For my entire career as an Athletic Director, I send out an email at 8 AM on Monday morning. For years — and even now — I am not sure if I am rewarding the right things. In this email, I celebrate successes, communicate important things for the next week, and reiterate our goals as a department. Without fail, there is a cool achievement to be recognized. A championship has been won, there was a big win, an award for a program, or some other accomplishment worth celebrating.
Over time, I noticed that I was recognizing outcomes instead of process. I was rewarding with praise the end product instead of the small, simple things that got the program there. To recognize the right things takes considerable thought and a grounded philosophy, and I am not sure I have it right yet.
There is plenty of research showing that process goals lead to better outcomes and more enjoyment than outcome goals. However, winning and achieving is hard, so you want to make sure to recognize that well. There is a tension there that is difficult. Outcomes are hard to get, but it is the process and the values that get you there and where the lessons are learned. From an educational perspective, that is what makes sport matter.
Proactive Coaching, led by Rob Miller and Bruce Brown, talks about that in a high-trust culture, people give each other the benefit of the doubt, even when mistakes happen. That kind of culture does not come from speeches. It comes from consistent signals about what matters.
When I write, I ask a few people to be “readers” for me. I ask them to critique, affirm, challenge ideas, and offer any other thoughts. The concept for this came from one of my readers (and friends), Doc Beeman. He made a comment on reward systems that stuck with me. He said this really comes down to what gets rewarded versus what gets recognized.
He said, “The balance here is what is recognized vs what is rewarded. You have to recognize performance — good or bad — but you don’t have to reward it. A team scoring title plaque is a recognition. A teammate of the year is rewarded.”
So what do we recognize, and what do we reward?
In coaching, you have to recognize the good and the bad. That is part of the job. Critique is important, and praise is important. Setting a record or winning a championship should be recognized. But rewarding only those things does not build selfless teams, and it does not build healthy cultures that can avoid drift over time.
Rewards are different. The thought and effort put into any reward system is extremely important for a program, especially in today’s environment. By and large, the world of sport rewards outcomes. Playing time, attention, opportunities, and recognition are usually tied to performance.
However, when we talk to coaches who consistently build strong programs, the things they value most are often different. They talk about character, trust, and behaviors that hold teams together when things are not going well.
Here are some things that can be rewarded, and a few simple ways to do it.
• Truth-telling — After games or film sessions, ask the question, “What is one thing that we or you could have done better?” When someone answers with honest, selfless critique of themselves, recognize it. Over time, players learn that honesty is valued, not punished.
• Role acceptance — Put systems in place that highlight players who accept roles that may not be their ideal. Recognize the teammate who stays ready, supports others, and does what the team needs instead of what they want. We have written fairly extensively in our book and on here about “Put Ups’ and “Spot-lights” that are an integral part of the system and approach of the 3D Institute () . Put those in place and make sure they focus on values, soft skills, and the athletes that are accepting roles that may not be their ideal.
• Resilience — Make it a habit to point out tough, resilient actions. Highlight a player who did not have their best game but stayed engaged. Recognize the team, even in losses, when they handled difficult situations the right way.
• Effort — Pick a few things in your program that only take effort and reward those consistently. It could be academic habits, practice habits, or how someone treats teammates. Effort is one of the few things everyone can control.
• Team-first decisions — Any time someone makes a choice that puts the team above themselves, find a way to highlight it. Those moments send a message about what really matters.
We do not think a reward has to be a plaque, a meal, or anything formal. Sometimes the most meaningful reward is simply a coach or teammate standing in front of the group and recognizing someone for doing the right thing.
Whatever you consistently reward will eventually define your culture. Not what you say. Not what you put on the wall. What you reward.
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Things That Are Making Us Think
“If you want to guarantee a life of misery, be unreliable. Do not faithfully do what you have engaged to do. If you will only master this one habit you will more than counterbalance the combined effect of all your virtues, howsoever great. If you like being distrusted and excluded from the best human contribution and company, this prescription is for you. Master this one habit and you can always play the role of the hare in the fable, except that instead of being outrun by one fine turtle you will be outrun by hordes and hordes of mediocre turtles and even by some mediocre turtles on crutches.” – Charlie Munger (via Shane Parish )
