I love the footy season and can’t wait for the 2025 season to start. I’m a passionate Bronco’s fan (and the Cowboys are my second team). For those reasons I’m not a fan of the Penrith Panthers. However, their success in recent years has been phenomenal. In the past five years they have been in every grand final and won the last four.

After each win they have lost at least a couple of their superstars because they couldn’t afford to keep them and remain under the salary cap. Their coach and system must be doing something right to have lost so much talent and still won four premierships.

Following the recommendation of Dr Jo Lukin I read Penrith coach Ivan Cleary’s book, “Not Everything Counts…BUT Everything Matters.”

Cleary and his support staff talk of ‘planting seeds’ in the heads of players. He argues that if they planted the right seeds there was a good chance the garden would explode into life. But the metaphor didn’t end there. He noted that you can work on your garden as much as you like and get it looking beautiful but if you go away it quickly becomes overgrown with weeds. Cleary argues that you have to make sure we are constantly ‘gardening’, to keep everything healthy.

Change management is a tricky thing to navigate because many people don’t want to change. But sometimes, if you want to change your people, you have to change your people.

Alignment is the word Cleary uses most when people ask what’s gone right at the Panthers in recent years. “From the board down, everyone is on the same page.”

Leaders create culture.
Culture drives behaviour.
Behaviour produces results.

Quote from US College football coach Urban Meyer

In many organisations around the world you will see motivational words emblazoned on the walls of gyms, locker rooms and offices as a constant reminder of a team’s values. For poor teams, it’s just writing on the walls but great teams live their values through their daily actions. At Penrith Panthers their lives revolved around building a culture around trust, communication and connection.

It’s not what you say as a leader, it’s what they hear. Are your people listening?

Learning to delegate changed Cleary’s life. Using the talent he had around him took a load off his mind, enabling him to perform better.

His early advice to his son Nathan, when he was a junior footballer was – be a good team mate, tackle hard, compete strongly, be accurate and , if you do that, your talent will take over.

What would I say to teachers? Build relationships, be a good team player, be likable and good to be around, be organised and be optimistic that you are going to make a difference in the long run.

Cleary refers to the saying about leadership: if you look over your shoulder and there are people following you, you’re leading them. It means they believe in you. It’s not what you say that matters most, it’s what you do. People always notice that.

Authenticity is a leader’s most important attribute.

What does a successful football team look like?
It looks fit, organised and reliable.

What does a successful school staff look like?
They look happy, organised and professional.

What does a successful football team feel like?
Safe, intense and connected.

What does a successful school staff feel like?
Confident, supported and appreciated.

How should a successful football team act?
They should trust themselves and their system and have the courage to face their fears in the heat of the biggest battle.

How should a successful school staff team act?
They too should trust themselves, their system and their colleagues (especially their leaders). It is also important that they focus on their students and what they ultimately need in the long term. Play the long game.