The Winning Environment: Lesson 2
Six Lessons Every Coach Must Teach
Lesson 2: Values Become Visible Through Daily Actions
By Joe “Big House” Kenn, VP of Performance Education
Most organizations have values. They are written into mission statements, displayed in meeting rooms, printed on shirts, and sometimes painted in giant letters across the weight room wall. Words such as discipline, accountability, toughness, integrity, service, and commitment sound great. I am a believer in words, but I am an even bigger believer in what those words look like when they are put into action.
A value that never influences behavior is just a word. If accountability is one of our values, there should be observable behaviors that demonstrate accountability. If teamwork matters, athletes should understand how a great teammate behaves during training. If effort matters, coaches should be able to describe what high-level effort looks like beyond simply telling someone to work harder.
This is where coaches have an opportunity to turn philosophy into practice. Instead of assuming our athletes understand what a value means, we can teach the behaviors connected to it. The more specific we become, the easier it is for athletes to recognize the standard and eventually take ownership of it.
Turn Words Into Behaviors
Take a few of the values that appear in almost every athletic program. Each one can be translated into actions that athletes and coaches can actually see:
Accountability: Own your assignment, your preparation, and your mistakes.
Discipline: Do what the program requires even when nobody is standing over you.
Teamwork: Help a teammate succeed without needing recognition for yourself.
Respect: Take care of the facility, equipment, staff, and people around you.
Commitment: Bring consistent preparation and effort regardless of the circumstances.
Leadership: Raise the standard through your own behavior before asking someone else to raise theirs.
Once values are connected to behaviors, coaches have something they can actually coach. We can recognize an athlete for being a great teammate instead of only praising the athlete who lifted the most weight. We can acknowledge preparation, communication, and attention to detail. Those moments tell the entire group what we truly value.
Athletes Follow What We Reinforce
One lesson I have learned throughout my career is that athletes quickly identify what gets rewarded. If all of our praise goes to the strongest, fastest, or most talented athletes, we should not be surprised when the group begins to believe performance is the only thing that matters. Performance is important, but the behaviors that produce sustainable performance deserve recognition as well.
The weight room gives us a tremendous classroom for this type of teaching. Athletes are challenged physically, they work alongside teammates, they receive immediate feedback, and they regularly encounter situations that test their discipline and attitude. Those are coaching opportunities. We should not waste them.
The same expectation applies to the staff. If we preach preparation, we better be prepared. If we preach punctuality, we better be early. If we demand energy, our athletes should see energy from us. Young people are very good at identifying hypocrisy. Our behavior will always speak louder than the values we post on the wall.
Over time, consistent behaviors create trust. Trust allows standards to become stronger because athletes understand the purpose behind them. Eventually the values stop belonging only to the coaching staff and begin belonging to the team. That is when you know the message has moved beyond words.
Big House Coaching Challenge
Write down the four or five values that matter most to your program. Next to each value, write one specific behavior that demonstrates it. During the next training week, intentionally recognize athletes when those behaviors appear. If you cannot identify what a value looks like in action, keep working until you can clearly define it.
— Coach Joe “Big House” Kenn
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