Hello there,
What makes a sport culture toxic? Harmful behaviour that the organization allows to keep happening.
Episode 3 of What makes a high-performance culture? looks at the difference between a demanding environment and a damaging one, how leaders' behaviour can influence the people below them, and why the same problems sometimes return after a coach leaves.
High standards can help people improve. But feedback that attacks who someone is, or makes them responsible for keeping the coach calm, raises a different question about how people are being treated.
Replacing one person may be necessary. It can also leave the conditions around them unchanged. Understanding what an organization rewards or overlooks doesn't excuse the person causing harm; it helps us see what else needs attention.
Much of the research discussed in this episode comes from workplaces outside sport. It gives us useful questions to bring into a team, rather than a test that can tell us everything about its culture.
Think about the last time someone made a mistake where you work. Did the response help them improve, or put them in their place?
Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
If someone working in sport would find this useful, send it to them.
If you're catching up, Episode 1 explores the pressures people work under, and Episode 2 asks whether it is safe to speak up.
Episode 4 follows on Sunday, 8 November, with a question about how teams make decisions under pressure.
Dr. MCB
P.S. The series draws on the book Madeline Antony and I wrote, The Psychology of High-Performance Sports Organizations: Culture, Safety, and Leadership (Routledge). You can explore the book here.
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Dr. Marie Claire Bourque, MD, FRCPC · Privacy