Fran Millar, Head of Winning Behaviours at Team Sky, spoke at the ResourceBank HR & Business Forum on creating a winning culture. She discussed how Team Sky achieved success through finding the right people, creating the right conditions, and establishing clear principles. These included having an outcome focus, prioritizing "podium people", pursuing marginal gains, managing the human mind, developing a strong culture and core values, and promoting winning behaviors. Senior professionals from over 40 leading businesses attended to learn how to apply these lessons to create high performance cultures in their own organizations.

1. REACHINGSKYHIGH
HowtoCreateaWinningCulture
ResourceBankForum,2014

2. LEARNINGFROMTHE
SUCCESSOFTEAMSKY
Thisyear’sResourceBankHR&BusinessForum wasaimedatidentifyingthemakingsofasuccessfulculture.Onthe6thofNovember,seniorprofessionalsfrommore
thanfortyleadingUKandinternationalbusinesseswereinattendanceattheBreweryinLondontohearfromthekeyspeaker,FranMillar,HeadofWinningBehavioursat
TeamSkyandRichardPearson,ManagingDirectorofResourceBankRecruitment
ThesuccessofTeamSkymayfallprimarilyundersportingaccomplishments,butarethereaspectsofpreparation,implementationandmentalitiesthatcanbetakenfrom
theirachievements?CanthefactorsthatmotivateanddriveTeamSkybeappliedtobusinessesfromarangeofsectors?Whobettertoanswerthekeyquestionsaround
creatingawinningteamthanapersonwhohasbeeninvolvedwithTeamSkysinceitwasnothingmorethananidea.
FranMillarisoneofthefoundingmembersofTeamSky,theBritishpro-cyclingteamwhichgaveBritainitsfirstTourdeFrancewin.Sinceformation,theteam
hasbecomeashiningexampleofhowtodevelopandmaintainawinningmentality.
FranhasseenTeamSkythroughfromtheearlyplanningstagestotheunparalleledsuccessseentodayandhasbeenrecognisedbyManagement
TodayasoneofthetopyoungexecutivesintheUK.SheisresponsiblefortheongoingperformanceofTeamSkyandbelievesorganisationscan
takeinspirationfromthebusinessandperformancesidesoftheteam.
Thegoaloftheeveningwastoaddressthreekeyquestions:
ASPEAKERWHOKNOWSWHATITISTOSUCCEED
Whatarethekeyingredientsofawinningteam?
Whatlessonscanbusiness&HRleaderslearnfromsport?
Howcanthesebeimplementedinabusinessenvironment?

3. TEAMSKY’S
STORY
Beforelotteryfundingin1997,BritishCyclinghadwononlyonegoldmedalin76years.Thissimplywasn’tgoodenough
andadecisionwasmadetoaddressthebalance,tobecometheworld’sbest.Theinitialfocusontrackcycling,themen’s
enduranceeventsinparticular,wasasuccess.AsinglegoldmedalinthecyclingdisciplinesattheSydneyOlympicsin
2000wasfollowedupbytwoinAthens2004andeightinBeijing2008-anumberwhichwaseventuallyrepeatedin
London2012.
WithBritishCWithBritishCycling’sdominanceofthetracksecured,anew,biggerchallengewasneeded.In2009,SirDaveBrailsford,
thenthePerformanceDirectorofBritishCycling,becametheGeneralManagerofwhatwouldbecomeTeamSky.Focused
ontheUCIWorldTour,itwasdecidedtobuildateamwithaBritishcorethatwasfocusedonthedevelopmentofyoung
riderswithpotential.Skyweresoonidentifiedastherightbackerfortheprojectastheywantedtohaveapositiveimpact
onthesportandleavealastinglegacy.Crucially,theyalsoboughtintotheambitionofwinningtheworld’smostillustrious
tour.
PAIRINGAMBITIONWITHCLEAR,FOCUSEDGOALS
WintheTourdeFrancewithacleanBritishrider
Inspire1,000,000moreBritishpeopletocycleregularly

4. Throughcarefulrecruitment,TeamSkybuiltateamofovertwentyriders,containingpromising
Britishtalentandestablishedinternationalstars,before2010’scompetitionsbegan.
ThefirstBritishwinnerintheTour’shistorywassoonfollowedbythesecond,asanotherTeamSkymember
ChrisFroomeclaimedtheyellowjerseyatthe2013Tour.Theteamhadachievedtheirinitialobjectivetwice,
withtwoyearstospare.
TeamSkysecured22victoriesand50additionalpodiumplacesintheirfirstcompetitiveseason.Whilea
successbyanymeasure,itwasn’tuntil2012,whenBradleyWigginswontheTourdeFrancetwoyearsinto
theteam’sfiveyearaim,thatTeamSkyreachedtheirprimarygoal.
ThepopularityofcyclingwithintheUKhassurgedalongwithTeamSky’ssuccess.BritishCyclingannounced
inDecember2013thatresultsfromSportEngland’sActivePeoplesurveyshowedthattwomillionadults
wereridingbikesatleastonceaweek.Whilethewell-documentedresultsofTeamSkywillhavecontributed
massively,thiswasalsoaidedbyorganisedSkyRides,increasedcoachingatyouthlevelandpartnerships
withlocalauthorities.Sky’slegacyisundoubtedlytakingshape.
FranMillarbelievesthatTeamSkyachievedthissuccessbecausetheyfoundtherightpeople,createdtherightconditionsand
establishedclear,keyprinciplesthatcanbeappliedtoindustriesfarandwide,notjustsportingbodies.
TEAMSKY’S
STORY

5. TEAMSKY’S
PODIUMPRINCIPLES
Toreacheliteperformanceatalllevels,it’simportanttohavethevaluesandfocuspointsthatcancreateawinningculture.Therearemanyfactorsbehindthe
successofTeamSkyandelementsoftheirapproachcanbeappliedintheworldofbusiness.
HOW FARWOULDYOUGOFORSUCCESS?
TEAMSKYHAVE6PRINCIPLESTHATARECENTRALTOTHEIRACHIEVEMENTS:
1:OUTCOMEFOCUS
2:PODIUMPEOPLE
3:MARGINALGAINS
4:THEHUMANMIND
5:CULTUREANDCORE
6:WINNINGBEHAVIOUR

6. Planninginreverse,knowyourgoalandworkbackwardstoensureyouachieveit.
Workingharduntiltherequiredstandardisachievedonaregularbasis.
Havingadream andlogicallytargetingit.
Beforemovingforwardaskyourself,whatdoessuccessactuallylooklike?WhatexactlydoIwanttogetoutofthis?
Knowingthegoalfromdayonenotonlyensuresbuyinfromeverymemberoftheteam,butcanalsoenablesuitable
preparation.Ifyouknowwhatyouaretryingtoachieve,youcananalysethedemandsandfocusoneverydetailtoensure
maximumfocus.
IfIfyouidentifythefinedetailsandprovidetherightsupport,successcanfollow.ForTeamSkythisincludesthemore
obvious,suchasrecreatingeventconditionsincludingaltitudeorhumidityintraining,butalsogoesasfarasseemingly
mundanelogistics,suchashavingtherightengineoilinextremetemperaturesandknowingthesizeofathletes’hotel
rooms.
Havingbigambitionsiscentraltoeliteperformance.Adoptanoutcomefocusby:
OUTCOMEFOCUS1.
Coveringeverycontingencyensuresthatteammembersonlyneedtoconcern
themselveswiththeirperformance.

7. Ifyouexpectyourteamtobethebestintheworldthenwhywouldyouletthembesup-
portedbyanythinglessthanthebest?
ForTeamSkyandthoseconcernedwithbeingintheelite,merelybeinginvolvedisn’tthepoint.Averageisn’tgood
enough.Satisfactorydoesn’tcutit.Tobethebestyouneedpeoplewhoexcel.Thisshouldbeanaspirationalatmo-
sphereratherthananelitistone.It’sunrealistictoexpectpeopletobecometheworld’sbestovernight,butexpect
peopletowanttogettherethatquickly.
TeamSkyputalotofresourceintohavingthebestpeopleineveryposition,eventhosenotdirectlyinvolvedinthe
trainingoftheathletes.Everycarer,driver,cleanerandchefisofaworldclassstandard.Thereisnoslackropeandno
weaklinks.TeamSkyleavetheirteammemberswithnodoubtoftheendgoal–podiums,medalsandyellowjerseys.
Ifyousupportambitious,drivenpeopleontheirjourney,successwillnaturallyfollow.
Askthem iftheybelievetheyareoneofthebest.
Iftheysayyes,howaretheygoingtostaythere?
Iftheysayno,howaretheygoingtogetthere?
Toturnyourteam membersintopodium people:
PODIUMPEOPLE2.

8. TeamSky’sapproachtogettingeverypossiblegain,regardlessofhowsmalltheymayappeartobe,ispraisedasbeingoneoftheir
bestdecisions.Inasportwheregoldandsilvercanbeseparatedbymilliseconds,givingyourridereveryadvantageyoucancouldbe
thedifference.Thesegainsareachievedbyidentifyingcrucialareas,analysingthemanddevelopingthemwhereverpossible.
Ontheirown,marginalgainsmaybeinconsequential,butwhenaccumulatedtheymakeitpossibletoexcel.TeamSky
consultwithaerodynamicsexpertsanddieticianstoimprovetheirteam’sperformancebyafraction.Theyeveneducate
onhonhygienetominimisetheriskofillness,whichinturnreducesthepotentialformissedtraining.
Achievingmarginalgainsisdependentonhavingtherightmentalityandnever
thinkingyoucouldn’thavedonebetter.Torealisethesegainsitisimportanttoknow:
Thereisnoimprovementnotworththeeffort,nobenefittoosmall.
Thatwithoutsmallprogressions,youwouldneverreachyourgoal.
Thatrecordsaretheretobebeaten.
“Thewholeprinciplecamefromtheideathatifyoubrokedowneverythingyoucouldthinkof
thatgoesintoridingabikeandthenimproveditby1%,youwillgetasignificantincreasewhen
youputthemalltogether."–SirDaveBrailsford
MARGINALGAINS3.

9. AnothercrucialaspecttoTeamSky’ssuccessistheirriders’abilitytoperforminhighpressureenvironments.Asignificantpartofthishasbeencreditedtotheworkof
DrStevePeters,theworld-renownedpsychiatristwhospecialisesinlookingafterthehumanmind.Duringhisworktomakehappy,confidentandsuccessfulpeople,
PetersdevelopedtheChimpparadox–amodelconcernedwiththefunctioningofthemind,howpeoplecopeandreacttoemotionalstresses.
Thehumanbrainisinconflict.ThemodelsuggeststhattheHumanmindisinconstantbattlewithaninner
Chimp.TheHumanpartofthebrain,orFrontalCortex,worksintruthsandthinkslogicallywhiletheChimp,
orLimbicSystem,reactsinstantlyinemotional,irrationalterms.
Whileessentialforsurvival,theChimpisnotmeantforsocietyoreliteperformance.Itisconcernedmainly
withsurvivalandisinherentlycounterproductivetoexecutinganythingatahighlevelasitcontains
anxiety,concernsandotheremotions.TheChimpgetsfirstgo,nothingcanbedone
aboutthataslogiccomesinafterbeinggiventimetoprocess.
Goingagainstnatureandremainingcalmandcalculatedinsituationsofstresstakessignificantskill.Athletes’Chimpswillbe
thinkingaboutthepressureofhavingtowin,worryingaboutfailureandlookingfearfullyatthecrowd.Anathleteneedstobox
thisoff,thinkoftheirprocessesandtheirtraining,whichshouldbecomeasautomatedasbreathing.Theyneedtoacknowl-
edgethattheycanonlydotheirbest,whichwilllikelybeenoughiftheirtraininghasbeengoodenough.
ThePsychologicalMind
Peopleneedtoeducatetheirinnerchimpbecauseitisn’tgoingtogoaway.
THEHUMANMIND

10. AcentralbeliefofTeamSky’sisthatifyouhavetherightcultureandenvironmentyoucangetanythinguptoa30%increaseinperformance.Forthem,it
isessentialforeachmemberoftheteamtoknow,acceptandthriveintheirrole.ThisincludesBrailsford,whohasbeenactiveinputtingtheridersfirst
andsayingthatheworksforthem.Itmustbeabsolutelyclearwhateveryoneisaimingforsothatsuccesscanbemeasured.
Tointegratethiscultureintotheirorganisation,TeamSkydevelopedtheCOREprinciple.
COREistheunderlyingphilosophythatappliestoallstaffandriders,underpinningeverything
theydo.
Settingabasecultureenablesanorganisationtogetbuy-infromall
itsmembersandsetsanexpectationfromtheoffset-animportant
partofteambuilding.Workingwithinasetcultureestablishes
boundariesforpersonnel,itallowsthemtoknowtheirstandingand
developthemselvesinadefinedenvironment.
Commitment
Ownership
Responsibility
Excellence
Doeseveryoneinyourorganisationknowtheirrole?Dotheyknowhowtheycon-
tributetosuccess?
CULTUREANDCORE5.

11. Team Sky’swinningbehavioursareidentifiedas:
Settingtheatmosphere,themindsetandtheresponsibilitiescreatesthepossibilityforawinningculture,butitisnecessarytogetpeopletobuyinto
owningthewinningperformance.Askthemtocomeupwithwinningbehavioursandidentifythelosingbehaviourssowecanbuildthemodelof
success.
Theseareallactionsthatreinforceanindividual’spartintheculture,beliefsandeffortsoftheteam.Ifateammemberknowstheirroleanddoesit
well,butdoesn’tidentifyaspartoftheteam,theywillnotworryaboutotherreputationsorcelebratetheteam’ssuccess.Essentially,theywon’tbe
partoftheteam.Tobuildandharnessawinningculture,itisimportanttogetcommitmentfromallthepeopleinvolved.
Celebratingtogether
Identifyingaspartofateam
Knowingwhatittakes,whatisexpected
Owningeachother’sreputation
"It'sallofit,thescience,thetraining,thecoaches,butmostofallwepointthemirroratour-
selvesandask'howcanwegetbetter?'"–SirChrisHoy
WINNINGBEHAVIOURS6.

12. It’snoteasy.Forus,it’saboutthreethings.It’sabouttheclientorcustomer,it’saboutteamingforthebenefitofthecustomer
whichultimatelywillleadinuswinning.So,Client,Team,Winarethethreebuzzwordsthatwehavedecidedwillcaptureourstrat-
egyandourcultureacrossthe28countriesweoperatein.
HOW DOYOUINSTILANDMANAGEAHIGHPERFORMANCECULTUREACROSSANENTIRE
ORGANISATION?
A
Q
DuringtheForum,weaskedseveralseniormembersofleadingorganisationsabouttheirinspirations,challengesandambitionsfor
“Youcanhavetheverybeststrategy,butifyoudon’thavetheright
cultureyouarenotgoingtosucceed.”
DavidDenney
VicePresidentInternationalHumanResources
PitneyBowes
INSIGHTSFROM
MARKETLEADERS

13. Q
INSIGHTSFROM
MARKETLEADERS
I’vestartedtorunlisteninggroupswiththepeopleinmyteamtotalkabout‘whatmakesitgoodtoworkhere’or‘whatmakes
itgoodtoworkanywhere’.Wecouldjustcarryondoingwhatwe’vealwaysdone,butIdon’tthinkthatwouldbetappinginto
whatpeoplewantasopposedtowhatIthinktheyshouldwant.I’vegotateamthatdesignonlinetraining.Atleastathirdof
themdon’tsitatadeskintheofficeeverydayandtwoofthemonlycomeinformeetings-theydoalltheirworkathome.
HOW AREYOUGIVINGYOURTEAMRESPONSIBILITYANDWHYDOYOUDOTHIS?
A
“It’saboutadaptinginawaythat,frankly,Iwouldn’thavedone
fiveyearsago”
JaneWatkinson
HeadofTalent&Development
HomeRetailGroupPLC
It’sclearthatbusinessesalreadydoconsiderthesamepointsasTeamSky,theyjustdon’tnecessarilyfollowthemthroughtothe
samelevel.It’sapparentthathighlytargetedrecruitmentandmarginalgains,bothinexistingprocessesandnewareas,arecrucialto
reachingandcapitalisingfurtheruponsuccess.

14. Q
Leadingtheorganisationthroughgrowth,whichbringswithitchange,butnotchangingtheculturewe’vealreadygot.Whenhiring
peopleintoyourcultureit’smoreabouttheirmindsets.Peopletalkaboutculture,butactuallycultureiswhatpeoplecreate,what
theybring.Hiringtherightpeoplewiththerightmindsetsandskillswillthencreatetheculture.
WHATDOYOUSEEASTHEBIGGESTCHALLENGEGOINGINTO2015?Q
“Ourultimateaimistobedifferent,totakethebestbits
andmakethembetter.”
HeidiCoppin
PeopleDirector
NotontheHighstreet
A
Ascompaniesmoderniseandgrow,theyneedtobringinnewskillsandpeoplewiththeambitiontogothedistance
–butthisdistance,aswellasanyexistingculture,needstobedefined.
INSIGHTSFROM
MARKETLEADERS

15. RESOURCEBANK
“IwasveryprivilegedtoseeTeamSkyfirst-handattheGirod’Italiain2013andwasreallyimpressedbytheattitude,organisation
andfocusofthewholeteam.IalsosawthatTeamSkyusedthebestequipmentandonlyemployedthebestpeople–notjust
ridersbuttheback-upteamtoo.Irealisedtheirapproachtoqualityandsuccessisjustasrelevanttobusinessandhaveapplied
ittomyowncompany,ResourceBank,toensureourservicesarebetter,fasterandmoreefficient.Ourpeopleareallfocusedon
makingadifferenceandareimmediatelyrewardedfordoingso.WehavealsoinvestedinnewtechnologywhichIknowwillgive
ourRPOandExecutiveservicesevenmoreofanedge.
FFromcultureandpsychologytoprocesses,IfirmlybelievethatbusinessescanlearnfromthepractisesofTeamSky.Studying
andreplicatingthebehavioursofanorganisationwiththislevelofsuccesscanonlyservetoimproveanycompany’sapproachto
buildingawinningculture.”
WHYTEAMSKY?
ResourceBankwereestablished19yearsagobyRichardPearsonandunderhisguidancewehavebecomeamarketleadingHR
andRecruitmentcompanyrenownedforinnovationandprofessionalism.WeweredelightedtohaveFranMillarasourspeakerat
our2014Forum,asTeamSky’smentalityinfluencedourownlongbeforetheevent.
01952281900 info@resourcebank.co.uk www.resourcebank.co.uk
RichardPearson
ManagingDirector
ResourceBankRecruitment