I Stepped Inside Of A Masterclass In Team Chemistry

On Tuesday, I spent the day at The University of Lynchburg working with a group of coaches and leaders on the “stuff” that I do and talk about.

But what I got to witness during my visit was a masterclass in team chemistry in real time.

This is the part of the newsletter where you have to decide:

Do I close this because I hate hearing about awesome leaders, teammates
and cool things happening in the nooks and crannies of quiet rooms around the U.S.A.?

Or, should I stay in here for 3 ½ more mins, and risk my son not using his wheels in practice without my yelling it from the corner of the parking lot while pretending to scroll through emails on my phone.

Thanks for sticking with! Your son thanks you, as do I!

Okay onto some pretty good stuff.

It doesn’t really matter what setting I walk into, whether it be a small company just getting going, the biggest companies in the world, or an athletic team and their coaches.

Without fail, they share that they know if they are going to be successful, they need Accountability, Trust, Effort, Better Communication, and Resilience.

But what’s often missing is that they are merely directions, and the ingredients that go into producing this are not quite there.

I’m sure you’ve heard these directives.

• “We are all going to be more accountable.”

• “You need to be more resilient.”

• “I need you to trust each other”

But on Tuesday, I witnessed a scenario that if it were caught on by NFL Films on an NFL Sunday in October, would go viral as THE example of what this all looks like.

A coaches dream.

The kind of moment when a former leader is sitting on their porch, on their proverbial rocking chair, grandkid on the lap, thinking back on their career wondering if they did it right, it comes into the top 3 examples of why the answer is yes.

But it didn’t happen by accident.

And when you see how Coach Koudelka got them to this point, you realize it’s a master class in how to create a healthy team environment - of trust, respect, accountability, and love.

Here’s What Happened & Why It Matters

Invited by Athletic Director Jon Waters, I met so many incredible coaches and people.

The department is fresh off:

• A 2023 DIII Baseball National Championship and Conf Championship.

• A National Championship in the Distance Medley Relay on March 9th

• A 2023 Equestrian National Championship in the NCEA

• The 700th Career Win just this past weekend by Softball coach Dawn Simmons (A Lynchburg Alum)

• ODAC Conference championships in Men’s Soccer, Field Hockey, Men’s Cross Country, both Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field

The department is healthy. The staff has a clear sense of the place and what makes it unique, and by looking around at the faces of the students as we ate lunch in their cafeteria, you could just tell that it was a place with a certain underlying health to the student-body and the programs.

It was refreshing.

 Steve Koudelka - the Lynchburg Head Men’s Lacrosse coach currently in his 28th year at the helm, and my former Major League Lacrosse teammate, invited me to his Tuesday 4pm team meeting after my duties with the rest of the coaches was done for the day.

When I walked in mid-meeting and they were deep into a film review. But this went deeper than your traditional X’s and O’s

Coach Koudelka had identified a specific play, and had it up on the big screen.

What you see in the play on the film was an ill-advised shot by a 5th year Grad Student Dylan Wolfe #55 out of Chesapeake HS, in MD. The shot came too early in the set and resulted in a save by the goalie and thus a loss of possession for Lynchburg and a sprint off of the field for Wolfe.

Riley Hastings #24 a very talented sophomore starter out of Centennial HS in Georgia, as part of the team’s transition back to defense, ran to the substitution box (where he’s supposed to go…).

Coach Koudelka asked the 58 members of the team to continue watching these two players and to watch what happened after this shot.

With both of the players now on the sidelines off the field for a moment, you see Riley yell something at Dylan, (remind you a Grad student - who just last year was a Senior to this new freshman Riley.)

Coach Koudelka: (Outloud) “Riley what did you say to Dylan?”

Riley: Right Away: “I yelled “Hey DYLAN! WE NEED BETTER!!”

Coach Koudelka: “And Dylan, what’d you say back?”

Dylan: “I said. ‘You’re right!’”.

Coach Koudelka: “Guys - now watch what happens next”

What happens next is stuff that can allow you to retire and hang up your hat and say “Mission accomplished.”

Or it can keep you in the game another 15 years. It’s WHY coaches and leaders do what they do.

Dylan immediately walked 15 ft over to Riley.

And they hugged - Mid Game.

Respect. Accountability. Trust. Love.

This Didn’t Happen By Accident

To understand how they could get to this spot - free to hold each other accountable, and comfortable enough with each other for a very impressive Mr. Wolfe to know that Riley had the best interest of both him AND his team in mind - allow me to bring you into that room.

In coach Koudelka’s Tuesday meetings, held in a small auditorium in Hopwood Hall - an Academic building on campus - there are always 3 things on the agenda:

1. Discuss the next chapter of the book that the team has assigned itself for that season

2. Some type of culture development work

3. Game film/prep.

In fact they do not physically practice lacrosse on Tuesdays. This is their weekly Tuesday practice until mid-week games start.

I think it was the 4th hand that went up when I realized what was really going on.

I’ve been in a lot of meetings - good and bad. By now it’s easy to tell when members of any team are nervous, or are answering questions for the sake of trying to look smarter than the next person.

In the best team environments, there is a shared sense of contribution to what the team is trying to accomplish, and the safety to know that what they share is okay to share. Ideas flow.

When I speak to or work with leaders of groups - it doesn’t matter if it’s corporate or athletic - I share this concept (by Author Jon Hess )😀 

So as that 4th, then 5th, then 6th hand willingly shot up into the air during a Coach Koudelka question & answer discussion, I realized what I was witnessing.

I was in awe of the safety that these young men felt with each other - and their coaches.

They were okay being vulnerable and share their thoughts in front of teammates and peers.

Here is how they got there.

The Leadership From Coach Koudelka:

HE WAS ACCEPTING OF INPUT:
Coach asked questions to the group - 58 members of the team in the room.

• Responses flowed.

• Not a single time, did Coach Koudelka respond to input with a hint that it was “wrong” or not what they were looking for.

• Everything that came up went on the whiteboard.

• If the response was slightly off target, he would reframe it and shape it to match the target, and it went on the board.

• Everyone could contribute.

• Everyone did.

STRUCTURE
Coach “opened lanes” (my term). 
Coach framed it for the athletes by working his way through the room and placing the onus one-by-one on smaller groups - in this case by class - as opposed to evoking the whole room.

I’m sure you can relate.

Have you ever been in a huge auditorium and a speaker asked for any questions or a response to their question? Pretty low chance of you throwing up your hand, right?

But if you’re sitting in the 3rd row, and there are 10 people in the 3rd row and the speaker says “how about someone in the 3rd row”, something happens and you feel less risk to raise your hand - you even feel compelled to honor the request.

It creates a lane for you to step into.

• Coach Koudelka created lanes by calling out what group he wanted to hear from. “Seniors, you first” // “Okay how about first years.”
  

• Hands popped up with ease and a consistent flow.

• At times, when he knew someone’s point of view was relevant, he called on a single person by name - this was met with a quick response. (The player didn’t have to be nervous)

 
The Vibe Of The Room

Picture 58 boys ages 18-23 in a room together, behind desks, in an auditorium.

Freshman still getting a feel for what this whole experience is going to be. Some teammates still trying to prove themselves, some quite comfortable, some right in between - as it should be.

As you would hope, you’d inevitably hear from the one or two players who might be a little goofier than the others, or the ones who throw something far fetched out there, or the one to always add one more thing at the end when everyone thought they were done.

Without fail, a healthy group chuckle followed - a smirk and a snicker from coach, and without fail, it went on the board.

It was vibe appropriate to what this is.

A team that feels safe together.
A team that trusts its leader and in turn trusts each other.
A team.

It was perfect.

Two Takeaways For You:

1. “Create lanes” when wanting to connect and support with people.
   
   Asking “How’s School?” Or “How’s work, good?” Or How Ya doin?
   Will result in only one response: “Good” or “Yup”.
   
   It feels like you’re asking but it doesn’t land and it doesn’t allow for the lane to respond.
   
   Instead: Get more specific, and be curious. I would even advise you to lean towards hard things.
   “What’s the hardest thing about school right now?”
   “What’s the biggest hurdle you’re facing in work right now?”
   “What has your attention these days?”
   

2. Be accepting of input.
   You don’t have to like the answer or the feedback from a team member, but the absolute must-have, is that there IS an answer or feedback.
   
   You accomplish this through accepting input.
   
   Thank them for the input - you don’t even need to comment on it.
   You can come back to it another time.
   
   Want better ideas? 
   The more ideas that flow, the higher the chance a good one will pop up!
   
   Want to better understand your team and your teammates? 
   Hear more of their point of view.
   
   Their ability to share their point of view - having a voice - is where you learn what makes them tick, what themes they focus on, what they care about instinctively.

Whatever you do, do NOT recommend this newsletter to anyone else I would hate for our secrets to get out!

And don’t follow me on twitter @jonhess98

I better not see you on LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-hess-69248286/

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