Steve Waugh: The Baggy Green Philosophy

A note to young leaders.

History is identity … and identity is destiny.

Steve Waugh inherited a team of champions from Mark Taylor – but he quickly transformed them into something far greater: a champion team.

Under Waugh’s leadership, Australia achieved a world-record 16 consecutive test victories; and recorded a winning percentage of 72% – easily the highest win rate of any test team in the history of the game.

How did he do it?

Waugh focused on instilling pride and prestige in the “baggy green.”

Here are three things Waugh did immediately upon taking the helm:

1. Cap Numbers. Every Australian test player was given a cap with a number showing their place in the unbroken line of Test cricketers stretching back to 1877. Only 384 players had represented Australia at Test level at that time.

2. Presentation ceremonies. Australian Test debutants had their baggy green caps given to them by past greats of Australian cricket, at the stadium on the first morning of the game. The whole team attended the ceremony, to underscore that they were all part of a proud, continuing tradition.

3. First session solidarity. Waugh insisted that all players wear their baggy green in the first session of a test match. A visual reminder that they were eleven men, but one identity.

Waugh himself took great pride in his own baggy green – refusing to replace his tattered and faded cap, turning into a symbol of service and sacrifice.

A good captain takes a team from “me” to “us”.

Waugh went one better, he took the team from “us” to “them” – the team started playing not just for each other, but also for all the players that had come before them, and all the players that would come after them.

History leads to legacy.

Are you telling stories about the history of your company and what it stands for? Does your team wear the company’s logo with pride?