How a Coach Builds Culture: From High School Track to Organizational Change
- alexis692
- Jan 21
- 3 min read
by Alexis Halkovic, PhD, Co-CEO
TL;DR:
Most teams don’t fail because of talent or effort, they struggle because of a culture that’s being shaped unintentionally. Coaches don’t just support teams; they actively design the conditions for belonging, accountability, and performance.This reflection explores how early experiences with coaching shaped my understanding of culture, and why coaching becomes essential rather than optional when teams are navigating unseen dynamics.
When I was in high school, I ran on the track team. Not because I was a gifted runner, but because the team created space for everyone to belong. That did not happen by chance. It happened because we had an exceptional coach who took responsibility for the culture he was shaping.
Coach Ralph Sieboldt was loved by the team not because he was easy on us, but because he believed in us and pushed us accordingly. He did not treat everyone the same. He did something far more important: he treated us as individuals who each had something to contribute.
He had a sign on his office wall that said something like, “A coach is a person who pushes you to do things you would not be capable of doing on your own.” I read that sign every day. It taught me two important lessons: it is not just normal, it is necessary to have support that pushes you, and the coach is essential for both team and individual excellence.
There is no question that I would not have completed the rigorous, sometimes punishing workouts required to compete without a coach. But just as important, I was expected to contribute to the team. That expectation, both being accountable to and being supported by the team, were evidence of the culture Coach Sieboldt built. Inclusion was not passive. It required effort.
Track meets last for hours, sometimes all day. When we were not competing, we were cheering for one another. Supporting one another was not optional or performative. It was an essential part of the team experience. We were not there simply to run our own events and leave. We were there with and for one another. Over time, that builds mutual respect, camaraderie, and a shared understanding that effort matters, even when outcomes differ.
Now, as a leadership coach, I spend much of my time helping teams understand how culture shapes both individual experience and collective performance. Reflecting on my time on the BHSN track team, it is clear these qualities were not accidental. They were consistently reinforced:
Respect for each person on the team
Recognition and celebration of difference, with people pushed to their own limits rather than toward a single standard
A degree of autonomy, including the ability to explore where one might best contribute
Shared celebration of wins, rather than isolated achievement
There were clear star performers on the team, and we admired them. Their success did not diminish the rest of us. Because the culture emphasized mutual respect, the team could thrive both individually and collectively.
This early experience shaped how I now work with teams. Across roles as a team member, leader, and coach, I have seen the same patterns repeat. A few principles consistently hold:
Respect is foundational to team cohesion
Team dynamics are shaped by work habits, power, and personality, not just formal roles
Individual expertise matters, but teams function best when contribution is broadly valued
Working inside a culture does not guarantee you can see or understand the source of friction or unease, especially when those patterns benefit some people more than others
Unseen patterns go undetected. “The ways things are” goes unquestioned. Over time, these dynamics harden into norms that shape who speaks up, who holds power, and whose contributions are valued. This is where coaching becomes essential rather than optional. A well-designed assessment helps surface what teams can no longer see for themselves, while a coach helps interpret that data with care and context. Insight alone does not change culture. What changes culture is how leaders and teams work with that insight, together.
Not every team becomes a family, and that is okay. There are many ways teams can work together effectively. When teams have insight into hidden dynamics and support to act on that insight, the way work feels and the results teams achieve can change dramatically.
That is the work of coaching. And it is always cultural, whether we name it or not.
Call to action
Culture does not change through intention alone. If you’re curious about the unseen dynamics shaping your team and want a grounded way to work with them, CultureCamp offers assessments designed to support coach-led insight and action. Used well, they become a starting point for conversations that help teams work differently, together.
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