Creating a winning culture

Debbie Jacob

IF I COULD find a sport that offers more life lessons than American football, I would become its number one fan. But this is the game I watch as an anthropologist because I am fascinated by cultural change. When I see losing teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders transform into winning teams, I study them for clues on how we can make cultural changes on a national level.

Sports teams are culture driven. They reflect the cities they represent and often require culture change – a shift in their beliefs, values, and practices – to succeed.

So why do we suddenly see teams that have been struggling for years transition into winning teams?

Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

In NFL football rules are like laws in society at large. Rules for conduct are as important as rules for the game. The governing body of the NFL applies those rules rigidly. Everyone recognises rules create order. Hefty fines are imposed for breaking rules. If we imposed laws in a consistent, fair way we’d have a more orderly society.

A winning team lives in the moment. You will hear players on successful teams say they only think about the game in front of them. They aren’t haunted by the past or worried about the future.

The most successful coaches in achieving culture change in their teams – the Lions’s Dan Campbell, the Commanders’s Dan Quinn and the Chiefs’s Andy Reid – create confidence by identifying and nurturing players’ unique individual skills.

While successful coaches appreciate individuality, they stress teamwork. The team is more important than the individual. Each athlete plays for the person next to him. Washington’s coach Quinn said, “There’s usually another level that you can tap into…You can take yourself to a certain level but to tap into the next gear, to the next spot, you got to bring people with you. So it…usually comes back to doing it (playing) for the guy that’s right next to them…”

Everyone has a chance to succeed on a successful team. Opportunities are there for the taking. Rookies rarely sit on benches for years waiting for a chance to play. They get tested and evaluated alongside veterans, and expectations are that once a rookie is put in a game, he will step up and succeed. Successful teams don’t anticipate failure. There’s a culture of confidence, acceptance and winning rather than a culture of fear and pressure that once pressured rookie players.

Every minute counts. Two-minute drills at the end of the half and end of the game bring fast-paced action designed for scores to the last second of games. Time is never wasted. There’s a plan to maximise every minute. Challenges stimulate players and they don’t think of it as pressure.

Achievements are recognised and honoured. Post-game press conferences feature coaches talking about players who made a difference in the game and locker-room celebrations include game balls for the best players. Coaches constantly strive to boost morale and confidence.

Scouts searching for players that fit their team’s culture look for intangibles – personality, behaviour, mindset that doesn’t have measurables. A player’s statistics for sacks, throws, kicks and catches don’t tell the entire story of success. Scouts and coaches trust their instincts.

Drive is an important indicator of success. In news conferences, coaches or players talk about the players who are first in the building and last to go home. They go the extra mile for physical training and film study. Preparation and drive are important indicators of success.

Good coaches take chances on players who rise above their personal circumstances. NFL football players often come from the culture of poverty. They might have some personal and cultural challenges to overcome in their backgrounds.

The NFL has a strong tradition of community service with players from each team being nominated annually for the Walter Payton award. Many NFL players have their own NGOs. Community service creates empathy. It connects individuals to the community at large, and gives hope and resources to the underprivileged. Community service creates confidence and fulfilment.

NFL coaches stress positive reinforcement and don’t engage in the rigid and demeaning practices from decades ago. The “new” NFL coach leads by encouragement and example. He’s positive and uplifting. Players talk about coaches who care about them as individuals – not just players who operate like cogs in a wheel.

Any leader or politician can take a page from the playbook of successful NFL coaches who have changed the culture of their teams and created a winning environment.

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