How to Building Trust and Improve Teamwork On Your Volleyball Team Through the Sharing of Information (Article 4 of 8)

Share information broadly

Imagine if you worked for a company, putting in the standard 40 hours a week – and yet you had no idea what the goals and strategies of the company were. You simply had your job, you did your job – and then had no clue what impact it had regarding the growth of the company.

Shockingly enough, you would fall right in line with the 60 percent of employees who report that they are not well-informed about their company’s goals, strategies and tactics.

How could a company possibly foster a productive work environment if more than half of the employees don’t know the reason behind their work?

Problem is: Most don’t.

When any type of organization, be it a sports team or business or healthcare practice or whatever it may be, has uncertainty in regards to its direction, the result is chronic stress. This stress inhibits the release of oxytocin, which is the building block of trust and teamwork. The good news is that the antidote to this all-too-common problem is a simple one: Be open.

Organizations that share their “flight plans” with employees reduce uncertainty about where they are headed and why. Ongoing communication is key: A 2015 study of 2.5 million manager-led teams in 195 countries found that workforce engagement improved when supervisors had some form of daily communication with direct reports.

The social media optimization company, Buffer, takes this idea and goes further than the vast majority, posting its salary formula online for everyone to see why exactly they’re making what they’re making and how they can climb the ladder.

Want to know what CEO Joel Gascoigne makes? Just look it up. That’s openness.

That’s a key to building trust.

How to build trust and improve teamwork through sharing information

In previous articles on trust, we have mentioned how a business is not all that different from a volleyball team. This concept certainly applies here: Coaches who take an approach similar to Joel Gascoigne – open, in constant communication, clearly defining the team’s goals, strategies and tactics – are far more likely to succeed in creating an environment of trust and teamwork for the players.

At Volleyballl1on1, we are firm believers that the sharing of information leads to improved trust and more cohesive teamwork. Communication is the core of self-confidence in developing athletes, which has a contagious effect on the rest of the team.

So, how do we do this at Volleyball1on1?

Each practice begins with “The Big Three,” a “Life Lesson,” a “Team Building Activity” and a “Volleyball Practice Theme,” all of which are outlined on a white board for everyone to see. Together “The Big Three” help players and the coaching staff clarify the team goals, strategies and tactics.

The “Life Lesson,” we emphasize generally relate to our “winning team culture” and the self-ideal we attempt to impress upon our players. (Read more on how you can use this to develop confidence in young players.)

The “Team Building Activities” are focused on “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team,” and, for the most part, they are catered towards sharing information, debating that information, and making decisions and commitments as a result of the debate. This creates an open dialogue among teammates, providing each player an opportunity to have their voice heard, which has the desired effect of creating trust and accountability among teammates as well.

The practices, meanwhile, are constantly reinforcing “What good looks like.” Over the course of a season, we review a checklist of specific actions on the court. Both individually and as a team, we look to accomplish each specified action, skill, strategy or tactic. When done correctly, this is yet another avenue through which to build confidence, trust and accountability among all team members, as well as coaches.

How Volleyball1on1 can help

If you are looking for a more effective practice design to help you achieve your long-term goal, the Volleyball1on1 Coaching System is the perfect place to start. Not only do we teach you how to run an effective practice using the “Big Three,” we will also provide 30 early season Volleyball1on1 Practice Plans that include life lessons, team building activities and practice themes to ensure your practices are focused and moving your team towards a bigger picture. This picture includes aligning your practices with the “Volleyball1on1 Winning Team Culture” and “What Good Looks Like.”

Our culture strives to “Develop excellent communicative, goal-setting, self-directed, critical thinking lifelong learners who thrive in competition and under pressure, who know how to work as individuals and with a team as a member or a leader while being fair and considering others.”

The Volleyball1on1 Coaching System works with coaches and teams to create character-based team cultures and provide a blueprint for on-court success and team leadership. In the process, we will also be developing confident, tough-minded, fearless competitors, and training coaches for excellence and significance.

A key to this is a concept known as the Stocksdale Paradox, a term that was coined after admiral Jim Stocksdale, a former United States prisoner of war in Vietnam. The paradox, in sum, is that you must retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties. And yet, at the same time, you must also confront the brutal facts of your current reality.

We apply this concept after a match in practice, facing the brutal truth as a team. While it may be ugly, we know we will overcome it, and more often than not, we’ll be better for it.

After a match at practice, we face the truth as a team! The truth may be ugly but we know we will overcome it!

And, alas, don’t forget to have a laugh. Just as Gascoigne shares his salary openly and freely, I encourage all of you coaches to share your high school volleyball coaching pay online!

Let me tell you: It will turn some parents into your strongest advocates!

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