Worth repeating
I believe I've posted this article before, however it is worth repeating.
This article.
I'm posting this because a friend is currently experiencing a lot of the bad things outlined in this article.
Bad culture to start.
No accountability by the head coach.
No culture maintenance by the staff.
As a result, the program culture is off the rails, and has left the team in a particularly precarious situation. The current head coach is attempting to repair the culture, and install a new culture, but the problem is that the current culture stems from this particular head coach.
In short, the program needs a new head coach who will install a new culture.
I realize that this flies in the face of the article. New coaches make the mistake of coming in and destroying the current culture, and try and install a new one.
Yes that is true. The new coach cannot simply walk in and steamroll everything. However, I believe, like one of the examples in this article, that the coach has lost their credibility, and is now undermining themselves further. They allowed the current culture to take hold in the program. So the athletes follow the culture the coach cultivated. And now that the coach wants to install a new culture that is radically different than the current culture, the athletes are pushing back. The old culture can't be wrong because the coach encouraged it. Changing the culture means that the current coach was wrong, and loses credibility and if they were wrong about the culture, how many other things did they get wrong? Credibility is gone.
Culture is not an easy thing to build, and maintain. It requires a lot of sweat, and tears. But I don't believe it's as difficult to create as many make it out to be.
First, when coming in, don't just kick everything to the curb. Get to know the athletes, and the existing culture. Remember: When you tell the athletes that the culture is wrong, you imply that they are wrong as well.
Second, examine the culture you are wanting to change. What's wrong with it, what's right about it, what can we salvage, what needs to go? I don't agree with the idea that if you come in and the culture is "green" and you're "red" that you cannot make the program turn red, nor do I believe that you need to find some random mix of the two, and that's as good as you can make it. Perhaps that is ultimately the culture you create, but then that would mean you're changing your culture each time you head to a new program, and that I don't agree with.
So back to the second point. What worked? Something surely worked with the previous culture. I've coached for 13 years, and while I realize that's a smallish sample, I've been with seven different programs, some better than others, and I've yet to see an absolutely horrible culture with no redeeming qualities.
Third, work with the athletes. The culture doesn't work if you're the only person invested in it. I hate cliches, but the work. When you're working with novices, a cliche that is often used is, "How do you boil a frog?" You start with cool water, and gradually increase the heat so the frog doesn't notice.
Same thing with the culture change. Start making changes, gradually, but decisively, and let the culture start to move from there. I was at a convention listening to an excellent coach talk about how he helped facilitate change with a storied program. Rather than kick everyone out who didn't fit the profile they wanted, they gradually increased the workouts until those who were simply on the team to be on the team pulled the plug. At no point did they kick an athlete off the team. The athlete would remove themselves from the team while those with the mentality they wanted, stuck it out. Once they'd knocked the roster down to what was workable, they backed off the intensity, and began improving the existing culture, and recruiting athletes who fit it.
Recognize that the group you begin with isn't the group you're going to end with. Also understand that those who decide to quit aren't bad people, they simply don't fit into this one particular set of circumstances. I've heard so many coaches make monumentally dumb decisions that, "Once someone leaves, they're dead, don't talk with them, don't acknowledge them." These same coaches will talk about, "family" and family culture. Perhaps their family is different, but my family doesn't throw you to the curb simply because we don't see eye to eye over something.
Above all remember that culture is a living, breathing thing. It's not going to die if you don't care for it, but it will get out of control. You have to have your fingers on the pulse, even if you're the kind of coach who wants the athletes to take ownership of it. Everyone is responsible for creating a healthy culture.
This article.
I'm posting this because a friend is currently experiencing a lot of the bad things outlined in this article.
Bad culture to start.
No accountability by the head coach.
No culture maintenance by the staff.
As a result, the program culture is off the rails, and has left the team in a particularly precarious situation. The current head coach is attempting to repair the culture, and install a new culture, but the problem is that the current culture stems from this particular head coach.
In short, the program needs a new head coach who will install a new culture.
I realize that this flies in the face of the article. New coaches make the mistake of coming in and destroying the current culture, and try and install a new one.
Yes that is true. The new coach cannot simply walk in and steamroll everything. However, I believe, like one of the examples in this article, that the coach has lost their credibility, and is now undermining themselves further. They allowed the current culture to take hold in the program. So the athletes follow the culture the coach cultivated. And now that the coach wants to install a new culture that is radically different than the current culture, the athletes are pushing back. The old culture can't be wrong because the coach encouraged it. Changing the culture means that the current coach was wrong, and loses credibility and if they were wrong about the culture, how many other things did they get wrong? Credibility is gone.
Culture is not an easy thing to build, and maintain. It requires a lot of sweat, and tears. But I don't believe it's as difficult to create as many make it out to be.
First, when coming in, don't just kick everything to the curb. Get to know the athletes, and the existing culture. Remember: When you tell the athletes that the culture is wrong, you imply that they are wrong as well.
Second, examine the culture you are wanting to change. What's wrong with it, what's right about it, what can we salvage, what needs to go? I don't agree with the idea that if you come in and the culture is "green" and you're "red" that you cannot make the program turn red, nor do I believe that you need to find some random mix of the two, and that's as good as you can make it. Perhaps that is ultimately the culture you create, but then that would mean you're changing your culture each time you head to a new program, and that I don't agree with.
So back to the second point. What worked? Something surely worked with the previous culture. I've coached for 13 years, and while I realize that's a smallish sample, I've been with seven different programs, some better than others, and I've yet to see an absolutely horrible culture with no redeeming qualities.
Third, work with the athletes. The culture doesn't work if you're the only person invested in it. I hate cliches, but the work. When you're working with novices, a cliche that is often used is, "How do you boil a frog?" You start with cool water, and gradually increase the heat so the frog doesn't notice.
Same thing with the culture change. Start making changes, gradually, but decisively, and let the culture start to move from there. I was at a convention listening to an excellent coach talk about how he helped facilitate change with a storied program. Rather than kick everyone out who didn't fit the profile they wanted, they gradually increased the workouts until those who were simply on the team to be on the team pulled the plug. At no point did they kick an athlete off the team. The athlete would remove themselves from the team while those with the mentality they wanted, stuck it out. Once they'd knocked the roster down to what was workable, they backed off the intensity, and began improving the existing culture, and recruiting athletes who fit it.
Recognize that the group you begin with isn't the group you're going to end with. Also understand that those who decide to quit aren't bad people, they simply don't fit into this one particular set of circumstances. I've heard so many coaches make monumentally dumb decisions that, "Once someone leaves, they're dead, don't talk with them, don't acknowledge them." These same coaches will talk about, "family" and family culture. Perhaps their family is different, but my family doesn't throw you to the curb simply because we don't see eye to eye over something.
Above all remember that culture is a living, breathing thing. It's not going to die if you don't care for it, but it will get out of control. You have to have your fingers on the pulse, even if you're the kind of coach who wants the athletes to take ownership of it. Everyone is responsible for creating a healthy culture.
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