Team Culture, don't under estimate it!

Coming to the end of our representative campaign, I reflect on what we have achieved to date, what we have implemented, focus at trainings, player base and coming into our last game what has been the key to our development and success? Culture! I have been involved with teams over the past few years with examples of great team Culture and extremely poor team culture. I have put together some thoughts on what elements create a quality team culture. Obviously every team has very different profiles, personalities and make ups that make it entirely unique so these thoughts are based around my own experiences.

Key factors to creating a quality team culture

Spine

- Create a "Spine"or leadership group. I see the "spine of the team being positional and creating leaders in these positions provides stability, direction and if developed right can have a major impact on how the game is played.
Spine Example:
Hooker
Lock
Number 8
Half Back
First 5
Fullback

This may alter where your 7 is a part of the spine rather than 8 or Centre may be in the mix rather than 15.

The Captain I would choose would always be in the "Spine"and he then has a number of players that he can look to for support, advice or confidence if required. The "Spine" become a key part of our trainings around setting high standards, intensity, discipline and execution. Pre match I always spend 10 mins with the "spine"as a group discussing conditions, opposition, game day tactics and some key goals to achieve on field.

Organisation

Players find it easy to give strong levels of commitment to a very organised campaign, where trainings lack direction, flow, variation, focus and have a fun element players, without this players can drift with their levels of commitment.
Put yourself in the players shoes, you turn up to training to see all drills laid out, coaches/Managers ready for action vs Turning up and coaches no where to be seen. Keeping to time frames is also critical, if you say you will start at 6.30, start at 6.30!!

Players Voice

In teams I coach I value the players voice and opinions, questions without we would be coaching a team of robots! I always make time for questions, thoughts and make time to spend 1 on 1 time with players where required. If the voices don't have an avenue to communicate you will only get issues and players feeling under valued! I also try to push our players to think creatively in how to solve problems.

Discipline - 3 Tortures

I was introduced to a concept a little while back by another coach where he led an internal discipline program run largely by the players and since then I have implemented and found the players responded really well to this!

Basically there is 3 levels of tortures:

1. Tell a Joke to the team - if no one laughs go to Torture 2
2. Sing a song - If No one sings the chorus go to torture 3
3. Team Duties (Cleaning changing sheds, picking up gear after training etc)

Basically if some one is 5 mins late to training for the first time the team may ask them to say a joke. Effectively this is a warning from the team that they don't find it acceptable and you have been given a warning.
For some of the players standing in front of 30 people singing a song on their own is not an easy measure....
Although I introduced the team to it, they have bought into it and take ownership of discipline. Recently coming to the end of our season they have added that players on Torture 2 have to sing and dance adding a new level...

Guest Speakers

We have been very lucky this season to bring in guests speakers from the likes of Ex All Blacks Jeff Wilson and Mark Mayerholfer to Super 14 and ITM Cup Players. The focus is to get the guests discuss things around training ethic, commitment, sacrifices, goal setting, challenges etc so the players get a feel for what steps are required to achieve things at the highest levels.
I will speak with the guests prior and talk about some of the goals and themes we are trying to achieve as a team and having these guests add their voice to further enforce things like work rate, standards etc makes our job as coaches easier!
Players also respond very well to different voices coming in and creates an exciting environment!

Self Analysis

Over the past 2 years I have developed most match review forms where players look at their game from a technical execution basis post match. Often you find a player can lose confidence about the "1 missed tackle"scenario and dwell on this losing confidence and motivation. Generating this form as meant that players need to think more around the entire game and there execution and then work to developing specific goals for the upcoming game. Also it gives them an opportunity to discuss team performance etc and get their perspective across.
Largely I find the more players use it the more honest they become with their own analysis and the more focused they become for achieving their goals!

Here are examples of the form I have developed :

Step 1 - Technical Analysis:

Step 2 - Comments on own Performance and Team Performance:

Step 3 - Set Goals for Next Match

As a coach I always make a point of acknowledging the players efforts in and around this and try to help as much as possible with them to achieve these goals. It is also very important to provide "pats on backs"when their individual goals are achieved!

Team Vision and Mission

Drive a session before your season starts with the team coming up with a united Vision and Mission, I then split them into groups: Tight 5, Loosiesmins to go and that was the last chance to achieve their vision and mission.

Here is an example of what our team came up with this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD44MqPiXr4
I then created it into a short Video with some action footage with key stuff related to the group:

The ownership is then on the leaders within the "spine"to get the team to live and breathe that vision. I often hear our front row saying "Ruthless"before the ball goes in or our back 3 calling "Hammer"when they counter attack!

Enjoyment

When a team enjoys coming to training, enjoys the style of Rugby the team plays, enjoys the company of their team mates, nothing is better!!! When things try to derail your progress as a team it makes it near impossible and ultimately gets the best out of all involved!!

Little Things can play a large bearing!

I asked our team after our first competition to come up with a team song that would stay with us throughout our season! the team chose "Lean on Me"which you can now hear at full noise in the changing sheds after any of our games! Here is the team singing it to our hosts on an away trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z5VihpbMvo

These sorts of little things add up and create great team Culture!!


To sum it up for me: Choose Good People, Create Good Team Culture and focus on continual development and improvement and great things will happen!!

Don't underestimate the bearing it has in your teams success because with Bad Team Culture it can make a season a very long one!!

Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.

Vince Lombardi