Why Establishing Core Values Is The Key To A Team's Success

Does your team have Core values?

Do your players and coaches live the team’s Core values everyday?

Do they know what the Core values words mean?  Have you define them?

Or are your team’s Core values nothing more than window dressing for your locker room and team handbook?

These are important questions to ask yourself.  

What are Core Values?

Core values are the guiding principals and beliefs of a team.  

They form the foundation on which a team performs and conducts themselves.  They are the anchor that keeps the program in position to achieve its vision.  

Core values guide a team’s processes which impacts the decision making of coaches, athletes and support staff.   They clarify your team’s identity and separate you from your competition.  

They unite the team, define your brand, shape the culture and reflect what your program values.

Communication and trust among coaches and athletes are crucial to a team’s success.  Higher levels of trust and deeper communication are offshoots when the team conducts itself in accordance with its core values.  

Coaches need to energize the team behind a purpose so strong that every member of the team is engaged and is excited about achieving the team’s vision.  When coaches and athletes live the team’s core values they experience a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.  

Core Values are the deeply held beliefs that authentically describe your soul ~ John Maxwell

Core values must not merely be slogans but rather meaningful words that articulate what the team stands for.  They must support the program’s mission and vision.  

Identifying a meaningful list of core values takes considerable amount of time and effort - it’s a process!  

Clearly define the meaning of each core value and what it means to members of the team. One of the keys to creating buy-in with your athletes is to invite them to participate in establishing and shaping the team’s core values.  When they do they become motivated and empowered - now they have skin in the game.  When athletes participate in the development of the core values they are more likely to embrace and follow the team’s shared vision and hold their teammates to the same standard.  

In future blogs I will discuss the following:  ways to engage athletes in establishing core values, how core values shape team culture and how to create a value-based recruiting process.   

Namaste,

Cathy