I hit the sofa this evening and decided to watch one of my favourite movies, Coach Carter. Even though I have watched this movie several times, it continues to inspire me.
Coach Carter is a movie based on the true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter, who attracted national media attention after suspending his undefeated high school basketball team due to poor academics in 1999. The movie focuses on the coach’s (Samuel L. Jackson) herculean task of emphasising academic achievement in the face of indifference from his players, their parents, the school and community as a whole.
Despite many hurdles, his efforts paid off with Richmond High basketball team recording their best season ever in history, and Coach Carter’s persistent fixation on academic success leading to excellent results. Not to mention that the students were awarded scholarships which enabled them to progress to university.
In addition to the inspiring message that this movie has for everyone, here are seven culture change lessons which organisations will find useful.
1. The fact that something has been done a certain way for so long, doesn’t make it right.
In Coach Carter, members of the basketball team were treated as if they were above the law. Even when they missed classes, the correct sanctions were not applied, instead teachers accepted it as the students’ way of life.
For so long it was an acceptable fact that a significant proportion of the students wouldn’t do well or progress to college, that’s until Coach Carter arrived on the scene.
Established practices whilst favoured and accepted by many may not be in alignment with the culture that an organisation is keen to develop.
2. Companies have to face their deepest fear.
In implementing change, leaders sometimes worry that they would lose people. While they are right to be worried, this shouldn’t be enough reason to stop them from driving positive change. Some worry about what others will think and others don’t want to be seen as rocking the boat.
Coach Carter knew there was a real risk that he could lose his job whilst trying to effect positive change, and he was ready and willing to pay that price.
Fear can hold organisations and leaders back from being great. Fear feeds on fear, meaning the more organisations try to avoid something they're afraid of, the bigger and deeper the fear grows. To overcome this, leaders must face their fears and find ways to move beyond them.
3. Change efforts will attract resistance and opposition.
If a change is important and has real potential for impact, there will always be those within organisations who won’t like it and therefore seek to undermine it. Change rarely fails because people don’t understand it. Most often it is actively sabotaged.
For there to be change, leaders and change agents must prepare for resistance, and have strategies to overcome resistance, as well as allies to support them.
Change leaders need to lead with conviction and must be prepared to stand alone if necessary.
4. Expectations must be clear and set out from the top.
Before Coach Carter started training the basketball team, he established his expectations and gave each student a contract clearly showing the rules of engagement. In return for playing, all students had to attend their classes and achieve basic academic standards. If they didn’t sign, they couldn’t play.
He was clear and the team knew where he stood on the difficult issues. He introduced a culture of respect and led by example, demonstrating respect himself. He even started calling each student Sir despite being mocked.
For change to be well communicated and effective, leaders must set the tone, share their vision, embody their values and clarify expectations.
Change must start from the top and actions must match words.
5. Have difficult conversations.
When the students failed to honour their contracts, Coach Carter wasn’t afraid to take action, and even when his team were winning, he did not hesitate to stop them from playing until every student’s grades met the minimum standard.
He met with the team, listened to their points and explained the rationale for his actions. I must say that despite watching the film so many times, that part of the film has had a positive impact on my family and I. Coach Carter encouraged them to work hard and aim higher.
Crucial conversations are often needed as part of culture change efforts.
6. Talent is not enough.
Many organisations don’t often consider the lessons and benefits they miss out on when they prioritise short-term achievements over positive cultural change.
Some years ago, a senior leader challenged me when one of the top performers in the organisation was investigated for bullying. Few years later in another organisation, I was asked why we were conducting a formal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against one of the organisation’s main income earners. This was despite the fact that over 10 people had expressed that they had experienced some form of harassment.
The truth is that organisations such as this will never truly change their cultures unless they are prepared to tackle issues head on. I always remind leaders that both action and inaction send messages. Turning a blind eye is therefore never an option.
Coach Carter knew the players were talented, however whilst parents and other educators focused on just this, he was determined to address their toxic behaviours in a bid to help them develop their character. By addressing the ‘whole person’, he was able to change the culture and the team also achieved outstanding success.
7. Team work makes the dream work.
A real highlight for me was seeing how the team bonded together and became successful as a team (on and off court) rather than just as an individual.
Coach Carter offers a good lesson to organisation and this is that ‘team work makes the dream work’.
If you haven't watched , you can watch it on Netflix.
