Living Your Values
Go into most clubhouses and athletic departments and there will be some representation of the group’s values on the wall. It has become an integral part of collegiate athletic departments and the most praised components of successful team cultures. This means that it is something that is mimicked and replicated, but is it actually lived? For the most part, I don’t think it is.
I think there is a gap between aspirational values and lived values. Why does this happen so frequently? I think it’s because of the process of implementation. I don’t think the values are woven into the stories that are told about the institution/team/department. I don’t think the actions that would be considered acceptable are taught effectively. I don’t think enough attention is paid to the collection of actions that will lead to the behaviors. These behaviors then aren’t implemented. Most of all, I don’t think most places take people on the journey of growth through the development of values.
See I don’t think the problem is the values, the mission or the vision. Generally, I think that the way they are developed and the definitions are great things to aspire to. In many ways, the pursuit of these values will create a great learning environment, even if mistakes are made and errors in judgement or execution occur. The aspirational values are good and they should lead to positive behavior.
The gap is that we don’t make a road map to INTEGRATION of these values into our identities (team and individual) and we don’t teach people how to divest from misaligned actions to be replaced with aligned actions. For me, I think this starts with the stories that are used to inspire actions and create connections. Sometimes these are true stories of people that have come before us. Sometimes these are the parables (the equivalent to children’s stories) that demonstrate the struggles and decisions that should be made when the going gets spicy. I think the best way to tell these stories is to think about the ways you want to see the values expressed. For this to happen, it takes storytelling discipline — the message has to remain consistent, as does the facts. Why? This is what helps make it a part of the identity of. Additionally, these stories should have a hero, a struggle, some memorable sidekicks and a message.
As a parent of three kids in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I like to tell the story of my girls not even stepping on the mat the the first day because they were too nervous. It’s a really short story, but my girls are now the consistent members that help the other kids learn BJJ. The end of the story is right in front of the parents…they were normally ask how long have they been training, which is the next part of the story. It includes their fears, their struggles to learn and most of all the excitement as they started to master it. Why is this important? It helps create a sense of belonging of the parents in the journey of the kids. It helps show the kids that fear exists at the start and it is a part of the journey that they are.
The next thing that has to be taught consistently is the types of actions that are required to live the values. These aren’t a set of rules, but the actions have steps and guidance for acceptable decisions. When a player, coach or staff member does something that is not in alignment then there must be an intervention — sometimes this could be a consequence, sometimes it’s education, sometimes it’s a reminder that the actions need to be different. I say actions because it creates the latitude for individuality — if they are just rules, what tends to happen is people follow the rules, but they never really live the values. They simply act as they are told and it’s hard to see the values expressed in rote behavior.
So I would encourage everyone to come up with a few actions that will be taught to make sure that the values are lived. There is the classic story of John Wooden teaching players how to put on socks so they didn’t get blisters — the value “we don’t want to lose effectiveness on the small controllable details.” I wouldn’t have a ton of them, but they can change over the course of the season as the initial behaviors are integrated seamlessly into everyday behavior. However as a coach, it will be necessary to refresh the teaching of them periodically — if they are values, you don’t let them slip until they need rehabilitation. You focus on them consistently and integrate them consistently into how individuals act.
Finally, there have to be celebrations that become definitive points in the folklore of the group. Maybe it happens after a trip and people performed actions that align with your values (served the community, showed compassion, did the extras when no one was looking). These stories become part of your teams way to show others the way to be a great team member. Small celebrations and the re-telling of stories create an energy within your team — it is the momentum that transforms buy-in into elevated performance.
For me, this how you take aspirational values into lived values. Throughout the course of the season, it is important to have regular check-ins and look for gaps between the aspirational values and the lived values. If there is growth and connection, maybe the course is stayed. If there is weakness and misalignment, maybe there is a renewed emphasis put on storytelling or teaching. It’s our job as leaders to help the teams that we lead build the connections to the values, so they can guide our actions even when we are faced with unclear circumstances and loads of pressure. This is why as coaches, we need to do the work that no one remembers because our ability to perform under pressure should expose the best of who we are.
If you would like to deepen your understanding of how to integrate values into your coaching, I would be happy to jump on a free strategy call (https://freecallwithjosh.com). At the very least, you will leave with one action that you can start making immediately — if it makes sense, we can discuss working together to help build your be the coach that creates champions in sport and life.