Why Team Culture Determines Who Wins Under Pressure
“When people have to manage dangers from inside the team, the team becomes less able to face dangers from outside.” — Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last
I come back to this quote often because it explains something I see over and over again in sports.
Two teams with similar talent.
Two teams with similar preparation.
One comes together under pressure.
The other slowly unravels.
The difference is rarely strategy.
It’s rarely ability.
It’s culture.
And culture shows up most clearly when things get hard.
The Hidden Energy Drain Inside Teams
When athletes are worried about teammates, politics, blame, or where they stand with the coach, they are spending energy internally instead of competing externally.
They’re asking questions like:
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Do they have my back?
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What happens if I mess up?
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Am I safe here?
That internal management drains the very focus and freedom they need to perform.
In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle identifies three keys to strong culture:
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Establish Purpose
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Share Vulnerability
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Create a Circle of Safety
Let’s start with the one most teams misunderstand.
Purpose Is Not Winning
Ask a team their purpose and you’ll often hear: to win.
But winning is an outcome. And outcomes are not fully within your control.
This is why culture built on winning is fragile. When the scoreboard isn’t going your way, the foundation cracks.
Legendary coach John Wooden never used the word winning with his teams. Instead, he defined success this way:
“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
That’s a purpose rooted in effort and growth — things athletes control every single day.
When a team’s purpose is built on controllables like effort, improvement, and how they treat each other, culture becomes steady regardless of results.
Practice by practice. Game by game. Conversation by conversation.
Why Vulnerability Is a Culture Builder (Even in Sports)
Vulnerability doesn’t sound like a sports word.
The traditional coach archetype is loud, assertive, and in control.
But modern leaders like Steve Kerr, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jürgen Klopp have shown something different: empathy, accountability, and openness.
Why does this work?
Because vulnerability is the doorway to connection.
Without it, teammates and coaches remain performers around each other instead of humans with each other.
What does vulnerability actually look like on a team?
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A coach apologizing for a poor game plan
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Asking athletes for feedback on practice structure
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Saying “I don’t know” and inviting collaboration
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Sharing personal stories of failure or struggle
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Showing care for athletes as people, not just performers
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Allowing flexibility when an athlete isn’t physically or mentally at their best
These moments tell athletes: you are safe to be human here.
And that leads to the third key.
Belonging Cues and the Brain
We are wired to seek belonging and to be wary of emotional risk at the same time.
That’s why building culture is not about slogans or speeches. It’s about what Daniel Coyle calls belonging cues.
Belonging cues are small signals that answer three subconscious questions:
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Are we safe here?
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Do I belong here?
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What is my future with these people?
These cues include:
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Eye contact
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Tone of voice
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Listening
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Inclusion in conversation
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Proximity
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Body language
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Whether everyone talks to everyone
Here’s the fascinating part.
The amygdala — the fear sensor in the brain — is constantly scanning for social threats. But once it receives enough belonging cues, it switches roles.
Instead of scanning for danger, it begins protecting the social bonds of the group.
Athletes stop protecting themselves and start protecting the team.
This is when culture becomes self-sustaining.
You Don’t Find Great Culture. You Build It.
Great team culture is not accidental.
It is built intentionally by coaches and reinforced daily by players.
And it doesn’t require anyone to be someone they’re not.
It requires each person to bring what they naturally do well into the team environment more intentionally:
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Humor
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Compassion
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Accountability
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Energy
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Listening
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Encouragement
As one of my favorite soccer coaches once said:
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.
Culture is the accumulation of these small moments.
And when enough athletes feel they belong, trust each other, and are aligned around a purpose they can control…
That’s when teams become very hard to beat.