How fast could you get your new team to buy in?
Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks who are Super Bowl LX champions, beating the Patriots 29-13 on Sunday. The success these teams had this year makes it very hard to believe that each Head Coach is in their first (Patriots – Vrabel) or second (Seahawks – McDonald) year with their respective teams. People forget that Mike Vrabel took the Tennessee Titans to the AFC Championship game back in 2019, which was just his second year ever as a Head Coach in the NFL. In the #CJJblog this week, I take a deeper look at these two coaches (and Curt Cignetti at Indiana University) to find out what it takes to quickly build a championship team culture.
- Respect. Set a standard that respect is not only expected, but widespread. Everyone in the organization is to be shown respect and treated like an equal. That’s exactly what Mike Vrabel did on day one when New England hired him.
- Trust. Do you have an Intentional Trust Plan? Put trust first consistently and others will start to feed off the energy.
- Listening Tour. In the first 30-60 days of your new position, I strongly recommend going on a Listening Tour. No, you will not be traveling up and down the east coast on a bus, but you will be meeting individually with your new team members and listening to their thoughts and opinions. What is being done poorly? What is being done correctly? What needs to be changed?
- Clarity. Do you have total clarity on your mission and core values? Define the behaviors that will be acceptable on your team and model them to your team.
- Rally cry. Do you have a theme or identity? Will your team be relentless? Efficient on offense? Whatever it is, lean into it.
- Systems. Develop efficient systems and processes that prevent time wasting. One of the best ways to earn respect from new team members is by being respectful of their time.
- Meetings. How often do you have one-on-one meetings with your new team members? How do you utilize this individualized time with them? Your strategy here could make or break your success.
- Inspiration. Do you have daily inspiration strategies? How many motivational stories do you have in your back pocket? This also goes a long way in establishing your new team culture as well.
- Empowerment. Are you empowering others from day one? Or are you micromanaging your new team with every little decision? Share expectations of what needs to happen and let them figure out how.
- Focus. Start with one huge focus, master it, then expand outward. For example, we will be extremely disciplined on defense. Once that is mastered and comes naturally, you can move on to other areas.
- Relationships. Build relationships with everyone. This is easily the number one accelerant when building a championship team culture fast. No shortcuts, just effort and passion.
Did You Know? Coach Jim Johnson recently delivered his “How to Build a Championship Team Culture” workshop to students at Roberts Wesleyan University. Make sure to reach out if you want Coach to come motivate your students or staff!
Life Tip #2: Tell others and show them you care. Love your people everyday. Start with your family and spread it to everyone you meet.
