 Culture: The ConnectorIt’s January 2016. I’m in my usual place at this time on game days - hunched over my computer, glued to the only light my cold, dark house has to offer at the time. After some small talk, I send the assistant coaches home, no need to make them suffer again. My family, all keen to the vibe of losing by this point, went to bed hours ago, leaving me some much needed late-night alone time.
Just a few hours ago we were at Northmont High School playing our twelfth game of the year, almost the exact midpoint of our season. Coming off a school record twenty-three wins a year ago, everyone expected winning to just become the new norm for Centerville Basketball. Unfortunately, no one had taken the time to tell the most important people in that equation: our opponents. We are no longer sneaking up on teams. Now we take their best shots - shots we clearly aren’t prepared to handle at this point. Our team has already lost as many games this season as we did all of last year. And, something tells me we’re not even close to being finished … losing that is. They say winning leaves clues … well, so does losing. I’m well into the fourth quarter of the game film of yet another lackluster performance. There aren’t enough sunflower seeds, my late night drug of choice, to make this feel any better. My hand is sore from the three pages of notes pointing out every technical mistake I can find. My eyes are glazing over as I skip forward in five second bursts combing through each possession for answers. Then I see it. The game is almost over and we are headed back onto the floor coming out of a timeout, one that is irrelevant to the outcome of the game - you know, the ones at the end of the game when every fan in the gym throws their hands up and wonders outloud, “What are you doing!” - it was one of those. All of our players stand up, squeeze in tight, reach their hands to the middle of the huddle, and shout “Chop Wood” … except for two of them. That’s it. The losing clue. How could I have missed it during the game? The film is clear. At the time of the break, they are sitting down, barely leaning forward, and making no effort to be a part of the team. Worse yet, they were actually IN the game. I’m furious with myself. I’m not only allowing this behavior, I’m honoring it. I immediately tear the ‘basketball’ notes out of my notebook and throw them all in the trash. It’s clear to me that none of that matters. Until we get our guys connected enough to care about each other it doesn’t matter what plays we’re running, and we are clearly not connected. Creating connections between teammates points to one thing for us: culture. Why Should We Care? Your culture is your daily behavior. If you allow it, you promote it. So it’s my responsibility to stop allowing it. I share the findings with the team during our film review the following day, remove both players from the starting lineup, limit their playing time, and lose two of the next three games. Not exactly the result I’m looking for … yet. But, that’s the beauty of culture. It only rewards the faithful. Regardless of outcomes, our culture must be honored. This is the bond of our group. It’s the common thread that runs throughout every single person on our team. When a player, or coach, chooses to be a part of Centerville Basketball they are agreeing to adopt the expected behaviors of the program. These unified behaviors not only connect our current team members to each other, but they also connect our current team to our alumni. Only a former player is fully aware of the sacrifices made to be a part of our team. Our players' unwillingness to stand up, put their hands in the huddle, and join their teammates in our break is a direct violation of our expected behaviors. It’s also a behavior that, if I don’t point out, no one will know about. But, I’ll know it. And, the only thing worse than not knowing is knowing and doing nothing about it. It’s my choice to honor our culture or not. I choose to honor it because I trust it - its eventual impact on the player and its lifetime impact on the person. REAL TALK - Action Steps This group struggled to fully connect right up to the end of the regular season, losing three in a row heading into the tournament. But, we continued to prioritize and honor our culture, regardless of the result. A gritty first-round win against rival Fairmont galvanized the group and cemented a connection that would allow our 12-10 regular season team to knock off three consecutive twenty win teams on the way to an Elite Eight finish - surprising to most, but not to the guys in our who had been faithful pulling the weeds. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind when trying to maximize the connection of your culture:
Culture has the potential to take a group of individuals and make them a team. Sure, they may share the same space and wear the same uniform, but until they commit to a set of common behaviors - they’re not a team. Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here!
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 Culture: The MultiplierIt’s late-February 2015. I’m leaning back on the fake leather couch in our coaches office trying to get my head around the ridiculous amount of talent we are about to face. It’s overwhelming, yet I’m hoping that one final look at my notes for the game will calm my nerves. Or, convince me that I’m not a complete idiot for thinking we have a chance. I take a deep breath, punch my right fist into my left hand, give myself a clenched teeth “Let’s Go!” and walk into our raucous gym, head down.
We’re minutes away from playing against one of the most talented high school rosters I’ve ever seen. The crowd in the Centerville gym is standing room only. What an atmosphere - the fresh smell of popcorn, the comfort of our home gym … on senior night. And man, do these seniors deserve it. Eight of our twelve varsity players are seniors. Just two years ago they were faced with the decision of whether or not to trust some random, new coach from lil’ ol’ St. Paris Graham with crazy expectations and an affection for burpees. They deserve this night. We’re good, 18-3 and on the way to setting a school record for wins in a season. Two of those three losses were tight games. The other one … well, we got blown out, twenty-pieced the kids might say. Unfortunately, we are facing the same opponent tonight - the Wayne Warriors, one of our biggest rivals. But, more significant at the moment is the fact that they’re really, really, good. Like, really good. All five of their starters are division one basketball recruits. Only one percent of high school players go on to play D1. This team has five of them - process that for a second. If that’s not bad enough, their sixth man is going to Ohio State on a football scholarship. Such a weak link … We don’t have any division one players. We don’t have any division two players either. The first time we played, at their place, this was clear. Their talent out-classed us. But, in the two months since our last meeting, our group had accepted this reality. We now know who we are. We have a new belief. Talent isn’t our advantage - we believe WE are our advantage. The game is everything you could imagine - ups and downs, lead changes, big plays by both teams. Incredible. Our guys are relentless throughout the game - never flinching, never wavering. Wayne would knock us out of the tournament on their way to a state championship a few weeks later, but on this night we find a way. It takes overtime and every ounce our team has, but we find a way. Back on the couch in the coaches office after the game I become convinced of a truth that I had long suspected but never fully embraced: culture doesn’t add, it multiplies. WE is a much greater advantage than most people will ever acknowledge. And, your culture is the lifeblood of WE. Why Should We Care? Thinking of your culture as a multiplier is powerful. One of the aspects of team building that most people struggle to accept: one bad apple is one bad apple too many. Let’s look at it from a simple math perspective. Say a bad apple is a zero. What is anything multiplied by zero? Tough one, I know - those flashcards came back to you quickly …That’s right, it’s zero. Now, let’s say the bad apple isn’t just zero, but negative. Any positive number multiplied by any negative number will always be negative. Just by allowing a negative, you make the whole thing negative. You know this to be true. You spend the most time on the zeros and negatives. Stop. Accumulating and relying solely on talent is equivalent to addition. Regardless of how great the talent level is, multiplying positives will almost always result in a higher result than simply adding. Create an environment focused on culture, put positive people into that culture, and reap the reward of the great multiplier. Culture is that multiplier - not more talent or more plays. The more you pour into your culture, the bigger your multiplier. REAL TALK - Action Steps It’s easy to forget about the multiplying effect of culture. We all get caught up with day to day fires to put out, benchmarks to meet, and consumers to appease. In the process, we push the most important part of our team to an afterthought. Here’s a few ideas to keep our culture the priority:
Contrary to what we are told, talent is not the most important aspect of team performance. That’s the beauty of a team, the invisible multiplier of culture will always be the great equalizer. Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here! |
About bcI'm a teacher, coach, and parent seeking excellence while defining success on my own terms. Archives
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