How Leaders Create Culture: 12 Tools in 6 Minutes

Summary

The video script narrates the story of Coach Lynn, who transformed a college soccer team through culture-building. By setting clear core values and expectations, establishing new traditions, and sharing inspirational stories, she fostered a culture of excellence and unity. Her leadership strategies, categorized into primary and secondary drivers, led to the team's unprecedented success, illustrating the power of culture in driving organizational effectiveness.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Leadership is crucial in shaping culture, which in turn drives attitude and behavior within a group or organization.
• 📝 Coach Lynn's story illustrates the transformative power of a clear vision and core values in building a high-performing team.
• 🏆 Establishing and reinforcing core values like fitness fundamentals and unity can guide a team towards a common goal and identity.
• 🔑 Holding individuals accountable and setting high standards publicly can instill discipline and commitment to excellence.
• 🚫 Making tough decisions, such as letting go of non-compliant team members, can be necessary to uphold the new cultural standards.
• 💡 Recognizing and promoting individuals who embody the desired culture can help reinforce the values and motivate others to follow suit.
• 🔄 Creating new traditions and rituals can strengthen team unity and reinforce the team's culture and identity.
• 🎉 Celebrating achievements, even small ones, can boost morale and reinforce the team's commitment to its goals.
• 📚 Sharing inspirational stories can motivate team members to overcome personal limitations and strive for excellence.
• 🔄 Consistent reinforcement of values and expectations is key to embedding the new culture into the team's everyday behavior.
• 🏆 Long-term commitment to cultural building can lead to significant achievements, as evidenced by the team's journey to becoming national champions.

Q & A

What is the central theme of the video script?

The central theme of the video script is the importance of building a strong organizational culture and the methods a leader can use to positively and permanently change behavior and make the organization more effective.

Who is Coach Lynn and what did she do when she took over the college soccer team?

Coach Lynn is a new coach who took over a college soccer team and immediately shared a bold vision for the team's future, established three core values (Fitness, Fundamentals, and Unity), and implemented a strict and high-performance training regime.

What were the three core values that Coach Lynn emphasized for her team?

The three core values that Coach Lynn emphasized were Fitness, Fundamentals, and Unity.

How did Coach Lynn handle the resistance from the seniors on the team?

Coach Lynn faced the resistance from the seniors by setting a clear standard and giving them an ultimatum to either conform to the new expectations or leave the team. She did not compromise on her vision and methods.

What was the impact of Coach Lynn's leadership on the team's performance?

Coach Lynn's leadership led to a significant cultural shift within the team, resulting in a culture of excellence and commitment. This, in turn, improved the team's performance, culminating in them becoming national champions five years later.

What role did Kelsey play in the team after the seniors left?

Kelsey, one of the juniors, stepped up after the seniors left and was promoted to captain by Coach Lynn. She played a key role in leading the team through the transition and embodying the new culture.

What new traditions did Coach Lynn create to reinforce the team's unity and discipline?

Coach Lynn created several new traditions, such as the team eating together, dressing together, walking out to the field together, and engaging in focused silence for away matches. She also organized team activities like board games and movies before matches and team walks in the morning.

How did Coach Lynn use inspirational stories to motivate her team?

Coach Lynn used inspirational stories of ordinary people achieving extraordinary results by overcoming doubts, fears, and self-imposed limits. She shared these stories during practices or before games to inspire the team and reinforce the belief in their potential.

What was the significance of the team celebrating their playoff appearance with a dessert buffet at Lynn's house?

The celebration at Lynn's house after making the playoffs was significant as it marked the first time in a decade the program had achieved such success. It also served to strengthen team bonds and shared memories beyond just soccer.

How did Coach Lynn's approach to culture building align with the twelve time-honored methods mentioned in the script?

Coach Lynn's approach to culture building aligned with the twelve time-honored methods by focusing on primary and secondary drivers of organizational culture. Her actions directly influenced norms (primary drivers) and reinforced them through various traditions and activities (secondary drivers).

What is the significance of the distinction between primary and secondary drivers of organizational culture?

The distinction between primary and secondary drivers is significant because primary drivers have a more direct influence on shaping the norms of an organization, while secondary drivers reinforce these norms. The presence of primary drivers is essential for effective culture change.

Outlines

00:00

🏆 Transforming Team Culture Through Vision and Values

This paragraph introduces the concept that culture is a critical component of leadership and can significantly influence attitudes and behaviors within an organization. It tells the story of Coach Lynn, who took over a college soccer team and immediately established a clear vision and core values of Fitness, Fundamentals, and Unity. She implemented these values rigorously, even when faced with resistance from senior team members. Coach Lynn's approach included setting high standards for fitness, consistent public feedback, and a decision-making moment that led to a cultural shift within the team. The story highlights the importance of a strong culture in achieving excellence and the transformative effect it can have on a team's performance and attitude.

05:01

📈 Building Organizational Culture: Primary and Secondary Drivers

The second paragraph delves into the scientific aspect of building an organizational culture, emphasizing the distinction between primary and secondary drivers. Primary drivers are more directly influential in shaping the norms of the culture, while secondary drivers reinforce those norms. The paragraph suggests that with the right approach, it is possible to elevate an organization's culture to a new level, leading to improved results. It encourages leaders to apply the twelve recommended approaches to culture building, with the expectation that these methods, backed by social science, can lead to noticeable differences in the organization's culture and performance over time.

Keywords

💡Culture

Culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that characterize a group or organization. In the video, culture is portrayed as a fundamental driver of attitude and behavior, with the coach emphasizing the importance of building a positive team culture to achieve success. The coach's actions, such as establishing core values and creating new traditions, demonstrate how culture can be intentionally shaped to influence the group's performance and mindset.

💡Leadership

Leadership is the process of influencing others to work towards a common goal. The video script highlights leadership as a key element in culture building. Coach Lynn's leadership is evident in her vision for the team, her consistency in enforcing values, and her ability to inspire and motivate the team members. Her actions exemplify how leaders can positively impact an organization's culture and effectiveness.

💡Strategy

Strategy in this context refers to a plan or method for achieving a particular goal. The phrase 'culture eats strategy for lunch' suggests that while strategy is important, a strong culture can be more influential. Coach Lynn's strategy for transforming the team involves setting clear expectations, promoting core values, and creating a culture that supports excellence and unity.

💡Core Values

Core values are the fundamental beliefs that guide an organization's actions and decisions. In the script, Coach Lynn identifies 'Fitness fundamentals' and 'unity' as the team's core values, which are written on the board and painted on the walls to serve as a constant reminder. These values are integral to the team's culture and are used to guide behavior and performance.

💡Vision

A vision is a clear and attractive picture of what an organization aspires to achieve. Coach Lynn shares a bold vision for the team's future success, which serves as a motivational tool and a guide for the team's actions. The vision helps to align the team's efforts and provides a sense of direction and purpose.

💡Behavior

Behavior refers to the actions and reactions of individuals within a group or organization. The video emphasizes the impact of culture on behavior, as Coach Lynn works to change the team's behavior by setting high standards and expectations. The transformation in behavior is evident when the team members start to believe in the coach's vision and work harder to achieve it.

💡Traditions

Traditions are long-established customs or practices. Coach Lynn introduces new traditions, such as team meals and pre-game rituals, to reinforce the team's unity and commitment. These traditions help to create a sense of belonging and shared identity among the team members, contributing to the team's culture.

💡Discipline

Discipline refers to the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to ensure compliance. In the video, discipline is a key component of Coach Lynn's approach, as she enforces high standards and holds the team accountable for their actions. This discipline is crucial for instilling a culture of excellence.

💡Inspirational Stories

Inspirational stories are narratives that motivate and encourage individuals to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Coach Lynn uses inspirational stories to inspire the team, often sharing tales of ordinary people achieving extraordinary results. These stories help to instill a belief in the team's potential and foster a culture of commitment and excellence.

💡Unity

Unity is the state of being united or joined as a whole. In the script, unity is one of the team's core values and is emphasized through various actions, such as team meals and collective activities. The promotion of unity is essential to creating a cohesive team culture that works together towards a common goal.

💡Performance

Performance refers to the action or process of carrying out or being involved in a dramatic or athletic event or contest. The video script discusses how culture and leadership can influence team performance. Coach Lynn's leadership and the team's culture lead to improved performance, as evidenced by their progression from not making the playoffs to becoming national champions.

Highlights

Culture is a critical driver of attitude and behavior, essential for effective leadership across various domains.

Leaders can build a positive and effective culture through a dozen scientifically validated recommendations.

Coach Lynn's story illustrates the transformation of a college soccer team through culture-building practices.

Lynn introduced a bold vision and three core values: Fitness, fundamentals, and unity.

She consistently held players accountable for punctuality, effort, and positive body language.

Lynn set high fitness standards and monitored progress, emphasizing it as a choice and foundation.

Resistant seniors were rebuked publicly, setting a clear standard for the team's new direction.

A junior, Kelsey, was promoted to captain for her support of Lynn's vision and potential.

Lynn's deep knowledge and relentless work ethic inspired the team to strive for excellence.

New traditions were established to reinforce unity and discipline, such as team meals and activities.

Inspirational stories were shared to motivate the team and instill a growth mindset.

Lynn's methods led to a culture of excellence and commitment, with players taking pride in their progress.

The team's success was celebrated with a dessert buffet and sharing of favorite memories, highlighting non-soccer moments.

Lynn's resilience and hope were shared in a story after the season's end, maintaining team morale.

The team's initiative to return to training without Lynn demonstrated their commitment to the new culture.

Five years later, the team achieved national championship, a testament to the long-term impact of culture-building.

The twelve culture-building methods are divided into primary and secondary drivers, influencing norms and reinforcing them respectively.

Social science confirms that building an effective culture is possible, though it requires effort and time.

Transcripts

[Music]

it's often said that culture eats

strategy for lunch that's just a clever

way of saying that anyone who wants to

lead well whether at work or at home or

on the sports field or in the classroom

or wherever needs to prioritize culture

building since that's the real driver of

attitude and behavior if we get the

culture right just about everything else

follows its leadership 101 but

practically speaking how do we actually

do that how does leadership the culture

in ways that positively and permanently

change behavior and make the whole

organization more effective that's been

the focus of countless studies over the

last hundred years or so and the

findings boiled down to a dozen

recommendations that any leader can

implement try these at the office and

then try them again when you get home

you might be surprised by their

versatility here they are but instead of

just marching through them

let me introduce these twelve culture

building tools from within a story

that's based on real events it's about a

new coach who transformed her college

soccer team will call her coach Lynn

when Lynn took over one of the first

things she did was to share with the

team a bold audacious vision for the top

level team they'd become and she wrote

on the board three core values that

would guide them Fitness fundamentals

and unity she even had the values

painted on her office wall and on the

walls of the locker room when practice

began in pre-season Lynn was tough she

called out players for showing up later

for not giving 100% on the drills or

even for negative body language she did

it consistently and she did it publicly

we an also set the bar high for fitness

pushing the girls to their limit and

assessing their progress every few days

even posting their individual times on

her office door Fitness is a choice she

often reminded them is the foundation of

our high press system and yeah it's hard

so get it through your head if you're

comfortable you're not training after a

while three uncomfortable seniors

started resisting openly questioning the

coaches methods but Lynn would have none

of it and rebuked them in front of

everyone at practice you three are going

to have to make a decision this is the

new standard this is the new way you can

either be in or you can be out but one

you can't be is in charge so choose

miffed and frustrated the three girls

looked at each other

grab their sling bags and left the field

tossing a few exploitive x' to the coach

on the way out the team watched in

disbelief then Kelsey one of the juniors

bravely stepped up and politely but

candidly said what was on everybody's

mind coach they were some of our best

players last year well I guess we'll

have new best players this year Len

responded and actually I think you have

the potential to be one of them then the

coach promoted Kelsey to captain for the

next couple weeks the girls were struck

not only by the coaches deep knowledge

of the game but by her relentless work

ethic it seemed that she never stopped

thinking about the team never stopped

experimenting almost obsessed in her

quest for a better way

part of that better way were some new

traditions Lind created with every match

for example the team ate together no

exceptions they dressed together they

walked out to the field together two by

two and focused silence for their away

matches the girls played board games and

watched movies in the hotel the night

before and they went on a team walk

first thing in the morning before eating

breakfast together with every shutout

the coach paid for the whole team to go

out for pizza at their favorite spot

little stuff it seems but it reinforced

the unity and discipline that was so

essential to their success

another part of Lynn's better way were

the inspirational stories she told to

the girls usually at practice or before

games typically stories of ordinary

people who went on to achieve

extraordinary results by overcoming

their doubts and fears and self-imposed

limits it happened to be Lynn's story as

well as a form of awkward teen who

ultimately became an all-american

curiously the cumulative effect of

Lynn's methods made the girls want to be

better and want to work harder they were

starting to believe what Lyn believed

about themselves and about the team this

was becoming a culture of excellence and

commitment and the girls were proud to

be part of it in the end they were also

proud to have made the playoffs it was

the first time in a decade for this

program they celebrated with a dessert

buffet at Lynn's house where she also

asked them to share their favorite

memories of the season most of those

memories as it turned out weren't even

about soccer and no one seemed wanted

the season to end but it did end a

couple weeks later in the third round of

the playoffs

and there wasn't a dry eye on the bench

the coach in that moment put it all in

perspective again by sharing a story of

resilience and hope a few days later the

girls were back in the gym the coach

didn't even know about it

she had budgeted a lot of money so she

can now be on the road recruiting the

right players for next year fast forward

five years and the team was hoisting its

first trophy as national champions true

story okay end of anecdote and by the

way that's a very simplified version

there was much more that contributed to

this program success but hopefully you

saw how coach Lin worked toward a new

culture by using these twelve

time-honored methods they're practical

scientifically validated ways to elevate

the collective mindset of your people

and consequently elevate results and

this is important to notice that they're

divided into two columns

representing what researchers call

primary and secondary drivers of

organizational culture and as the terms

imply the primary drivers have more of a

direct influence on the norms whereas

the secondary drivers tend to reinforce

the norms in other words the secondary

generally changed nothing without the

presence of the primary but the headline

is this the social science is clear it

is possible to build a culture that

takes your organization to the next

level it's not easy and it's usually not

quick or efficient but we no longer have

to guess how to do it try these twelve

approaches wherever you're leading and

see if 12 months from now things aren't

noticeably different