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Our first book, Lead Yourself First, is our field manual for coaches to build their Leadership. We’ve heard from many coaches who have read it, love it, and are taking their staff through it.

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By no effort of our own, we began working with NCAA golf programs. Through that, we were connected with some PGA and KFT Pros. Two years later, and we have a full-fledged performance golf outfit. About a year in, we wanted to know how we were doing.

Meaning: we really wanted to see whether we were even being effective. So, we set out to do our own analysis. The post below is the result of that analysis. And in fact, we were so frustrated by the lack of analysis available to golfers that we’ve built our own tools in the process (more on that in a later edition - sneak peak below)

We aren’t taking credit for this. But, this is what can happen when you have a phenomenal coach committed to creating a culture where their athletes are committed to getting BETTER.

Whew.

NCAA basketball coaches. We made it. The portal is closed. There are many different ways these last two weeks (the portal window for those of you not coaching in college) could’ve gone for you. But at least we know who’s going and who’s staying.

Your roster is by no means complete. But there’s a little more clarity than before.

So, it’s the perfect time to perform what we call a Roster Audit.

Every time we walk through the Talent–Culture Matrix with a staff, the same thing happens.

At some point, a coach leans back, pauses, and says, “Yeah, we’ve got one.”

They usually say it with a little chuckle. But without even saying names, the entire staff knows exactly which player they’re talking about.

That’s the thing about this tool. It’s not telling you anything you don’t already know.

It just forces you to face what you already know.

If you haven’t done this yet, this is the work.

Take your full roster. Every player. And give each one two scores:

Talent: -5 to +5
Culture: -5 to +5

Don’t overthink it. Don’t overcomplicate it. You already have the information.

You just have to put a number to it. Now, ask three questions.

Which players are taking up the most:

And where do they sit on the matrix? Most teams are over-invested in culture risks.

Players who require constant management drain the energy of your staff and players and force you to coach around them rather than through them.

The hard part? Their talent usually justifies it. Until it doesn’t.

The questions to ask: Is our culture in a place where we can risk this? How have we done this right in the past? What needs to change?

Every team has them. The + culture players who:

And yet they are rarely getting the proper attention.

They’re not the loudest. They’re not always the most productive statistically. But they’re often the reason your team functions. We call them the “relational oil” of your team’s engine.

Most programs don’t lose these players because they leave.

They lose them because they’re not valued until it’s too late.

Everyone says they want “game changers.” But your actions tell the truth.

Who are you:

If your answers don’t clearly point to the top-right quadrant, you don’t have a talent problem.

You have a clarity problem.

Most coaches don’t make bad evaluations.

They make inconsistent decisions based on good evaluations.

They know the cultural risks, but tolerate them longer than they should.

They know who the program kids are, but don’t intentionally protect or reward them.

They know who the game changers are, but don’t build around them clearly enough.

You don’t lose your team all at once. Yes, they may leave through the portal window. But it’s the collection of small moments where you tolerate a behavior you shouldn’t.

Or one exception you shouldn’t make. Or you say, “you’ll deal with something later,” that you never deal with.

Instead of asking:

“Who are our best players?”

Start asking:

“Where are we out of alignment with what we say we value?”

That gap where most roster problems actually live.

Get BETTER’s Culture Playbook. A system designed to install a thriving, healthy, high-performance culture. Join over 1,000 coaches who use our Culture Playbook from youth club teams to national championship NCAA programs and everything in between.