Are you currently leading or taking over a losing culture? If so, your job as a leader to reverse momentum and change this losing culture into a winning one. So how do you do it?
On November 30, 2015 Matt Campbell was named head football coach of the Iowa State Cyclones. Prior to his arrival, Iowa State had won zero conference championship since 1912. In fact, they had only been to 12 bowl games in 12 decades.
However, in the past four seasons, the Cyclones have gone 32-19 including two bowl wins. Coach Campbell has turned this program around. Some call it a miraculous achievement! In this ESPN article, he discussed the steps he took to turn Iowa State into a perennial bowl contender. His thoughts are applicable to anyone in leadership regardless of your industry.
The following are 13 Facts About Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One I gleaned from the article:
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Is Going To Be Hard – Coach Campbell said, “There was a lot of hard road and a lot of tough waters that we had to start back over, clean up and get aligned.”
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Is All About Developing Relationships – Coach Campbell learned from his college coach Larry Kehres, football was “about relationships and trust and culture.”
- You Must Have Trusted And Talented People Around You To Change A Losing Culture Into A Winning One – Coach Campbell brought more than a dozen coaches from his previous job at Toledo with him to Iowa State including both his offensive coordinator Tom Manning and defensive coordinator Jon Heacock.
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Often Requires Immediate Changes – Former Iowa State wide receiver Allen Lazard, now with the Green Bay Packers, said, “When Coach Campbell and his staff came in, they immediately changed the culture from day one.”
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Requires Higher Standards – Lazard added, “They required new standards, new expectations and held us to a way higher level of accountability than a lot of us — especially me — weren’t usually held to.”
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Requires Increased Accountability – Tight End Charlie Kolar said, “We don’t accept tardiness in this program. In this program, you’re on time or you’re not practicing that day, doesn’t matter who it is.”
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Requires Increased Attention To Details – Kolar added, “That bleeds over to practice, running the right route, blocking the right gap, making the right tackle.”
- You Must Have A Series Of Wins To Change A Losing Culture Into A Winning One – After finally beating Oklahoma in 2017, Coach Campbell said, “Year 1, we had to learn how to believe. In Year 2, we had to learn how to win.” He added, “Winning a game like we did against Oklahoma showed us and our kids that, ‘Here is what it takes to be successful.”
- You Must Be Continually Developing Talent To Change A Losing Culture Into A Winning One – The Cyclones found a dependable leader in three-year starter quarterback Brock Purdy. Coach Campbell said, “We’ve grown as a program as Brock has grown. I feel like a lot of lessons that we’ve learned and a lot of the growth that we’ve had, it’s been really enjoyable for all of us to be able to do it together.”
- To Change A Losing Culture Into A Winning One You Must Be Willing To Continually Change – During the 2018, the team changed its defensive philosophy from a four-man front to three down linemen. Safety Greg Eisworth said, “A lot of it’s just been the willingness to really listen and understand the input that players might have. Our coaching staff … has had a great deal of success and they’ve been doing this for a really long time, so it may be hard to change philosophies or understand what players might be saying.
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Requires Humility – Eisworth added, “But to have the humility to just have those conversations, from coach to player or player to coach”
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Requires Unity – Eisworth concluded, “so we can all be on the same page and move in the same direction … I think that’s really helped us tremendously.”
- Changing A Losing Culture Into A Winning One Is All About The Ability To Do The Little Things Well – Coach Campbell concluded, “Yes, we’ve gotten maybe older and our talent has been able to develop but I think to become the best version of ourselves, the best team that we can become, the difference is in the details. The difference is in our ability to do the little things.”
What is one thing you learned from Coach Campbell which will help you improve your organization’s culture?
The Top 100 Leadership Quotes From 2020 is my latest ebook. The wisdom contained in these pages from top business leaders, pastors, coaches, and superlative thinkers sustained countless leaders in the most turbulent year anyone can remember. If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.