Read Time: 4 min

What’s in this newsletter?

• 🦸‍♂️ Anecdote: The silent leader who transformed a team through quiet strength.

• 🔍 Research Insight: Psychological safety as the ultimate performance unlocker.

• 🎯 Practical Takeaways: 5 ways to harness your strengths and activate others'.

⏮️ The Idea: Leadership as a Chain Reaction

Ever wonder how some leaders seem to bring out the best in everyone around them? Their secret isn’t charisma, technical expertise, or even authority.

It’s their ability to recognize their own unique strengths and use them to unlock the potential of others.

Leadership is contagious—the stronger your superpowers, the more likely you are to ignite them in those around you.

🦸‍♂️ Anecdote: How Tim Duncan’s Quiet Leadership Built a Dynasty

This isn’t the first time we’ve written about Tim Duncan.

Tim Duncan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, wasn’t known for flashy dunks or fiery speeches. Instead, he was the embodiment of quiet strength, anchoring the San Antonio Spurs to five NBA championships over nearly two decades.

What’s notable here is that many coaches would’ve completely missed Duncan’s superpowers. Duncan wasn’t your traditional “franchise cornerstone.” He was quiet and mild-mannered. He didn’t yell or shout at his teammates. His game wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t in the middle of huddles telling other people what to do.

Many coaches would have mistakenly labeled those behaviors as a lack of leadership rather than doing what Pop did. Pop looked at what Duncan did at his best and then centered his team’s culture around that.

Duncan’s superpower highlighted and brought out the rest of his teams’.

What made Duncan special wasn’t just his skill—it was his ability to elevate those around him. He took rookies under his wing, stayed after practice to refine plays, and always credited his teammates for their success. Off the court, he’d invite players to bond over meals or shared interests, creating a family-like culture that lasted long after he retired.

Gregg Popovich, Duncan’s longtime coach, once said: “He led by example. He didn’t demand anything because everybody knew what he expected just by how he acted every day.” Duncan’s superpower was connection, and it set the tone for one of the most successful franchises in sports history.

🔍 Research Insight: Psychological Safety and Human Potential

In the world of leadership, “psychological safety” is often described as a hidden superpower. Coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, psychological safety refers to a group’s ability to take interpersonal risks without fear of judgment or backlash. It’s the confidence to speak up, share ideas, and make mistakes without losing respect.

Google’s famous “Project Aristotle” study found that psychological safety was the #1 factor of high-performing teams. When team members feel safe, they’re more willing to be creative, take risks, and support each other. In essence, psychological safety allows people to access their own superpowers.

🎯 5 Practical Takeaways: Unlock Your Superpowers and Activate Others

1. Discover Your Superpower: Reflect on what makes you stand out as a leader. Are you a great listener? A strategic thinker? A connector of people? Ask trusted peers or team members for their perspectives—sometimes, our greatest strengths are invisible to us. We have an online assessment to help people do this called the 5 Voices. You can take it for free here. (We can also do this as a session with your team - virtual or in-person - to multiply these insights and impact. Just email us.

2. Model Vulnerability: Show your team that it’s okay to be imperfect. Share a story of a time you struggled and how you overcame it. Opening up creates an environment where others feel safe to do the same.

3. Strengths Spotting: Make it a habit to call out and celebrate the unique strengths of your teammates. Acknowledge both the visible contributions (like scoring or meeting deadlines) and the subtle ones (like fostering collaboration or staying calm under pressure).

4. Empower Autonomy: Give your team the freedom to make decisions that showcase their skills. Instead of micromanaging, provide clear goals and then step back to let their talents shine.

5. Celebrate Wins Publicly: Create rituals that highlight team successes. Whether it’s a shoutout in a meeting, a team awards ceremony, or simply a heartfelt thank-you, recognizing contributions can reinforce the value each person brings.

💡Closing Thought: The Chain Reaction of Leadership

When you activate your own superpowers, you create a ripple effect. Your confidence inspires others to embrace their strengths, your vulnerability fosters trust, and your leadership unlocks the collective potential of your team. Remember: leadership isn’t about being the strongest person in the room—it’s about helping everyone else find their strength.

This week, reflect on the unique superpowers you bring to your team. How can you use them to create an environment where everyone’s potential is unleashed? The answer might be the start of something extraordinary.

BETTER’s Solution to Coach Development

As a part of our work, we lead cohorts of leaders. It’s just one meeting a month with a topic, some homework, and sharing about how it’s going. But it’s powerful. Many of the coaches and leaders in our cohort express the following sentiment:

“I wish every coach got to experience this on some level.”

So, we thought, why can’t they?

As a part of what’s next for BETTER.

We are launching a community around the Culture Playbook.

Until now, the Culture Playbook has been something you buy and then get. We wanted it to be so good and affordable that every coach in the country could access it.

From now on, leaders will receive the Culture Playbook as part of a guided community led by Kevin and Seth.

If you’ve enjoyed our newsletter, imagine a community where we will take you and others through a deeper level of how to install the systems for yourself, athletes, or other coaches. You can ask us questions directly. We can guide and share discussions, share ideas, and get feedback.

We will host monthly calls, and every coach will have direct access to us. We will lead guided discussions and encourage coaches and ADs to share best practices. We want it to become the absolute best resource for all things Culture Development, both at the program and department levels. Over time, we will continue to add content, resources, and offerings. You’ll get discounts on future products that the public won’t get. And no, the price is not changing.

We’re targeting a public launch in early January, offering newsletter readers early access and a 25% discount. Fill out the form using the link below, and we’ll send you a link to get started.