Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
A strong culture requires trust and chemistry among all the team members. As coaches, we usually think of this in terms of our athletes. We look at team-building as something they do, as opposed to something we do.
If you’re trying to maximize the potential of your athletes, the coaching staff must be a cohesive unit that’s on the same page. You can’t expect our athletes to trust one another, communicate effectively with one another, or support one another if you’re not doing that as well.
As a coach, you want to be successful and do all you can to achieve positive outcomes. However, sometimes you unknowingly block your team’s success.
Great teams have great teammates. No disagreements there, but it isn’t easy to find great teammates. Not everybody that makes your team will come in as a great teammate — and that is where your presence and team culture kicks in.
The clearest signal that you have an athlete that is a great teammate is their desire to serve others. When athletes have the mindset of serving other team members, the entire program benefits. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden put it well when he said, “It’s amazing what you can achieve when you don’t care who gets the credit.”
Serving others is at the very core of sports — and it’s paramount to your team’s success.
Basketball was everything to me. It was my favorite sport. When I was in 7th grade, I was riding the bus home after school. My brother, who was three years younger than me was acting up quite a bit on the bus that particular day.
As a coach, you’re constantly trying to lead your team as far as you can each season. This is true regardless of your resources or talent.
However, some coaches are blessed to be a part of programs that have high-performing individuals. High-performing teams usually have individuals that are more talented than most, but as coach, your role is to get the most out of them.