The culture of a team, workplace, classroom, neighborhood, or a family is a major factor in determining any group’s experience. The use of the word Culture in this context should be looked at as the culmination of the energy we choose to bring to our social surroundings. Quite simply, the atmosphere created by what we exchange with one another develops either a positive, healthy, and effective environment of trust or a negative, unhealthy, ineffective environment of mistrust.
As you’ll hear in Tom’s video at the end of today’s message, high school sports are underway across the country. I am a soccer coach at a high school here in Saint Paul, MN and one of the most important pieces of our program is to create the right conditions that allow for high levels of safety, trust, and belonging. Although this is relevant to classrooms, workplaces, communities, and so on, I will use my soccer team as an example.
So why should we care about establishing high levels? Safety, trust, and belonging are essential for a culture to foster human development because they are necessary for people to be vulnerable. When people are vulnerable, they are willing to share their gifts and talents, take risks, and learn from mistakes and failures. When those three pieces are the norm, nerves are settled, brains are calm, joy and fun are elevated, clarity is present and so on. The idea is it attempts to create the best conditions for those involved to freely bring out their best selves in all forms. Players typically play better, think clearer, have more fun, and contribute to the mission of the team when the culture is healthy.
To do so it takes intentionality to establish and live four essential pieces of a healthy and effective culture:
- Help Others Succeed – Every player’s job when they step on the field and/or interact with each other off the field is to keep in mind that their core job is to Help Others Succeed. Although they signed up to play soccer, we make sure they know it’s much more than just playing soccer. They are part of something bigger.
One of the most tangible ways my players can live this principle is by making sure everyone they encounter knows “they are not alone” and “you have their back.” As seen in the image of the two pandas below, they are not alone and one is present to help the other.
- Communicate “You matter” – Every participant needs to know that they have a role to play and that they truly matter to the whole. Mattering comes from greeting each other on the field, in the halls at school, and out in the community. Mattering comes from being heard and being valued for the different gifts they bring to the team. It seems so simple, but the impact is huge. When people know they matter they feel confidence, strength, love, a sense of purpose, and so on.
- Honor the Absent – Our program has a big challenge ahead of it: speaking in an honorable way about any player or coach that is not present during that conversation. Today’s broad culture in media, politics, and professional sports showcases Dishonoring the Absent which is the #1 way to break down feelings of safety, trust and belonging.
Our program will practice Honoring the Absent by being problem solvers and not problem namers. If there’s an issue, instead of wasting our breath on just talking naming the problem, we will strive to work towards solving it. In our program we will be mindful of whether our words, nonverbals, and actions send the message to other players that it’s ok to Dishonor others around us. We will also look for ways to stop the Dishonoring and shift to a more meaningful way of speaking rather than in a way that works against our culture. It will not be easy, but we are up for the challenge.
- See the Problem, Own the Problem – In our program we will try to create the habit of seeing problems and looking for ways to own the problem even if that issue is not directly attributable to us. Players and coaches will take responsibility to do whatever they can do to solve the problem. There will be no shortage or problems throughout the season, so the sooner this mindset can be established the better. Problems might be conflict between players, a teammate not having access to transportation to practice, noticing when a teammate is feeling low, and so on. When these problems are seen and owned, it sends a strong message and builds a very strong culture.
Reflection and Action
1.How safe and trusting is the culture in which you work?
- What do you experience in your workplace that makes it safe and trusting
- What do you experience in your workplace that makes it unsafe and distrusting?
2.Identify a person or a group who needs you to Help Them Succeed.
- What can you do to help this person or group succeed?
- Regarding Communicating “You Matter”:
- Who is someone who needs you to Communicate “You Matter” to him or her?
- How might you do that?
- Is there someone in your life to whom you are communicating “You don’t Matter’?
- How is that happening?
- Regarding Honoring the Absent:
- Is there a situation in your life where you are being a problem namer and need to be a problem solver?
- Regarding See the Problem and Own a Problem:
- Are you aware of a problem that you need to own?
- What is that problem?
- How do you need to own it?
All the best to you and yours from our Top 20 team,…Tom, Willow, and Kevin
Kevin Brennan
Director, Top 20 Training
651-373-0297
kevin@top20training.com
