SARACENS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME CARING FOR & DEVELOPING PEOPLE
THE PERCENTAGES THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENT SHOW PERCENTAGE OF PLAYERS THAT AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE
Working in the areas of psychology and personal development, I am fortunate that at Saracens RFC everyone from the Chairman – Nigel Wray, the CEO – Edward Griffiths, the previous (Dr Brendan Venter) and existing (Mark McCall) Director of Rugby and senior coaches and players embrace and understand the need to develop our players as people, not just rugby players. In 2009/2010 Saracens Personal Development Programme (PDP) was created with the overriding ethos of ‘caring’ for our players, and developing well-rounded human beings. Whilst similar programmes are funded and driven by Player Unions and National Governing bodies of Professional and Olympic Sports, few are funded and driven from within a club. The lofty aims of Saracens PDP are to improve and develop the players growth as a person, to ensure they are not solely defined by their sporting performances (Brewer, Van Raatle &Linder, 1993; Grove et al. 1997), and in line with a substantial body of research from sport psychologists all over the world, to pro-actively alleviate current anxieties and insecurities about what they will do when they retire; to sharpen their sporting ambitions and performances in the present (Fogarty, Albion & Fraser, 2007), and ultimately help players make smoother transitions out of their athlete role (Weinberg & Arnold, 1952; Mihovilovic, 1968; Haerle, 1975, Whethner & Orlick, 1986; Ogilvie, 1987; Curtis & Ennis, 1988; Allison & Meyer, 1988; Baille & Danish, 1992; Sinclair & Orlick, 1993; Lavallee, 2000; Anderson & Morris, 2000; Cecic et al., 2004; Stephan et al., 2007; Wylleman & Reints, 2012). The Programme also aims to act as a buffer during difficult periods whilst developing a sense of perspective and providing emotional balance throughout their careers (Brown, Cairns & Botterill, 2001) and finally, it aims to attract,
81% OF THE PROFESSIONAL SQUAD (AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE) THAT HAVING AN INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THEIR OWN ON-FIELD PERFORMANCE. THIS FIGURE INCREASES TO 93% WHEN PARTICIPANTS HAVE BEEN IN THE PROGRAMME FOR OVER 3 YEARS. THIS FIGURES INCREASES TO 100% WHEN PARTICIPANTS ARE 30 YEARS OLD OR MORE.
retain and develop talented people to gain competitive advantages in what is a highly competitive industry. I categorically believe that ‘caring for’ and Personal Development Support in high performance sport (and high performing cultures) is crucial, is in no way peripheral in terms of support designed to improve performance, and will ultimately matter to any organizations legacy. Following a recent independent and anonymous online survey, I also have the perceptions of professional players as to its perceived impact and value on them as individuals, and on the Saracens team.
93% BELIEVE THEY ARE A BETTER; MORE WELL ROUNDED PERSON FROM ENGAGING IN SARACENS PDP. Saracens PDP model is illustrated in Figure 1, and is comprised of 5 tiers of support for the professional players, 4 tiers of support for the clubs support staff, and an additional Lifeskill & Leadership Programme for the next generation of players (Senior Academy players). Whilst it is beyond the scope here to describe each tier in detail, some elements are elaborated on below, with the model offering a concise summary of each support element.
If we can only ever go as far as our thoughts in life, Saracens Speaker Series, once a month, challenges our organisations people (players and staff) to go further, and push our individual and collective limits. Whether it be Michael Johnson, Sir Jackie Stewart or Justin Langer sharing their experiences, or the Executive Director of London Air Ambulance (Dr Julian Thompson) or the Founder of Global Ethics & ‘One’ (Duncan Goose), there is a monthly commitment within our club to listen to, and learn from, other peoples experiences to help face our own challenges with a greater dignity and grace. Saracens players are regularly exposed to ‘Vocational Workshops’ on networking, negotiating, or simply hearing from the diverse and fascinating experiences of successful CEO’s from businesses as diverse as Healthcare, Property, Finance and Fashion. Players are also challenged through ‘Saracens Lecture Series’ in greater depth with theoretical underpinning and further reading on topics such as Emotional Intelligence and Conflict management. In addition to systematic internal training, both players and staff have made a commitment to ‘Charitable Partnerships’ in which we are privileged to utilise the nature of sport to contribute to our local community and those less fortunate than ourselves. Whether it be regular visits to ‘The Choir with no name’ (a choir for homeless people) in London (where our players volunteer to wash dishes after rehearsals), a game against London Wheelchair Rugby club, or a terrifying abseil to raise funds for the Hospice of St Francis, players and staff at Saracens realise the responsibility that comes with being a professional sportsmen, and the way in which we can all ‘give’ some of our time, and use sport as a vehicle to support noble causes.
83%
BELIEVE THAT ENGAGING IN PDP ACTIVITIES HAS GIVEN THEM A DIFFERENT/HEALTHIER MENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR APPROACH TO THE PERFORMANCE CHALLENGES OF RUGBY.
(Figure 2 Illustrating Saracens Players with children from Great Ormond Street Hospital) It might also be of particular interest to note that during the three most successful seasons in the clubs history, no less than 85% of professional players have been in structured education (with as many as 50% at university) and or engaged in meaningful work experience placements. With no one in the entire club lacking exposure to some form of personal development activity since 2009. (Figure 3 illustrating Saracens Players at a 6-month work placement with Allianz) However, Saracens PDP is not just about a model, Individual Personal Development Plans nor is it especially anything to do with my job description. It is about a collection of quality people, making a conscious commitment to better themselves in relation to their current role and their future life; I would also hope it is now part of our culture. At Saracens there is an emphasis on humility, and I sense it is a value that fortifies the PDP, and will become integral to both the clubs legacy and any potential success in the years to come. In terms of that legacy, Saracens Lifeskill & Leadership Programme is designed to experientially cultivate greater respect for sport and life’s core values within our future players.
For me, professional sports can, sometimes (but not always), worryingly drive an ‘its all about winning’ mentality, and I have expressed my own personal rejection of the performance myopic before (Gilbourne & Priestley, 2011). Saracens Lifeskill & Leadership Programme is therefore designed to create regular opportunities to accelerate the sporting and personal development of our finest young men and takes a long-term view towards excellence. (Figure’s 4 and 5 Highlight previous experiences at the McLaren Technology Centre and the Royal Navy Lifeboat Institute). Individual players are nurtured and guided through group based experiences, and reflective group conversations, to discover more about ‘who they are’ (the internal experiences and worrying reactions they rarely share) and how best to manage the unpredictable high’s and inevitable low’s in sport, and in life. Opportunities challenge Saracens players to leave their comfort zones and enhance the selfdiscovery process, which I believe is so crucial to their future. The Programme operates to ensure any individual’s journey with Saracens (whether it be as brief as 1 year, or as long as 10 years), is as meaningful as possible, as we seek to develop better people, regardless of their sporting success.
“The Saracens PDP has allowed the players to be exposed to experiences outside of professional rugby, to listen to and learn from the experiences of other people. The practical experiences that are facilitated allow the players to be challenged, in areas outside of our normal training and playing routine. The individual nature of the programme means each player can work to develop exactly those areas that they wish to. This programme has had enormous benefits for each player and the group as a whole.�
STEVE BORTHWICK, SARACENS CAPTAIN
SARACENS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (PDP) DEPARTMENTAL WORKSHOPS Interactive workshops designed to keep departments up to date with the most recent research and best practice in their area (or outside of their discipline but related in some way to their practice. Depts. inc S&C, Medical, & Coaching)
VOCATONAL PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS Large group sessions designed to stimulate thinking with regards specific matters of vocational development (everyone)
INDIVIDUAL STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS Individual support for staffs professional development interests (with Individualised graded annual budgets)
INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS Individual support for your personal development interests (vocational or educational) ‘alongside’ your rugby.
SARACENS SPEAKER SERIES High achievers, from a variety of professions & disciplines will be invited to share their stories and experiences, to widen our own perspectives on life challenges (everyone)
SARACENS LECTURE SERIES From visiting speakers talking on areas of business, personal, sporting and professional development in a more interactive and personal setting (limited places available)
SARACENS PLAYERS & SENIOR ACADEMY
TRAINING GROUND STAFF
CHARITABLE PARTNERSHIPS Involvement in a range of charitable causes.Contributing to, and positively influencing organisations that support disadvantaged people. Encouraging a social responsibility.
SARACENS LEADERSHIP & LIFESKILL PROGRAMME Surprising & challenging, monthly experiences to foster greater respect for sport and life’s core values, to expand and accelerate the maturity of our young players. Ensuring any individual’s journey through sport, and their time with the club is as meaningful and rewarding as possible.
90% BELIEVE THAT ENGAGING IN NON-RUGBY PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES ADDS TO SARACENS OVERALL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
There is much understandable ambiguity around over outcomes that accompany psychological and personal development support such as Saracens PDP, and I now have quantifiable statistics to substantiate influences on players individual performance, and the team’s developement (though I have to stress I am no longer overtly concerned about that). The inception of Saracens PDP was only as recent as 2009, so I cannot espouse the benefits of a longitudinal research study (Smith and Tillema, 1998), nor have I conducted a control group design or quasiexperimental study comparing PDP and nonPDP users. Whilst empirical evidence on the impact and effects of Personal Development is scarce (Austin, Marini, & Desroches, 2005),
74%
BELIEVE THE PDP HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THEM FEELING VALUED BY THE ORGANISATION AS A PERSON, AND NOT JUST A “RUGBY PLAYER”. THIS FIGURE INCREASES TO 100% WHEN PARTICIPANTS ARE 30 YEARS OLD OR MORE, AND INCREASES TO 95% FOR PARTICIPANTS WITH INTERNATIONAL CAPS.
and not everyone, for example supports the use of Individual PDP’s (Little & Hayes, 2003), readers may wish to explore the effect of Personal Development Programmes in other working domains. Beausaert and colleagues (2011) reviewed the effectiveness of individual PDPs as assessment tools (a total of 54 studies were included in the review) illustrating that in most empirical studies PDPs are found to be effective for personal or continuing professional development purposes, for stimulating reflection and for improving professional practice or performance. Or, the way in which NASA’s Integrated Learning and Development Programme (Menard & Larson, 2008) optimises career development of the NASA workforce, and how research into the use of, and reactions to, Personal Development Plans in an organisational workplace indicate that if the employee perceives the PDP as a development tool, and if the supervisor is perceived as motivating, the employee is far more likely to undertake more learning activities, show more
expertise-growth and flexibility, and report improved performance (Beausaert, 2011). There are also strong recommendations by the government to use PDPs in order to stimulate the continuous professional development of health service in the UK (Bullock et al., 2007). Psychological and Personal Development Support like more recognizable sport science generally takes place amidst a myriad of other support and guidance. It is always going to be difficult to understand which, if any of these support inputs are salient with regards to individual and team performance at any moment in time. It seems fair to propose however, and is certainly my experience over the last 13 years in professional sport (s), that by investing in the personal development and holistic support of our players and staff (and maybe your employee’s), with an emphasis on building a culture that develops people, we will receive an incredible and sustainable return on our investment (Priestley, 2008).
81%
BELIEVE THAT ENGAGING IN PDP ACTIVITIES HAS INCREASED THEIR SELF-AWARENESS (THE DEGREE TO WHICH THEY KNOW THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES). THIS FIGURE INCREASES TO 90% WHEN PARTICIPANTS ARE 30 YEARS OLD OR MORE OR HAVE INTERNATIONAL CAPS.
To learn more about the staggering results of a recent anonymous impact review undertaken on the Saracens PDP please contact the author.
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DAVID PRIESTLEY, PHD HEAD OF PSYCHOLOGY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT priestley.david@gmail.com