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CLIQUES & BAD APPLES CREATE HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENTS

Mar 29, 2022

Part of the challenge of building team chemistry is getting rid of the pettiness and gossiping and cliques and replacing it with a culture of inclusion and collaboration where everybody selflessly recognizes and appreciates the value and contributions of all.


BAD APPLES

We’ve all heard the saying, “ONE BAD APPLE SPOILS THE WHOLE BUNCH”, and in team sports we all know the truth of that statement and probably have experienced it firsthand. An apple or fruit infested with mold will CONTAMINATE THE OTHER FRUIT IT IS STORED WITH as the mold seeks additional food sources and spreads. With teams, it only takes just ONE SINGLE BAD APPLE that starts a domino chain that ruins the experience for the rest of the bunch.


CLIQUES & GOSSIP

Cliques attempt to wield SOCIAL POWER by trying to “control” and “dictate” who is POPULAR OR who is NOT through GOSSIP and false labeling. Good players are trying to get better – GROW & DEVELOP & LEARN, rather than be popular amongst a dysfunctional, petty clique. Members of cliques know that they are NOT RESPECTED BY THE GAME or by the good players, so instead of “changing” and trying to be “positive”, they try to create chaos and add company to their misery.



Creating a culture of belonging and inclusion and teamwork and harmony, especially amongst a competitive team of 25 team members who are all college age women and former high school superstars can be a most difficult endeavor.

The number one vice to team chemistry amongst college age women (and their parents who coddle their clod of ailments and grievances) is GOSSIP. GOSSIP promotes a culture of toxicity and reduces inclusiveness. It becomes toxic when a group – CLIQUE -comes together with the primary goal to complain, gossip and commiserate about internal team dynamics; and furthermore, carry their destructive gossiping and negative motives as disguised venting to their parents, social media, and even naive administrators.

There is a BIG difference between “healthy venting” and “petty gossiping”. Venting sessions are designed by the TEAM to hear good ideas and are intended to discover solutions and address current challenges. Healthy venting is done in the open with a discussion of ideas between and amongst all the parties; not in the dark, by a clique, behind people’s back, and based on heresay, lies and slander.

LOSERS MEET PRIVATELY IN LITTLE GROUPS CALLED CLIQUES WITH THEIR OWN SELFISH AGENDAS TO WHINE , COMPLAIN & GOSSIP; WINNERS ASSEMBLE AS A TEAM, ALL TOGETHER WITH TRANSPARENCY & PURE MOTIVES IN ORDER TO HELP EACH OTHER PURSUE EXCELLENCE, GROW & DEVELOP.

CONSTANT COMPLAINING; UNGRATEFULNESS; PETTY GOSSIPING are designed by the CLIQUE to create dissension. Those who gossip are petty and SMALL MINDED and have little interest in resolving problems or finding solutions; in fact, their motives are quite the opposite, to create toxicity and misery. THOSE WHO FACILITATE THE GOSSIP ARE JUST AS SMALL MINDED.

The gossipers FOCUS MORE ON THEMSELVES & THEIR CLIQUE than the actual team. The energy they put into negative behaviors take away from any opportunity for them to get better or adding productivity to their own growth & development.

A team’s culture or persona impacts attitude, chemistry, performance, competence, competitiveness, etc.

  • Cliques DIVIDE, DISTRACT, DESTROY.
  • Cliques create DISTRUST.
  • Cliques create conflict.
  • Cliques thrive on negativity.
  • Cliques are about selfishness.
  • Teams with negative cliques spend MORE TIME BATTLING EACH OTHER than preparing for the other team.
  • The clique’s goal is to make the good players with good motives apathetic.
  • By being selfish and their social labeling of others, it forces the good players to LOOK AFTER & PROTECT THEMSELVES because the TEAM cannot; so good players just endure this type of disfunction and then ESCAPE ASAP.
  • Cliques are dysfunctional, tight knit groups that exclude others because they know their ulterior motives are wrong and will never be accepted by a majority of the team. So their only chance to be relevant is by sowing malcontent.

Let’s face it: lots of conflict, negativity, gossiping and selfishness is just NOT FUN TO BE AROUND.

These NEGATIVE CLIQUES CREATE HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENTS by saying bad things about other team members and coaches in an attempt to win favor and get “negative attention”. Backstabbing. Rumor spreading. Poisoning the team chemistry. Siphoning away hope by their constant negative energy. Petty jealousy instead of joy because one of their teammates got recognized with an award instead of them.

WINNERS ASSEMBLE AS A TEAM!

The individual character of each player matters. Players that have the “devotion and discipline” & “passion and purpose” to PURSUE EXCELLENCE and who appreciate the learning environment that gives them the chance to learn and grow and develop ASSEMBLE AS A TEAM. Players who are “coddled” and only care about “ME” and refuse to be held accountable are THE LOSERS WHO ASSEMBLE IN LITTLE GROUPS complaining and gossiping.


In CULTURES based on GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT:

  • There is a commitment to helping each other get better rather than sitting around gossiping and complaining.
  • There is a willingness to put in the hard work necessary to achieve at a higher level.
  • Teammates strive to get along with other and seek collaboration and inclusiveness with all of their team members and support staff.
  • They are POSITIVE, PRODUCTIVE, INTENSE. Intense levels of commitment and accountability to a standard of EXCELLENCE EVERYDAY.
  • PASSION & PURPOSE. Championship teams understand exactly what they want to achieve and work together passionately to achieve it.
  • There is constructive and truthful feedback and it is appreciated because everybody’s goal is to get better and grow and learn and be challenged to be the best.
  • Team members take PRIDE IN THEIR ROLES because their roles are valued and appreciated and necessary in order to accomplish the team’s championship objectives.
  • People are respected. Players are selfless and put aside their egos and individual goals for the benefit of the team’s goals. They take IMMENSE PRIDE IN BEING PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN THEMSELVES.

Teams that are pursuing excellence:

  • feed off of positive energy,
  • are enthusiastic,
  • play with excitement.
  • They embrace challenges.
  • The TEAM’s success comes first.
  • Selfish teammates are confronted and quickly corrected, or “weeded out”.
  • Honor players who selflessly sacrifice today (redshirt) for the betterment of the team but keep working everyday to get better and grow and develop (All-American).
  • Everybody is held accountable to a standard of EXCELLENCE.
  • It is not okay to NOT be mentally prepared to compete.
  • It is NOT okay to blame a lackluster performance on lack of focus or the umpires or whatever.
  • Enjoy the chance to compete.
  • Value the time they get to spend with each other.
  • They do NOT tolerate whining, complaining nor gossiping.
  • Bashing & blaming the coaches for all the problems within the team is NOT acceptable.
  • Get each other’s back. TRUST IN CONFLICT.
  • They do NOT tolerate people who talk negatively about any of their teammates
  • Constructively deal with problems and conflicts and find solutions.
  • They do NOT accept excuses for problems or poor performances.
  • Build bonds between teammates and coaching staff.
  • Promote team chemistry, inclusiveness, collaboration and unity.
  • teammates with bad attitudes are NOT ALLOWED to suck the “fun” out of the game;
  • bad attitudes are encouraged to GET OVER IT QUICKLY or FIND ANOTHER TEAM.
  • OWN YOUR PERFORMANCE.
  • Successfully deal with adversity and failure by learning and growing from it.
  • Everyone’s contributions matter and are appreciated.
  • It is always TEAM over cliques.


GET RID OF THE ENEMY INSIDE THE TENT


Leaders should address gossiping and cliques ASAP by identifying and pulling aside complainers. Remain firm in the consequences associated should the negative behavior continue. END IT. PUT A STOP TO IT NOW.


Complaining and constant negativity is harmful to productivity and morale. Negative conversations should never be allowed to dominate the team’s learning environment.

PURSUE EXCELLENCE & WIN THIS PITCH!


About the Author

Mike Lotief coached 17 successful years as either the head softball coach or co-head softball coach with his wife Stefni Whitton Lotief at the University of Louisiana from 2002-2017 with an overall coaching record of 731-176 (80.6 winning percentage). Every season, the Ragin Cajuns softball team advanced to the NCAA tournament and also advanced to three (3) Women’s College World Series (2003, 2008, 2014) and from 2012-2016 advanced to five (5) straight NCAA Super Regionals. Coach Lotief produced over 40 All American selections and his 2017 team lead the nation in scoring and was ranked in the Top 10 in home runs, slugging percentage, on base percentage.

The coach is a cancer survivor (twice) and was the first person in the U.S. to receive the Pro Trach device. Mike and Stefni spearheaded and raised the funding to build the new softball stadium in 2009 and the new softball indoor hitting facility in 2015. They are proud parents to Chelsea, who played softball and graduated from the Univ. of Louisiana in 2018, and Andrew, who is a junior at Louisiana studying Mechanical Engineering.

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