High Performing Teams - Ownership

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 2

Compliant teams do what they are told. Committed teams take ownership of their culture. High performing teams take ownership of their behavior every day, and the standards are established by the players.

Compliant teams can be very good. If they have talent and a smart coach, they’ll have a chance. The coach tells them what to do, they follow their coaches lead and they get a lot accomplished. The problem is the ceiling is lower for compliant teams. They do what they are supposed to do, but they don’t take ownership. It’s something they are doing for the coach, and to try and win, but it’s not something they are doing for each other.

The trick about building a committed team that takes ownership, however, is that the coach has to give the players the space to do it. Most players are trained to do what the coach tells them. They are waiting for direction. They have to be given the freedom to take control of what happens every day once they know what the standards are, and what is expected of them. It’s on the coach to build a culture of ownership, and wants that is established the players can take control of it.

I’ve always said the best feeling I’ve had as a head coach - when I knew we were really good - was when I would blow my whistle in practice, and before i could get the whistle out of my mouth I heard players talking. They knew what was expected, they knew what was coming and they were already talking about what needed to be done to get better. “Not good enough, let’s go. Do it again.” They start leading each other, because they know what it’s supposed to look like and it matters to them. They hold each other accountable to the standards, and they don’t have to wait for the coach’s direction to do it. It’s an incredibly powerful feeling as a coach, to see your culture evolve under the direction of your players.

How do you create a culture of ownership amongst your players? Ask a lot of questions. Get your players feedback. Instead of constantly making declarative statements to your team (“You can’t make that pass there!”, ask them questions (“What did you see there?”). When something goes wrong ask your players how they are going to fix it (“What are going to do about it?”). Ask them how much it matters to them, ask them who they want to be as a group. Keep asking questions. When they tell your the answers, listen to them. And remind them that the standards are theirs, and they had to live up to them.

A lot of teams struggle to get to this level, and it has a lot to do with the coach’s ego. Creating ownership is not about giving up power or letting the players make all of the decisions. You are still in charge. In fact, you’ll build even more confidence in your leadership style from your players by giving them a voice. Many of us are still stuck on the idea of the old school coach who tells the kids to jump and expects them to ask how high. Dictating to your team everything they are supposed to do may feel comfortable, but it isn’t the best way to get the most out of them.

Now the kids have to take on a lot of responsibility for ownership as well. The team, and the standards they set, have to really matter to them. If they don’t really care, and they are just trying to get through practice every day, their really won’t be a lot of internal accountability or leadership. They can’t take ownership if it doesn’t mean a lot to them. That has to be established within the culture first. And they players have to learn how to handle the ownership they are given. They have to address the things that need to be addressed, and they have to think about what really matters to them on a day to day basis. Whatever they let go, that sets a new standard, because it becomes acceptable to the rest of the team.

Ownership is a collaboration between the team and the coaching staff. It’s an understanding that starts with clear standards and expectations, and knowing what behavior is expected. A culture of ownership is not about the slogans you put on the wall or a shooting shirt, it is about the behaviors displayed every day. Your players becomes the stewards of that behavior.

High performing teams take ownership of their standards and their culture. They take ownership of what happens every day, and their coach has to give them the space to do so.