Over the next ten weeks, Jonathan Gibson of The Athlete Clinic will be writing a series of articles about ten key points and the application of each point for culture development in sports.

The idea of the series is to develop an understanding for the core qualities and their application in creating the culture of a champion.

Jonathan introduces the ten points in the first of the series of articles below and focuses in particular on the first of these key points – commitment.

by Jonathan Gibson

This story title always reminded me of individuals who work tirelessly and quietly in the background, without the need for admiration from their fellow humans. Their work is being done but there is no sound. World champions and the efficacious among us display this lineament. They tend to be reticent and apprehensive when receiving admiration……why? Can they identify the distractions associated with that admiration, and fear them or perhaps the admiration not provide enough stimulation?

At The Athlete Clinic we have looked at this process. We use it in the building of our development programs and characterise it as a component of our development and athlete culture. The internal & external culture of the athlete/team is one of the main driving elements on our platforms that yield achievements. In building the culture, the athlete/team need to have a holistic, organic and honest attachment to the process.

The 1 to 10 list below is by no means extensive but rather our starting block on the endless road to learning and culture development.
1.COMMITMENT
2.RESPONSIBILITY
3.ACCOUNTABILITY
4.INTEGRITY
5.RESPECT
6.TRUST
7.LEADERSHIP
8.COURAGE/COMPASSION
9.SERVICE
10.HUMILITY

Lets start with Commitment. Before you read on….. think about it!
What does it mean?
Do I understand it?
How do I apply it?

From the very beginning commitment must be to oneself. Only then can one progress into responsibility, accountability, integrity, respect………humility and more. To succeed, commitment is not for a few moments every day but rather uninterrupted. The champions among us don’t stop for the admiration but stay committed throughout. Their culture is commitment.

Another substantial facet of the culture is responsibility. Responsibility links right back into commitment. Being responsible for that commitment. Not doing something because someone else may have let you down or inviting inappropriate people or equipment into your culture demonstrates a lack of responsibility and an abuse of ones own culture. When champions commit to being at an event, they then accept the responsibility to make that commitment happen. They lead their own culture.

Moving down through the list, we can see that one needs to be accountable for that responsibility, along with having integrity during its execution. Leading and respecting themselves and others whilst being humble………

Lets pause here for a moment.

We can see how the cross talk between the 10 personal skills listed above is endless. This is what champions manage very well and not for a moment, but all day every day. For those of you who think “sure you can’t do that all the time” well there is your first mistake! You can, and it starts with commitment, to figuring it out or maybe asking yourself why you don’t think you can do it!

We have only started to discuss how the cross pollination of skills and duties in the culture makes the culture of champions. The ability for one to be critical and honest enough to self evaluate and correct poor decisions is the corner stone of developing the culture. This breeds success and the culture of a champion.

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