Culture Drives Performance

Mike Hatch, an assistant coach at SMU, says that culture drives performance. It is the number one thing in your program. It is bigger than Xs and Os. It is how you will be defined, and it is how your team is going to be looked at by every other coach, fan, and spectator.

Culture is who you are, it is what you do, it is how you do it, and it is why you do it. Culture is what you believe in and how you behave. Culture is your thoughts, your actions, and your words.

Culture is something that you have to stick to and stick with - even though and especially because there are a lot of reasons not to. We often go into the seasons with great plans and great ideas, but we all know that each season will test us and our ability to stick with the culture that we planned on having.

You can't let up on your culture. You have to hold everybody accountable to the same standard - from the best player to the manager. If you are going to have a successful team, you have to hold everybody to the same standard.

If you hold everybody to the same standard, you will have trust and respect, and your team won't want to let each other down.

In today's society, there are excuses for everything, but at the end of the day - you have to ask, "Did you get it done, or did you not?"

Teach them the standard, hold them to the standard, and it will drive performance. The second you let your culture down and you lose the respect of your players because you allow someone to get away with something, it is hard to get it back.

When you see teams with a great culture, you don't see bad body language, you don't hear excuses, you don't hear people talking back, and you don't see complaining.

When you see teams with a great culture, you see respect, you see great body language, and you hear encouragement.

When you have a great culture, the right people don't want to leave. The right people want to get on the bus and stay on the bus. When you have a great culture, the right people want to stay around.

Be who you are. Encourage, motivate, and inspire people in a way that is real and authentic. When you are real, the right people will get on the bus and stay on the bus. Be honest, be transparent, and have empathy. Don't make empty promises because the truth will be revealed.

Here is an article that can help you begin the process of creating/establishing a great culture: https://acoachsdiary.blogspot.com/search/label/Circles

Listen to the full podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-17-mike-hatch/id1570134455?i=1000536005124