If you had the opportunity to guess the top four values Steve Kerr (Nine-time NBA champion; five as a player and four as a coach) creates a culture around, you may guess toughness, persistence, hard work, confidence, or even discipline. Unfortunately, you would be completely wrong. Without further ado, here are the four core values Steve Kerr bases everything he does on: JOY, MINDFULNESS, COMPETITION, and COMPASSION. Yes, I said compassion.
Whether these would be your top four values or not is somewhat inconsequential, but the importance of identifying core values and organizing your behavior around them is something we can all agree upon. I will, however, admit that I love his four chosen values. If a team is not joyful, presumably they are not having fun doing what they do. If they are not mindful, they are liable to get caught in the past or overly focused on the future: both of which we do not have control over. If they do not compete with themselves or others, it makes succeeding and mastering their craft almost impossible. Finally, I believe that compassion, for self and others, is the antidote to shame, which can wreck individual and team experience perhaps more than any other emotion.
When building a team, whether athletic or professional, creating clarity around individual and team values is imperative. Doing so unifies the group, guides behavior, and constructs a clear vision for your group. After all, it’s no wonder that Steve Kerr has nine rings!
What are your core values and how do they guide your behavior?