Culture Is Built Every Day, Every Play
Saturday night I was fortunate to see the new Atlanta Hawks team play the Miami Heat in the Hawks' recently renovated arena. While the arena amenities were fantastic, I was most impressed by the strong team culture displayed by the Hawks for the entire game.
The Hawks are the youngest team in the NBA. On Saturday they started three rookies who combined to offer just four years of NCAA basketball experience. The team also has several second year players. So some Hawks players may have trouble getting drinks at the bar! Their coach, Lloyd Pierce, is a rookie head coach in the NBA.
With so much inexperience on one bench, I wasn't surprised at their 3-5 record early in the season. I was curious to see how the team handled the ups and downs of a season full of so many firsts. The answer, in a word: spectacular. While they led for much of the game, the Hawks saw leads of 15+ points repeatedly dwindle to ties. Inexperienced players made mistakes. The Heat put together some solid sequences. Referees made several...interesting...calls. The Hawks never stopped demonstrating positive culture:
- Great leaders and teammates give constructive feedback to co-workers who are ready to hear it. Every time a Hawks player returned to the bench, they high-fived the entire bench and everyone spoke positive words. This happened even when a player came out for poor play. Only after the player had collected themselves, lowered their heart rate, and put their sweats back on did anyone approach them with with feedback. Feedback given after poor play always focused on how to improve, not bashing them. (Took this picture myself from our seats. So I heard it all.)
- Celebrate the small wins. Our view was repeatedly blocked by Hawks players jumping up to celebrate small moments throughout the game. Playing well and up 15 or allowing the Heat to come back to tie the score, Hawks cheered for Hawks. We happily traded missing a couple of big plays for the enthusiasm and energy the players brought to each other, our corner and the arena.
- Stand with each other. Hawks had each other's backs. When a referee called "carrying" on Trae Young at half court, 20-year NBA veteran Vince Carter (yes, he's been in the NBA as long as several Hawks starters have been alive) barked at the ref so loud and long that Carter was given a technical foul. While the Heat got to shoot uncontested free throws, the intellectual and emotional smarts of Carter's vocal support was very smart. It was not late in the game and Carter almost never fouls out, so it was worth it for the universally respected veteran to help the rookie phenom move mentally past the call. Before his post-game TV interview began, Young - high scorer for the game - made sure to call Carter over to participate.
No idea how the Hawks season will end up, but their team #culture and #leadership style has clearly been well established and they appear equipped to survive, if not thrive.