A Winning Culture Can’t Be For Everybody

If you’re a pro basketball fan, this is, no doubt, your time of the year as we go deeper into the NBA Playoffs. For the most part, the best, most well coached teams make it this far. Nothing exemplifies that more this year than the crazy playoff path of the Miami Heat – the most unlikely team to make it to the conference finals this year.

First, they had to “play in” to even become the eighth and final seed in the conference tournament. On their way to where they are now, they defeated the #1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks, and then disposed of the fifth seed New York Knicks, getting them to the finals for the second straight year.

This is a team that, in the past 10 years, has won two NBA titles, played in five NBA championships, and only missed the playoffs three times. They have done all of this with the same front office and head coach and, most of all, the same unique culture. The Heat are known around the league for taking pride in doing the “dirty work” on a basketball court from their best player, All-Star Jimmy Butler, on down the line. They all dive for loose balls, they all draw charging fouls, they all set screens and they all handle the ball equally. AND – they do it as a team!

Their President, Pat Riley, has been there for 28 years, 11 of them also as head coach. The culture started with him way back in 1995 when, ironically, the current head coach, Erik Spoelstra, joined as a video editor. Erik’s now been head coach for 15 years with two championships under his belt. (Riley had one before him, by the way.)

They devised a culture that demands hard work and discipline, yet calls also for loyalty and caring for their team members. They are committed in every way to the improvement of every player in every way on and off the court. Most importantly, every player, going in, knows the team’s mission. If you want to read more about how they do it, see this.

This culture is NOT for everyone. It’s a mentality that permeates from the top down to the level of locker room attendants. (Sidebar: my niece worked for them for 14 years, and she can attest to that mindset.)

I’ve had the privilege of programming several stations/clusters that developed that same type of culture based on a specific mentality and work ethic. We would even refer to them as “station name here” people if we saw the fit. With one station, we were relentless about how Country concerts were handled in a two-Country station market. It was everyone on board, and it was essential to have an air AND sales staff willing to put in the time at the event. People in that market STILL talk about how we did it without fail at every show. We had the RIGHT people ready to do what was necessary, whenever.

From the experiences I’ve had, this all must (and did) start at the top with a management team willing to make decisions to make the staff better – not for 90 days but for the next five years!

Here we go back to those core values, what the organization stands for. Every (and I mean EVERY) prospective employee MUST meet 100% of the criteria behind those core values. Not 50%, not 75%, always 100%. If you cut corners on this, it will come back and haunt you. MAKE SURE those core values are clearly stated and communicated to the staff. I speak from experience. From high-profile morning shows (syndication shows included) to the promotion road crew, when interviewing, ask the questions that address work ethic and loyalty. Create scenarios to see how the applicant would react specifically.

Once again, talent is considered but, above all, how this person fits into the culture of your station/cluster/company is what should hold the most weight.

Once hired, the process needs to continue daily/weekly, etc. with your coaching, communication, and your own actions within the group. As I showed you with the Miami Heat example, create opportunities for continuous improvement for each staff member from high profile to road crew. Show them that everyone matters and, believe me, everyone will matter to them. A winning culture may not be for everyone but, if you have the group you feel will all dive for those proverbial loose balls, you are on your way.

“Taking Your Radio Presence To The Next Level. Be it an artist, radio programmer or on-air talent. Coaching and mentoring down to your foundational level”

Contact me:
John Shomby
Owner/CEO Country’s Radio Coach
jshomby@countrysradiocoach.com
757-323-1460
https://countrysradiocoach.com