Written by How do we instil the values into the athletes in our shared sports culture?
How are these values created and subsequently evolve? Are they set in stone for any member of the sports culture to sign up to or do they evolve organically in line with the values of the leadership? Are the values which are viewed as important, primarily focused on winning or something more centred around the athlete’s development as people first, athletes second?
Some organisations such as the ‘All Blacks’ New Zealand Men’s Rugby team that have been very vocal in those they look for in their team with books such as Legacy (Kerr, 2013)
written about a ‘no dickheads’ policy that reflects their ideology that good people make better rugby players – an ideology that the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup winning South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus has also shared as part of what shapes his sports culture.
How this policy is created is of great interest but more pertinent to the cultures success may be how these values are policed? For athletes to buy into this values-based ideology they must take ownership of it – when part of the group falls short on expectation it is the athletes who take charge on how the group progress. Athletes taking charge of the culture is almost the final stage of a values-based evolution that begins with the athletes agreeing to the shared values, to then living their lives by these values both on and off the field of play.
Sometimes within performance cultures, agreed values break down and a response is required. For the continued existence of this values-based culture, there can be no room for sentiment or subjectivity. Who the athlete was or the timing of the incident are secondary to the impact these behaviours have had on the values within the culture. Consistency is key with value-based coaching and if values are the foundation of a sports culture, then they don’t shift – otherwise how these values are viewed by both those within and external to the culture will also shift.
Leicester City are chasing a top 4 position that will bring with it the qualification to the premier football competition in Europe – the UEFA Champions League – and along with it many millions in prize money not available outside this competition. Over the weekend it emerged that several senior Leicester players had breached COVID protocol to attend a party. As a result of this the manager, Brendan Rodgers, dropped the players from the squad against fellow top 4 rivals West Ham United. The game was lost dragging Leicester closer to the chasing pack for that top 4 spot than they had been at the beginning of the weekend. On being asked why he had made the decision to drop the players – including influential playmaker James Maddison – Rodgers replied that “some things are more important than football.” What Rodgers means is the learning that will come from the initial action of the players and subsequent response to these behaviours from the management.
For more of Rodgers quotes on this incident and his response, please read the Guardian Article (Steinberg, 2021) highlighting the clear expectations the players have to be part of.
The message being sent to the players is that these values exist at all times and for all players. With regards to the player hierarchy, there is no-one able to work outside of these shared values otherwise the culture evolves in a different direction than intended. The initial loss of a game or a top 4 place can be seen as a longer term gain that Rodgers will hope increases engagement and buy in of their collective values for future seasons. Essentially a culture built on shared values will evolve with mistakes or transgressions occurring but limiting these means they don’t become a pattern of behaviour that undermines the culture. The values need to be demonstrated with actions rather than just written down or talked about.
Examples of value-based systems in sport include the San Antonio Spurs men’s Basketball team under their Head Coach Gregg Popovich, the women’s US Soccer team under Head Coach Jill Ellis, Fiji Men’s Sevens Rugby Team under Head Coach Ben Ryan and UCLA gymnastics under Head Coach Valorie Kondos Field. Each of these coaches and teams have been hugely successful allowing the world to get to know more of how their values shape the sporting culture they lead. Building a value-based coaching structure isn’t for everybody, but part of our role as coaches is to look beyond success as simply winning and develop the person, we work with to develop values that will lead to a successful life for the athletes in all areas of their lives.
Which values would you look for in your sporting culture?
What role would you play in a value-based cultures evolution?
How would you regulate a value-based culture?
References
Kerr (2013) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Legacy-James-Kerr/dp/147210353X
Accessed 10.04.21
Steinberg (2021) https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/11/rodgers-drops-maddison-choudhury-and-perez-for-covid-breach-leicester
Accessed 12.04.21