Brian Johnson explores how elite captains motivate through nonverbal displays, drawing on Bill Russell and New Zealand's Buck Shelford. The All Blacks haka embodies mana, a soul force you can channel through commanding body language and integrated warrior presence.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic one and our last handful of plus ones. We've been spending time with Sam Walker exploring wisdom from his great book the Captain Class. Today we're going to wrap up our time with him and his captains. We're going to talk about the fifth quality elite captains possess. They motivate others with passionate nonverbal displays. Let's get straight to work. Sam tells us, and I quote, during pre game introductions, for example, Bill Russell would stride onto the court with maximum cockiness, glowering at the other team. Once he joined his teammates, he'd fold his arms regally high up on his chest as if he were a king of all he surveyed. Russell later said he struck this arrogant pose on purpose. Then Sam tells us the tier one captain who who stood above the rest in terms of aggressive displays was New Zealand's Buck Shelford. On the rugby pitch, Shelford's persuasive mana combined with his unforgettable toughness left no questions about his passion to win. One of Shelford's most memorable qualities as captain was his dedication to a pre game ritual known as the haka. Then Sam talks about the origin story for the haka, the that we talked about in our plus one called the Heroic Haka. Note. Buck Shelford is a case study in extreme doggedness. He's the guy who played through a scrotum tear we briefly mentioned not too long ago. Yes, I too wince every time I type and or say that. Imagined experience and mirror neurons for the win. Now that passage is from chapter number nine of his book called Calculated Acts, the Power of Nonverbal Displays. Know this. All of the best athletes and teams are focused on this. As one of the world's best coaches I recently worked with in Europe put it, the best athletes and teams, including the All Blacks with whom he's worked deliberately trained to win what they call the body language game. And they don't just win it, they dominate it. And that's not by accident. They train it. See our recent plus one on the command posture from the Pressure Principle for more. Now let's talk about Bill Russell. His quote that kicks off the book, it precedes everything is one of the best descriptions of leadership I've ever read. Bill Russell says my ego demands for myself the success of the team. That's heroic. Now let's go back to the New Zealand All Blacks haka to make the point for today's plus one. I already shared what ChatGPT tells me is the most viewed haka of all time. Fun fact, it went from 75 million views to 79 million since I originally shared it. Now here's the link again if you want to watch it again. It's called the greatest Haka ever and and it arguably is. Check it out. Now the point of the passage we just discussed is the power of non verbal communication. And no team in the history of sports has had a more ritualized and powerful demonstration of this power than the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team. Period. The mana or soul force that is displayed is palpable. You want those guys on your team, right? Know this. Mana is essentially the Maori word for soul force. And it's with that in mind that I suggest we channel our inner integrated warrior as we flip the switch and connect to and express our best, most heroic selves and inspire those around us to do the same all day, every day, especially today.
