Written by Values in any sports organization are extremely important. Values of the organization show coaches, staff, and athletes what is important for the organization. CEO, presidents, GMs, and coaches’ values show what they believe, what they have learned, and who they are. With all of these different values, from so many different people, how does an organization move forward?
That is a great question to ask and an organization needs to reflect on this. Does the team or league have positive organization values that are there to support athletes, teams, and fair play? Or are the values more set on winning at all costs? Or maybe the values land somewhere in between.
Every athlete, coach, and staff that come into the organization need to ask themselves, do I want to be part of this organization? Do my values align with the organization’s values? Does this team focus on positive and quality leadership, culture, and coaching with an athlete focus or are they focused on winning the next championship? Does this coach value me as an athlete and wants me to succeed in the short and long term and on and off the field?
And lastly, if you are already part of a league or team, is the organization following their values? What can be done better? How can you help the team get back to their values?
You may have noticed that this article has a lot of questions, which was extremely purposeful as I wanted this to be a time of self-reflection. Each team, organization, and league are different, with varying types of leaders, cultures, values, athletes, coaches, and staff. And with each different person, role, and variant of values, it is always a great opportunity to explore how you can influence those around you to positively change and continue upholding those positive values.