Everybody wants to be somebody.  Once this becomes a fundamental way of viewing your teammates, classmates, and everyone you meet, you will become a person of influence.

By Dr. Cory Dobbs
The Academy for Sport Leadership

There isn’t a person in the world who doesn’t want to be someone, to have significance and be considered worthy and valued by others.  Everybody wants to be somebody.

“One day I was in Tucson, Arizona putting gas in my car when I witnessed a homeless man asking if he could wash peoples windows for money and people would yell at him and push him away like he was some kind of animal. I felt for that man and even though I’ve never been homeless or put in the position he was in I could relate to him.”
–Steven Lopez, State Champion Wrestler

How do you treat the last person on the bench?  Is it different from the way you treat the star player on the team?  Why?  Is a person’s worth determined by their value on the court or playing field?  How do you treat every person you meet?

Everybody wants to be somebody.  Once this becomes a fundamental way of viewing your teammates, classmates, and everyone you meet, you will become a person of influence.

As he walked towards me with his head down I was expecting him to ask me if he could  wash my windows and I was going to say yes but he kept walking. So as he passed me I asked if he could wash my windows and he said “yes” so he began to do so. After he was done he started walking away not even asking for money which took me by surprise.  But I felt he did a service and should be rewarded so I called him over and said I was going to pay him. His eyes opened wide and I could just see the joy on his face. I checked my wallet and all I had was a $10 bill.  My first thought was $10 for a simple window wash seems too much but I looked towards the bigger picture; do I need that $10 more than he does? And my answer was no, I felt he needed it more than I did.  So I gave it to him and he said that it was too much and he couldn’t accept it but I insisted and the look on his face will be something I’ll never forget. 
–Steven Lopez

Almost everyone knows what it feels like to be accepted, connected, trusted—a friend—and what it feels like to be rejected, judged, and outside the group.  When people feel disconnected they feel a sense of worthlessness.

He told me it would take about 2-3 days worth of washing windows to make $10 and was very grateful. He gave me a hug and I could see other people staring but I didn’t mind, I helped the man out with what I could. As amazing as that felt what happened after made me feel so much happier. People would go up to him and give him money without him doing anything and some of them were the same people who were yelling at him, so that’s when I realized sometimes all it takes is just one person to start something and I could be that first person.
–Steven Lopez

To be a person of influence you need to truly care about people.  Great team leaders are student-athletes that influence teammates by showing others that they care.  The high performing team leader knows that everybody needs friendship, encouragement, and help.  What people can accomplish by themselves pales in comparison to what they can accomplish working with others.  Everybody needs somebody to connect with and help them grow.

I felt for that man and even though I’ve never been homeless or put in the position he was in I could relate to him.
–Steven Lopez, State Champion Wrestler

Everybody wants to be somebody.  Today at practice take a long look at your teammates and identify somebody who needs you to build up their confidence and sense of self-worth.  Let them know that they are welcome in your house.

Team Discussion Questions

«Do you believe that luck plays a role in your life?

«What do you think about luck?  How might a little luck change a person’s life?

«Should empathy be a part of one’s mindset?  How can you show empathy through your designated role?

«What role do relationships play in your personal success?  Your team’s success?

«What can you do today to invest in the future of a teammate?

To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including a Leader in Every Locker that this post was taken from, Click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

About The Academy for Sport Leadership

The Academy for Sport Leadership’s underlying convictions are as follows: 1) the most important lessons of leadership are learned in real-life situations, 2) team leaders develop best through active practice, structured reflection, and informative feedback, 3) learning to lead is an on-going process in which guidance from a mentor, coach, or colleague helps facilitate learning and growth, and 4) leadership lessons learned in sport should transcend the game and assist student-athletes in developing the capacity to lead in today’s changing environment.

This article was provided by Coaches Network

An important goal for all coaches is to get players to bond. The best teams are in sync on the court or field of play, which starts with interactions off the court.

“I want my players to feel more tired from talking than from playing,” says Stephanie Rivera, Head Volleyball Coach at Lutheran West High School in Rocky River, Ohio. “If they don’t talk on the court all the time, I feel like we’re a sinking ship.”

One way she teaches players the art of communication is through speaking assignments. Because Lutheran West is a private religious school, one player per game shares devotions (usually a scripture passage or poem) designed to inspire the team before taking the court. Rivera says this allows the girls to articulate their thoughts in new ways and helps them realize the value of unveiling personal feelings.

Brennan Dean, Head Volleyball Coach at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, does something similar. He texts his players leadership articles or relevant thought-provoking videos, and asks them to text him back five sentences that sum up their reactions. The next day, they discuss it as a team. “Kids are often more mature than we think, and they want to be challenged,” he says.

Beth Launiere, longtime Head Volleyball Coach at the University of Utah asks players to change roommates every road trip and bans cell phones at team meals, which last a minimum of 30 minutes. Even if players are done eating in 20 minutes, they are required to stick around and chat. “We very intentionally eliminate technology at these times,” Launiere says. “The magic happens when they are forced to sit there and talk.”

At Emory University, Head Volleyball Coach Jenny McDowell uses a big sister program in which a senior is paired with a junior, a junior with a sophomore, and so on. They are encouraged to talk one-on-one once a week. The goal is to help players feel more comfortable with each other and practice their communicate skills.

“Does all of this help us win?” asks McDowell. “Who knows? But, to me, this is about helping players develop life-long skills and become better people.”

This article was provided by Inner Drive, a mental skills training company

The post is written from the perspective of a soccer coach, but the lessons on developing a winning culture are applicable for all coaches regardless of the sport you coach.

Why do some teams outperform others? Why does the sum total equal more than the parts? For many, the answer refers to the ‘team culture’. But what exactly does this mean? And more importantly, how can you best develop it within your team?

A BAND OF BROTHERS

This year has been described by many as the year of ‘the underdogs’ (think Leicester City, Iceland and Walespunching well above their weight). Many have attributed their success to their team culture, often describing the players as a ‘band of brothers’. But what drives individuals to come together as a team?

Leading researchers explain organisational culture as ‘shared values, beliefs, expectations, and practices across the members a group’. Culture is defined as something everyone feels, but cannot see; existing as an unspoken understanding of ‘how we do things around here’. Sport specific studies and reviews show this can include traditions, rituals or symbols unique to the specific team.

It is shown that the adaptive qualities of being open to new learning and flexible to change prevent performance stagnation. Conflict, which inevitably happens, can be managed to enhance growth and creativity, problem solving and have positive effects on team effectiveness.

THE SECRET TO DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL CULTURE

If teams can encourage a culture that is adaptable and open to conflict as a form of innovation and new learning, they could expect to see more optimal and improved performance.  Through my research I suggest 6 tips to encourage a better team culture:

1. Have awareness of your team own culture

Take time as a team to consider what your culture is. What are the important values, beliefs, behaviours and the vision you encourage and work towards?

What kind of performance do you usually see (e.g. positive or negative) and what does it do (e.g. does it grow or is it stagnant / promote new thinking or not)? How does your team handle setbacks, conflict or challenges? In order to improve or change a culture, you must first understand how you operate as a team

2. Encourage team responsibility for the creation of your team culture

Culture is not rigid and neither will it necessarily always stay positive or negative. It becomes dependent on mindset (growth or fixed) and psychological momentum of everyone in your team.

They say positivity or negativity is infectious – the same is true of culture. Everyone holds responsibility for how they want the team to be, and they need to know this.

If you really want your team to buy into a particular culture, then they need to be the ones to take ownership, generate it and put it into practice.

3. Encourage team experiences together

The way majority of athletes said their teams learnt to be adaptable was to experience different things together. These experiences are completely dependent on the priorities of the team. However, what became clear was that if a team learns to deal with challenges together, they will learn to overcome them together (as noted by Wales captain Ashley Williams below).  This is more effective than them learning in separation; it keeps them cohesive and promotes confidence and reliability in one another, which all favour better performance.

4. Recognize team conflict as a natural and necessary occurrence

Do not prevent conflict from happening – it shows to be a very constructive way of resolving unspoken doubts or concerns within the team. It encourages individuals to think of alternative ways of solving a problem or overcoming challenges. Remember, conflict works when it is managed effectively – constructive criticism and discussions are the more positive ways of dealing with conflict.

This approach is one of the cornerstones of the successful New Zealand Rugby Team. Being able to talk openly, honestly and constructively, without taking personal offence is an important part of the process. (You can read more about how The All Blacks develop their team culture, in our blog here, ‘Why Are New Zealand So Good at Rugby’).

5. Encourage athletes to contribute ideas and opinions to group discussions

This links into using conflict effectively. Involving the whole team (e.g. athletes & coach) in the decision process not only encourages adaptability, it helps build team cohesion and can empower your athletes through the opportunity to make decisions. A healthy team discussion about which direction to take and why can help squash doubts and make sure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal.

6. Include everyone in the culture (make sure the team knows who the ‘team’ is).

As has already been mentioned, culture is everyone’s responsibility – it does not just stop at the athletic team. Whilst leaders or coaches have a big role to play in setting the expectations, visions and morals, especially for younger teams, you need other members of the team to help you spread the message.

For many this involves the welfare and support staff. All the other individuals that work to optimize the athletes’ performance need to buy into the same culture, led by the same expectations, in order for it to truly become alive. A great example of this was seen by the many different component parts at Leicester City coming together to work towards a single goals.

FINAL THOUGHT

Developing an effective team culture is difficult. Getting players to sacrifice the ‘me’ for the ‘we’ can be challenging. However, the rewards are worth it. As Aristotle, and later Gestalt psychologists noted, ‘the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts’.

If you’re a parent trying to best support your child, check out our blog How to Help Your Child in Sport.

We would like to thank Alex for writing this blog. For more information about her research, you can contact her on 

[email protected].