Culture. It’s magical, mystical, and dare I say yet another buzzword that leaders use when they want to sound like they are doing something really special within an organization. The use of the word culture veils what is the actual bedrock of any culture - the ordinary, everyday, and seemingly unremarkable behaviors of the people within an organization. The standards people hold themselves too and are held too when no one is watching.
Daily Behaviors
These behaviors include simple things like: What time do team members show up for work? How do they show up? Do they keep showing up when things get hard? How do they interact with one another? How do they resolve conflict? How do they share and express ideas? What type of work do they produce? What’s their follow-through on projects? How quickly do they respond to emails? How do they leave the locker-room after a game? The boardroom after a meeting? Where do they invest their time and money? Do they show up consistently? How do they communicate? How do they treat each other? Do they treat the boss and the janitor with the same respect? What type of conversations happen at the proverbial water-cooler? Do they jog off the field at half-time? Can they be honest about what’s happening within the organization? When faced with ethical dilemmas, how do they make decisions? Do they take ownership and responsibility for their decisions? How do they collaborate? Where do they eat lunch? Do they eat lunch?
Beware the Branding
In the content-crazed world we live in, culture often gets mistaken for branding. We think the culture of an organization is the story told about it in the media or through its marketing. Branding is aspirational; it tells people a story that they want to believe about the organization. Behaviors are real. So, if you want know who an organization is, look at how the people act everyday. What do they prioritize and set as precedent? These behaviors and standards get passed from person to person, from day to day, and from generation to generation. They become the basis of expectation and belief for the next generation.
Unconscious Cultures
The interesting thing about culture is that it is not always passed consciously from person to person or generation to generation. A lot of standards, specifically unhealthy ones like racism, sexism, abusive standards and ableism, get passed subtly and unconsciously. They are inherited from the prior generation. When I reflect on the standards and expectations for women’s sports in the USA, specifically small Olympic sports like field hockey, I can see that many sub-par standards that have unconsciously been passed through the generations.
I'm sure you've heard the refrain before: Be grateful for what you have, at least you have a place to play, at least the game is on TV, at least you have a national program, at least you have a turf field, at least you have a job, at least you get these crumbs. Don't ask for more; you are lucky to be on this team; don't speak up about abuse; be quiet, stay silent if you want to belong. Don't rock the boat if you want to keep the crumbs we've given you.
Compare the Narrative to the Action
The NCAA and many NGBs push a narrative about female empowerment while chronically falling short of equitable standards. Look at the Title IX numbers. Look at the television coverage of the NCAA Field Hockey tournament. Look at how they deal with allegations of abuse. Look at who they hire to leadership positions. These institutions brand themselves in a way that perpetuates a myth that female athletes and coaches matter while their behaviors deliver a different message. We value you, but not enough for us to actually treat you equitably, to invest in you, to bet on you, to listen to you.
We can't change the culture of women's sports without directly addressing the standards of behavior that have been accepted throughout the generations. These are the standards that we aren't proud of; the ones we knew weren't okay, but accepted at the time because we felt like that was the only way to keep the proverbial crumbs.
It is hard to admit where we've been because we've all been there, collectively. We've all been complicit in accepting sub-par standards. At some point, we have to collectively own it, admit our complicity, and say enough. We have to admit that we know better now and because we know better, we have to demand better. It's about accountability, not judgement. The complicated thing about women's sport culture is how shame has been used to keep it small; to keep it undermining its own inherent worth. Women's sports matter!
Accountability Sets the Precedent
Accountability sets the precedent and priority for what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Changing culture means setting and maintaining new standards for behavior. It starts with speaking up about what has been accepted as okay for far too long. The Sally Yates report on abuse within the NWSL is pivotal for women's sports because it illuminates specific behaviors that have become culturally ingrained and acceptable in female sports. By reckoning with the actual behaviors and standards that have been passed through the generations, we can consciously create a new, safer and better culture for female sports.
When standards are clear and kept, people thrive. Healthy accountability means knowing the standard expected, and being held to it when specific actions don’t align with it. Healthy accountability is not a judgement of people’s character, it is an accounting of actions, and the impact of those actions on the collective standards and expectations within the larger group.
To change the culture of women's sports, specifically field hockey, we need to reckon with what we've accepted as the standard for our sport. We need to make it clear the actions and behaviors that are no longer acceptable. We need to stop passing on sub-par beliefs and expectations to the next generation. We need to demand better - better coverage, better investment, better support, better results, better leaders. Demanding better means we expect better. For too long, we have collectively expected less than we deserve. It's time to expect more and expect better. No more crumbs, its time to demand a feast!
Comments
Post a Comment