This evening I came across an
article on ESPN's website that really resonated with me. I am fascinated with the influence culture
has on teams and also how it influences the academic outcomes in a school
setting. The culture at my school is
still a work in progress, so I seize any opportunity to learn about how to
implement the culture I believe necessary to assist out school in reaching its
potential.
Below I summarized the main lessons I took from the
article and italicized any direct quotes from the article.
A
house divided
“And
if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mark 3:25, The Lutheran Study
Bible). This is most likely evident to
all leaders and Abraham Lincoln used this
quote prior to becoming President, as he saw the truth in these words. Charlie
Strong also recognizes the importance of getting all team members on the same
page.
Just ask Charlie Strong. Speaking in March
at the start of his second spring practice as Texas' coach, Strong began by
spotlighting the team's inability to stay united last season, which led to
shaky results.
"Within a team there's different cliques, and you've got this
clique here and they've got a clique," said Strong, who added that a
player's loyalty to his clique can hinder his individual development. "In
order to come together as a team, trust has to be built and a team has to come
together. That's what we never did, and we still had these cliques we were
dealing with."
When
I assumed leadership of my present school, numerous team members warned me of
the various cliques present with in the school.
I am happy to say that we have largely eliminated this problem, but we
still have a few folks holding on to bad habits. In the coming months tough decisions will have to be made regarding their continued membership on our team. The work we have to do is too important to allow them to hold us back.
Horizontal leadership
I
believe strongly in the importance of horizontal leadership and I
wrote on it previously. There is no
doubt in my mind that the presence of horizontal leadership has the potential
to take teams, groups, and organizations from good to great; and it appears
that some of the top coaches in college football agree.
LSU never goes longer
than six weeks without an established unity council. Saban relies on Alabama's
peer intervention leadership group, which he meets with twice per month. Saban
saw how Alabama's leaders reacted to a series of off-field issues this spring,
including the dismissal of defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor.
"They’re really pissed that some of the
things have happened, so it creates a heightened awareness that people want to
do things to affect it," Saban said. "Where sometimes, when
everything’s going good, everybody just assumes it's going to stay that
way."
Others agree that team leaders, rather than
coaches, can best manage troublesome cliques. Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads
thinks player-driven accountability is "the strongest force" to
prevent roster splintering, especially when losses pile up.
If you can create a
culture in which team members hold one another accountable, I believe you are
well on your way to creating a great team.
Summary
Talented teams lose
all the time. Over and over again
talented teams fail to reach their potential because the leader fails to get
each member of the team on the same page.
However, books are
written and films are made about those less talented teams that somehow pull
off the impossible victory because all team members are united in a common purpose, and choose to sacrifice ego and individual agendas in order to achieve
victory. I want to be on that type of team.
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