Need Your Athletes to Be More Accountable?
by Jeff Janssen, Janssen Sports Leadership Center
NICK SABAN, 5 National Championships
“There are three things we can’t have. We can’t have complacency, we can’t have selfishness, and we can’t lose our accountability.”
ANSON DORRANCE, 22 National Championships
“The first challenge in constructing a Championship Culture is to make them accountable. Almost every discussion I have with freshmen goes back to being accountable. One of the hardest things to establish in any culture is to make sure everyone is accountable.”
PAT SUMMITT, 8 National Championships
“Responsibility equals accountability equals ownership. And a sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have.”
ACCOUNTABILITY. Clearly all coaches desperately want and need it from their athletes but so few of them consistently have it. Unfortunately being fully accountable for your actions is a dying art in today’s world.
We live in a society where too often parents and people allow and sometimes encourage kids to avoid being accountable. They excuse them, cover for them, fight their battles for them, find loopholes for them, and accept their lame and laughable excuses thinking somehow they’re helping their kids - they’re not. Not now – and especially not long term.
Simply watch ESPN for just a few minutes and you will see numerous situations and stories of entitled athletes failing to be accountable for their actions - to be accountable to their teammates - and leaders failing to hold them accountable. In today's world:
Talented athletes are rarely held accountable.
Powerhouse teams are rarely held accountable.
Marquee schools are rarely held accountable.
And many coaches and athletic administrators cave into the pressure and don’t hold people accountable for fear of lawsuits or losing talented yet troublesome superstars.
It’s maddening, frustrating, and disappointing - all at the same time.
A lack of accountability can be an individual’s, team’s, and school’s biggest downfall.
Continually letting people off the hook for their poor play, bad behavior, and/or illegal activities helps no one but the offenders. It sets the wrong tone and sends the wrong message to those who consistently do the right thing and respect the game.
It creates, promotes, and tolerates a Culture of Excuses, Alibis, and Attorneys rather than a Culture of Accountability.
Accountability is paramount not only for a successful sports team – but for a successful life. In working with 30+ national championship teams over the past 25 years, it’s clear that accountability is essential.
6 Attitudes and Actions of Accountable Teammates
In putting together our new Teammate’s Accountability Manual, I’ve discovered 6 Attitudes and Actions of Accountable Teammates that define and demonstrate accountability. As you read through each one, I highly encourage you to evaluate your current athletes on how well they consistently exhibit these critical characteristics.
To help you and your athletes better understand accountability, I’ve developed a short yet substantive six-question survey to help you gauge how well your athletes are fully accountable for their attitudes and actions.
Not only will the 6 Attitudes and Actions of Accountable Teammates give you a better feel for their potential strengths, it will also help you pinpoint which specific areas might be weaknesses for your athletes. Take the survey and see how well your team fares.
RATE YOUR TEAM'S ACCOUNTABILITY
Answer the six questions using the 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 10 (Strongly Agree) scale below.
1-2 = Strongly Disagree 3-4 = Disagree 5-6 = Neutral 7-8 = Agree 9-10 = Strongly Agree
1. Own Their Responsibilities and Role
The athletes on my team clearly understand, accept, and own their responsibilities and role and competently and consistently fulfill them to the best of their ability.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Recognize and Respect Their Ripple Effect
The athletes on my team recognize and respect the fact that their daily actions and attitudes affect and impact the success and reputation of their teammates, coaches, and others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Consider the Consequences Before They Act
The athletes on my team consciously and carefully consider the consequences of their words, actions, and reactions on their teammates, coaches, and others before they act.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Eliminate Excuses
The athletes on my team refuse to make excuses by blaming someone or something else for their mistakes, failures, and losses. Instead, they claim full accountability, apologize, analyze, and fix them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Have Their Teammate’s Back
The athletes on my team are always there for their teammates and coaches, especially through the tough times, and do not talk about, gossip about, undermine, or betray them in any way.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Keep Their Commitments and Deliver Results
The athletes on my team regularly keep the commitments they make to their teammates and coaches and consistently deliver the high-level results we expect from them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Add up your total score for each of the six questions: TOTAL SCORE ________________
6 ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS OF ACCOUNTABLE TEAMMATES EVALUATION RATING SCALE
54-60 – Congratulations! You have a highly accountable team!
46-53 – Your team is somewhat accountable with some room for improvement.
38-45 – Your team is not very accountable to each other. Get it fixed...
30-37 – Your team is not at all accountable and needs help quickly!
6-29 – Wow! This team needs some serious help!!!
If you want and need your athletes to be more accountable, check out our Teammate's Accountability Manual. It provides a practical and powerful 6-week Accountability Training Program to teach and train your athletes what it means to be fully accountable to each other.
