High-performance teams – lessons from a rowing crew for digital transformation

How professional sports can accelerate your transformation

There are four crucial factors for success: teamwork, strategy, data and impact. This applies to both large digital transformations and top sports. In this series of articles, Management Consultants from Anderson MacGyver talk with multiple rowing champion Lisa Bruijnincx. Since April, Lisa has been part of TeamNL 2025, and at the end of September she will compete in her first Senior World Championships. In this blog, Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma, Management Consultant at Anderson MacGyver, speaks with her about high performance teams: what can organizations learn from a rowing crew for their digital transformation?

“Since I was admitted to the Team, so much has come my way. I enjoy everything.”

One shared goal

Lisa has been rowing in the quadruple sculls since 2022, and since 2025 she does this for TeamNL. Based on personal performances, TeamNL determines which rowers make the best combination. When you form a crew with three other rowers, does everyone automatically share the same goal?

“The goals within a rowing crew are already a bit more defined,” explains Lisa Bruijnincx. “We start every project with a goal discussion. A goal can differ per person and with that also the level of confidence in a goal. I may think ‘we are going for gold,’ but someone else may feel insecure about that goal. You don’t want to find out afterwards.”

Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma recognizes that this is also important for organizations embarking on a (digital) transformation. “Every transformation starts with clear goals, whether the reason lies in strategic choices, technological developments or a desire for optimization. Together with the client, we determine what needs to be done to achieve this goal and what impact it will have.”

Golden rules

When asked what the most important elements of a high performance team are, she invariably replies: “Trust and honesty. Under pressure you discover what you can truly rely on in one another.”
According to Lisa, there is a healthy atmosphere within the crew, where everyone is motivated and eager to learn. Three of the four women in the crew will compete in their first senior World Championships this year, which, according to the rower, brings good fresh energy. The more experienced teammate balances this out by tempering the enthusiasm. “We want more, more, more, but sometimes it’s also good enough,” Lisa explains.

When a crew is formed, personality tests are done to see where the differences lie. “It’s mostly good to know what your preferences are, so you can give and take.” Then, as Lisa indicates, “golden rules” are made. These are things that someone finds important and to which the others can adapt. To avoid misunderstandings and frustrations. An example of this in Lisa’s rowing crew is: “The agreed training time is sacred.”

This has a direct connection with organizational changes: “After the goals are set, frameworks are designed. At Anderson MacGyver, we often call these guiding principles. Every company has its own principles in line with (strategic) goals and organizational culture,” explains Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma.

The training is sacred

Lisa explains that within the crew specific agreements are made about behavior during a race to show a certain unity. For example, always moving together as four or something as simple as always wearing the same outfit to training and competitions.

Lisa Folkertsma-Sijtsma also sees this in organizations undergoing transformation. “When, as an organization or as a team, you set a new future vision, it is important to determine what behavior is needed to achieve it. By making the behavior concrete, people can really work with it and move together toward the end goal.”

With an eye on the bigger goal

As a rower, emotions can play a role when working toward a goal. Then it is helpful to have a coach who sees the bigger picture and makes a decision. “In general, a coach is also someone who is respected by the whole crew, which makes a decision more easily accepted,” says Lisa.

Employees can also experience emotions or tensions when working toward a shared goal, especially when the stakes are high. In transformations, it is important that every employee feels heard and supported. At the same time, it is sometimes necessary to make top-down decisions. These decisions must then be communicated properly so that the whole organization understands why it contributes to the bigger goal and what the impact is for the employee personally.

Evaluating to learn

In rowing, rowing out of sync or getting stuck is quickly penalized. “When you get stuck, in Dutch it’s called a ‘snoek’. This can stop the boat immediately and that is very unpleasant,” explains Lisa Bruijnincx. “Everyone can catch a crab once in a while. We mainly try to focus on the reaction when something goes wrong. Because that’s what we can control.”
After a race, the rowing crew always schedules an evaluation moment to discuss what could have been better.
Management Consultant Lisa also recognizes this from practice. Unexpected events also occur within transformations, and every change triggers a reaction, big or small. It is important to make space for this. A good starting point is to evaluate regularly, both in the design phase and during implementation, and to keep engaging with those involved.

From the boat to the boardroom

Lisa’s experiences on the water show how important collaboration, trust and clear agreements are – not only in sports, but also in organizations preparing for the future. A high performance team does not emerge automatically. It requires attention to culture, behavior, rituals and the ability to learn from mistakes. Just like in a rowing crew: only when everyone rows in the same direction do you truly move forward.

For more than five years, Anderson MacGyver has been supporting over 60 athletes and musicians in realizing their dreams through the collaboration with ClubTE.