We Are All Co-Creators of our Team's Culture and Climate

While the coach and the leaders of a team share most of the responsibility in creating the right culture and climate, everybody on the team is a co-creator of the team's culture and climate. That responsibility is not just on the coaches and best players but on everybody.

Everybody impacts culture - good or bad - by the way we act and interact with each other. Ask yourself, "Am I a culture-builder?" Ask yourself, "Is my team's culture better because I am on it?"

The best teams have cultures where everybody feels like they belong and valued for the uniqueness that they bring to the team. When everybody has that sense of belonging, research says that teams work harder, smart, and more together, and they outperform teams that don't have that same sense of belonging. Having the right culture can and will lead to more success and wins.

How can you impact culture? We all impact our teams' culture by the way we act and interact with each other. It starts with the way we show up. Do we show up early, do we walk in right on time, or do we show up late? We impact the culture by the way that we act, work, and practice. Do you and your teammates have a culture of working hard and growing through practice, or is the culture to just get through the practice? Do you touch every line, or do you take shortcuts? Do you compete on every drill, or do you take it easy on your teammates? Do you work to get extra reps, do you just do the bare minimum, or do you try to find ways out of doing things that you don't like to do?

We also impact culture by the way we talk to our teammates. Do we talk to them in a way that makes them feel better about themselves, do we talk to them in a way that is encouraging, or do we talk to our teammates in a way that brings them down? How we communicate with and interact with each other has a major impact on the team and how the team performs. When teammates and coaches don't have positive interactions with each other, that leads to fractured team dynamics and cliques, and conflicts that negatively affect trust, teamwork, and performance.

The way we show up, the way we act, work, and practice and the way that we talk to our teammates shouldn't be dictated by our status on the team, and no matter what our status is on the team, the way that we show up, act and interact with our teammates will have a major impact on our team's culture.

The best culture-builder that I ever played with or coached was in college. Let's call him Chad. Chad didn't play a lot. He was an 'up 30 or down 30 guy,' meaning he only played in games when we were up by 30 points or down by 30 points. But you wouldn't know it from the energy that he brought to practice and the games. He was always one of the first people to practice and one of the last ones to leave. He was always the first to jump in line to do a drill, and he always went the hardest. He was always cheering his teammates on and encouraging them, especially in games. He had a towel that he would bring to games and would wave it to keep us going.

What made Chad a special teammate didn't lead to more playing time, but it led us to a conference championship. Chad also has a great job and a great family now. Being a culture-builder and a great teammate has far more benefits than just playing time.

We are all co-creators of our team's culture and climate. Is your team better because you are on it?

Reflection questions:

1 - How would you describe yourself as a teammate?

2 - Who was the best teammate you ever had?

3 - What made them your best teammate?

4 - How would you describe a great teammate?

5 - What do you need to do to fit the description that you have for a great teammate?