culture paramount in terms of ensuring success. Every organisation, every sporting team that has a poor culture, it reflects on the sporting field or in business. “
Alcott says creating a culture of open and honest feedback is a critical part of the process.
“I think you’ve got to create a bit of a culture where everybody understands everybody and asks questions,” he says. “It's very important to have events and things like that to cherish those stories and get a better understanding of your people.”
Having won on his own and in a team environment, Alcott says there are differences between achieving success individually and collectively but insists there is one constant across both.
“I think work ethic is the same throughout all of it,” he says. “And also having the confidence to perform at the right time.”
Shane White is bluenotes senior production editor
The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and may not necessarily state or reflect those of ANZ.
17 Mar 2017
11 Jan 2018