Culture is a buzz-word in sport. Coaches often attribute their success or failure to this ambiguous word. But, let’s get to the heart of the matter, why should you care about your team’s culture?
The short answer is, while some teams cultures can create sustained success, others will only deliver success in the short term, if at all. Basically, culture is a critical factor in the success of any team so here are 10 factors that define successful team cultures:
- The Coaches have been deliberate about creating the culture they want. They have never let it just happen or emerge.
- Coaches have used a process such as the GRIP Model to develop their culture.
- Coaches have desired values and behaviors and these match the goal the team’s goals.
- These teams have effective team captains who, above all else, role model the desired culture.
- These teams typically use words to describe themselves such as accountable, honest, resilient, team focused and they always reward effort before results.
- Coaches want and give their athletes appropriate ownership over the team’s direction and they are collaborative in their approach to being the best they can be. The Coach is ultimately the leader of the team.
- Poor behavior (which happens even on the best teams) is dealt with immediately and there are significant consequences. Appropriate behavior is recognized immediately and rewarded in a meaningful way, usually this is not about receiving material things.
- Recurring poor behavior is not tolerated no matter who behaves this way. There is no allowance made simply because you’re the “best” player on the team.
- Performance standards and effort are never compromised. No excuses, no matter what.
- Every aspect of what matters most in a successful team’s culture is reinforced through the team’s symbols and symbolic acts.
Mental toughness is not a mythical quality possessed only by a few. It is a teachable skill that can be developed and sustained. And that’s exactly what the ATHLETE TOUGH Handbook and Video Series is all about. It’s your personal guide of proven strategies to develop your skills to be ATHLETE TOUGH.
Many of the books or programs out there on mental toughness are written by psychologists in a language that is hard to understand. ATHLETE TOUGH is written by an Olympic Medalist Bo Hanson, who has personally USED these strategies and gained success because of them. Not only that, but these strategies have helped form the successful business Bo Hanson has today – Athlete Assessments. ATHLETE TOUGH is also designed specifically for athletes so you know the information is relevant and useful to you.
The ATHLETE TOUGH Program is designed to ensure your athletes never give up, never quit on their team and never quit on themselves. It provides step-by-step processes to help athletes become and stay mentally strong.
