The 5 Rules for Creating a High-Performance Culture
Championships aren’t won on game day. They’re built in the culture you create long before the puck drops.
Hey Coach,
Championships aren’t won on game day.
They’re built in the culture you create long before the puck drops.
When I first became head coach of Team GB, I thought my job was to be the tactical mastermind. Draw up the systems. Out-think the opposition. Keep control of everything.
The result?
Resistance.
Disengagement.
Key players refusing to buy in.
It wasn’t until I shifted my focus from the X’s and O’s to the people executing them that everything changed.
When the culture became the foundation, performance followed.
Over the past 20+ years in sport and business, I’ve learned that high-performance cultures aren’t built by accident. They’re built intentionally — and they’re built on five rules.
Rule 1: Have a Game Plan
This is where most coaches start… and often where they stop.
We spend hours analysing opponents, designing systems, preparing for game day.
The trap?
Becoming so obsessed with tactics that you forget the people who have to execute them.
Great Game Planners:
Build plans that fit the players, not just their philosophy.
Prepare for multiple scenarios so the team can adapt.
Keep it simple enough to remember under pressure.
The perfect plan on paper is useless if the team can’t feel it, believe it, and execute it.
Rule 2: Ask, Don’t Tell
When I first took over GB, I came in like a dictator. Threatened spots. Made demands.
Half the team didn’t even show up to the first camp.
So I flipped it.
I ran workshops. Asked them what they wanted to achieve.
We built the vision together.
They didn’t just buy in — they owned it.
And we went from boycotts to Pool A.
Great Askers:
Start with questions that invite solutions, not excuses.
Listen without filling the silence.
Make space for quick, focused conversations — ten minutes a week can change everything.
Rule 3: Create Leaders
If the team can’t run without you, you haven’t built a culture — you’ve built a dependency.
Shared leadership means giving people the authority to act, not just the tasks to complete.
In one sales team I led, I stopped running every meeting. Different people took turns leading. The result? The team didn’t just survive without me — they got better.
Great Leader-Makers:
Involve the team in shaping the vision.
Rotate responsibility.
Recruit people who can lead themselves — and others.
Rule 4: Fail Fast, Learn Quick
Against Australia in 2011, the room was tight. Nervous.
We had lost to Australia 12 months prior.
I told the team: “You’ve got permission to screw up half the game.”
They laughed. Relaxed. Beat Australia 6–1. Then 11–3 in the semis.
The fear of mistakes had been killing us. Remove it, and we played free.
Great Failure-Embracers:
Remove fear by making mistakes part of the process.
Focus on the lesson, not the blame.
Keep the team present and moving forward.
Rule 5: Hold Each Other Accountable
In 2011, Assistant Captain Kris Hendy described the GB team as “riding a wave.”
That wave came from trust — and trust came from accountability.
Every player knew their role.
Every promise got checked.
And it wasn’t just coach-to-player — it was peer-to-peer.
Great Accountability Builders:
Agree clear actions and deadlines.
Follow up without micromanaging.
Make standards everyone’s responsibility.
Final Word
Ignore these rules and you build a fragile culture — one that only works when you’re watching.
Apply them and you build a team that believes, owns the standard, and performs when it matters most.
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