• The parallels between sport performance and corporate leadership are closer than many may realise. The recent success of the British & Irish Lions this summer displays exactly what can be achieved through effective strategy and people management
• Research from leading business schools reveals how lessons from sports coaches can provide wins in the business world too
• Attitude, fortitude, discipline, teamwork, a shared identity and passion are all vital to success

Behind every winning moment in elite sport lies a set of values that any business professional would recognise instantly: teamwork, resilience, adaptability, and shared leadership.

The 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia delivered more than just rugby folklore, it offered a real-time leadership case study. After bouncing back from a narrow pre-tour opener, the Lions won eight consecutive games on Australian soil, sealing the Test series with style, and only falling at the final hurdle in Sydney. Their dominance raises a compelling question: What can business leaders learn from a near-complete tour sweep?

The parallels between sport performance and corporate leadership are closer than many may realise. From training camps to team-building rituals, the values instilled in the squad echo strategies championed by leadership development experts. Looking back on a historically successful Lions tour, we unpack four key lessons from their tour that can guide business success.

1. Shared Rewards and Employee Buy-In

This year, Lion’s players received a share of the tour’s profits for the first time, aligning their financial interests with the tour’s success. This approach echoes a Coventry University study which concluded;

“Participation in decision making has a stronger effect on job attitudes than has financial participation,” but also added that the most effective motivation came when the two were combined. “The combination of financial participation and participation in decision making … produce favourable effects on employee job attitudes and behaviours.”

By giving the players a stake in the outcome and a say in the process, the Lions model the kind of stakeholder-inclusive practice increasingly favoured in business environments that prioritise both performance and engagement. Whilst players and executives may earn a sizable salary from their individual efforts, by providing an additional incentive for the wins they can contribute to, talented individuals are motivated to not only look after their own success but also to support their teammates in doing the same, working together for a shared reward. 

Clinching the series with a match to spare, something not achieved since 1997, the Lions demonstrated the power of a team fully committed to a shared goal, much like employees motivated when they have a real stake in their company’s success.

2. Leadership that’s Distributed, Not Dictated

Sharing expertise and support should extend beyond the team to the leadership too. British & Irish Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell is widely respected not just for his tactical acumen but for cultivating leadership across the squad. In an interview with the BBC prior to this summer’s Australia tour, Lions’ Coach Johnny Sexton spoke of Farrell’s ability to encourage players to take an active role in how the team moves forwards. He explained that Farrell ‘[has] created an environment where people share ideas, whether you’re a coach or player, everyone has a voice and a say,’ reflecting the squad’s collaborative approach early in pre-tour training.” This mirrors the idea of “shared leadership” long examined not only in sport psychology, but by leadership and organisational behaviour experts.

The Lions historically has been a squad rife with the home nation’s best leadership talent, often finding all four home-nation captains and other veteran leaders together on the same squad – a sharp contrast from the more typical circumstance of standing in opposition to each other. Despite this bringing the potential for clashes and the butting of heads to assert dominance, this has never been a hinderance to the Lions’ success. Instead, it shows a wider strength. Although England captain, Maro Itoje was the Lions tour captain this year, three other players officially captained the Lions on this year’s tour. 

Research conducted at the University of Windsor in Canada helps to explain why, finding that athletes who saw themselves as leaders experienced greater cohesion with teammates. This research concluded: “Athletes who viewed themselves as possessing high levels of leadership characteristics … felt more task and socially cohesive with their teammates.”

Further research in 2019, also from the University of Windsor, explored how coaches actively foster leadership groups within teams to facilitate greater success: “Coaches described using leadership groups … rotating captain … creating a positive team environment,” the study explains.

In business too, leaders who empower others rather than centralise authority often unlock greater team cohesion, innovation, and ownership.

Allowing leadership to grow at all levels of an organisation cultivates the best chance of future success and team unity. 

3. Resilience and Adaptability

Every Lions tour brings unique challenges: new combinations of players, unfamiliar environments, and immense public expectation. It forces massive common rivals to become fierce teammates, uniquely, not seen in any other code.

It’s in these high-stake settings that the value of resilience becomes clear. In a widely cited 2014 study from the University of Stirling, researchers examined the 2003 England Rugby World Cup-winning team. They identified five key factors that contributed to team resilience: “transformational leadership, shared team leadership, team learning, social identity, and positive emotions.”

During the lead up to the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, England’s captain, Martin Johnson, observed an unexpected atmosphere of calm within the team. Despite the immense pressure, he noted, “I have never seen the boys so relaxed. They were full of life and energy”. This composure allowed the team to focus on their game plan rather than being overwhelmed by the occasion.

Similarly, during the 2025 Lions tour to Australia, the team demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability. Despite the intensity of the matches, they maintained a relaxed yet focused approach, enabling them to adjust strategies and perform under pressure. This was evident in the second test, where the Lions found themselves down at an 18-point deficit, and managed to find a way to not just comeback but secure the series win.  This ability to stay composed and adaptable is crucial in both sports and business environments, where success often hinges on maintaining clarity and flexibility amidst challenges.

Resilient organisations, like resilient teams, learn in real-time. They face setbacks openly and adapt without abandoning their core identity. By prioritising emotion alongside success leaders can create spaces for their teams to share their frustrations and challenges, and provide a support system to bounce back from them.

Like the England’s 2003 squad before them, the Lions’ ability to unite, adjust, and come back from a 23-5 deficit in the second Test highlights how strategic resilience plays out on the pitch and how it can be modelled in the boardroom.

4. Identity and Motivation

In bringing together rival nations to represent a collective purpose that transcends national loyalties, the British & Irish Lions have a historically unique brand identity. Researchers suggest that this creates a powerful sense of meaning that motivates performance, as athletes perform better when they feel their identities are linked to the wider group’s success.

The same study from the University of Stirling, in exploring the many factors that made up the 2003 winning team noted “individual members of the team aligned their thoughts and actions to those of the group with the team’s emerging social identity.”

This shared identity within the team, it states, enhanced motivation, resilience and commitment to the collective goal, as well as the wider team ethos. When social identity (‘we’) replaces personal identity (‘I’), team members modify their attitudes and actions to conform to the group’s unified identity.

Companies can draw on this by working to cultivate a strong identity – and in time a history – that encourages staff to embrace shared values and a strong sense of belonging, especially during transitions. Research from Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University takes this idea further exploring the contribution that volunteers can make to an organisation, finding that when team members feel aligned with a joint goal, have personal buy-in, and belong to a culture that represents everyone without losing nuance, it not only creates the conditions for success, but is instrumental in driving innovation and growth outside of personal reward.

As the 2025 Lions tour demonstrates, a squad that embraces joint principles can achieve extraordinary results. Leadership research also supports this: fostering inclusivity and giving all members a voice strengthens commitment and cohesion. 

As a leader, giving yourself also makes for a powerful motivator. Adopting an approach of servant leadership, prioritises decentralised authority and a focus on building workplace communities that support everyone in sharing their ideas, insights, and perspectives, driving better performance.

As Professor Jan-Philipp Ahrens, Head of the Interdisciplinary Research Group Family Firms at Mannheim Business School shares, empowering employees can foster a sense of shared responsibility, supporting the alignment of decisions with a company’s principles and values.

Applying the Lessons

If modern business leaders want high-performing teams, they should take notes from the rugby pitch. The Lions’ track record this summer has shown how shared rewards increase personal buy-in, distributed leadership enhances cohesion, strong resilience requires effective adaptation, and shared identity fuels motivation and team unity.

What makes the 2025 Lions tour especially resonant is its real-time visibility. As fans watched the games unfold, they witnessed a masterclass in sports values applied with purpose. Business schools increasingly acknowledge the legitimacy of sport-based leadership models: now the business world has a chance to act on them.

Rather than viewing sport and business as separate domains, it may be time to recognise their common ground: they both demand clarity of purpose, unity under pressure, and the ability to perform when it matters most. If you’re not winning ‘off the field’ how do you suppose you’re going to win ‘on it’?

By, Adam Kelly-Moore

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