Touch Rugby is a game built on honesty.
It’s a fast game, and because there is no crunching tackles like in its contact equivalent, the “touch” can often be difficult for the referee to see.
Players will often shout out “touch” to signal to both the referee and their team that they successfully caught a player on the opposing team.
I love how the game relies on honesty for it to work well. When people admit when they miss a touch it builds good will between teams and players.
However, the mood of a game quickly goes south when one team suspects the other team is stretching the truth, or in some cases, flat out lying. Teams turn to bickering with each other and complaining to the referee. It can sometimes feel like kids on a playground.
My team had one of those bickering-type games today. And it made me think about how not just touch teams, but how teams in the workplace are built on this kind of mutual trust. When everyone is honest, the collaboration and goodwill created is impressive. When there is a lack of trust, almost nothing can get done without a complaint.