Let's say that you are a coach, a teacher, a principal, or in a leadership role and you are starting a new season, a new year, or starting a new leadership position; what are some of the first things, from a cultural standpoint, that you would think about or do to set the tone for success?
Daniel Coyle is the New York Times bestselling author of the Culture Code. He has worked with and learned from some of the best leaders of the best cultures in the world. He was asked this question, and the first thing he said was he would think about the relationship between connections and safety. He says connection and safety are the foundations of a great culture.
"WITHOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY, YOU CAN BE AS SMART AS YOU WANT TO BE, BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ADD UP TO MORE THAN THE SUM OF YOUR PARTS BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT GIVING PEOPLE A VOICE." - DANIEL COYLE
When teams win championships, they often talk about how close they are and how strong their relationships are. When the LA Rams won their second Super Bowl in 2022, head coach Sean McVay said:
"What was so special about this team is it was genuinely a group that wanted to win for someone other than themselves. They were playing for one another."
Great teams have passionate players and coaches who are intrinsically motivated and competitive to try to be the best they can be, but they also have a purpose that is bigger than themselves and their own selfish ambitions. The great teams have players and coaches who embody a We, not Me culture where they love the opportunity to compete but also love the opportunity to coach and play at the highest level with and for someone other than themselves.
A championship purpose comes from having a desire to compete for and with people that you are connected with and care about.
We are hardwired to connect with others and search for social belonging. We need relationships to survive. Great leaders of great cultures intentionally seek out ways to increase connections and belonging among their teammates because they see that belonging is a fundamental, basic need.
When we make people feel like they belong, we have happier, more hopeful, and more engaged teammates. When people don't feel like they belong, they don't work as hard, they don't work as often, and they are more likely to quit or leave.
We lose people because we neglect the human need to feel included. Loneliness is considered by some a pandemic, and loneliness and exclusion can be as bad or worse than unhealthy habits like smoking, alcoholism, and obesity.
Building connections with the people you work with can increase job performance by 56% and can decrease your turnover rate by 50%.
An important step in building those connections is creating a space where psychological safety can flourish. Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson coined the term psychological safety and define it as, "A shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking." Establishing a climate of safety gives people the freedom and permission to speak up and share their ideas. A championship culture is a culture where people have permission to try and fail, to learn from their mistakes, and to try again.
Building real connections requires having a space where people feel safe enough to share their thoughts and ideas. Sharing and trying new things can be scary and requires vulnerability, something that can feel weird, different, intimidating, and even painful, but as Coyle says, "The pain of vulnerability and exposure is what brings people together."
The people with whom you are the closest are the people with whom you are vulnerable.
1 - I am at my best when ...
2 - I am at my worst when ...
3 - What I need from this team is ...
4 - What I can help this team with is ...
Take those 4 answers and create a team User Manual that defines what we are going to do and how we are going to do it.
PIT STOPS
Formula 1 race cars are required to make a pit stop in the middle of their race. Their tires wear down through the course of the race, they have to take a quick stop to check and then replace them.
A quick Pit Stop in the middle of the season or year to facilitate is:
1 - Are we working well together?
2 - What is working?
3 - What is not working?
4 - What should we be doing differently?
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