The BTM Book Report: ‘The Culture Code’

The Culture Code was written by Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code. This book dives into what makes groups successful, from sports teams to the Navy SEALs and from corporations to a gang of thieves. In this book, the author offers research and advice to help build a culture of success, making this book a valuable resource for anyone in a leadership position on a team.

Coyle first talks about the value of safety in the team environment. In the sense of team-building, emotional safety is paramount for taking risks or making tough decisions. The head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, offers this to his team. While known as a hard-nosed coach, he also consciously builds a relationship that says, “I care about you as a person.” In this way, his criticism can be more easily accepted. The players know that the goal is improvement, not belittling them.

Related to this is the concept of feedback. While the “sandwich model” has been largely adopted—placing a piece of constructive criticism between two pieces of positive feedback—this has shown to be largely unhelpful. Instead, the author argues that this 19-word model is much better as a preface to feedback: “I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.”

According to Coyle, one of the other key elements of leadership in a team environment is actually a willingness to be vulnerable. Leaders who acknowledge their imperfections and admit they don’t have all the answers are seen as having more integrity. When it comes to building a team, people will follow leaders who admit they aren’t perfect over those who try to pretend they are. Many leaders get this wrong, thinking that they must always be in control of any situation. In fact, being fallible creates the opportunity for connection and feedback that reinforces the leader’s relationship with the team.

When forming ...