The culture in your twenty square feet is the only one that matters. Here’s why. Every team has a variety of cultures not a singular one. The predominate culture flows from the influential. The best of the best follow those who emanate strength and humility – always have. If you want a healthy culture in your home, office, field, or court, invest endless hours strengthening your CORE and competence. We are drawn to healthy CORE’s.
Does your essence draw or divide? Who is attracted? Mass attracts mass, remember. Are you attracting teammates who love to labor alongside or those who cower in fear because of your position or power? If you build strength and humility in you, your culture will not last long where it doesn’t belong. Fact. If you blame your weakness on the leader or the teammates, you’re not as strong as you thought. You are weak in the CORE. Build strength alongside humility. Are you beginning to understand why the second essential in Becoming BTL is building humility? Good. Keep working…
BUILT TO LEAD 
First things first, I control my culture in my 20 square feet. This is where it all starts. I cannot expect to change the culture of my team until I have done the hard work of developing my CORE. It’s far easier pointing out the integrity gaps of others, judging them by their actions with little consideration for the intentions. Hurting people, hurt people. In contrast, I often give myself the benefit of the doubt, make exceptions, and judge myself on my intentions. Weak CORE. I’m working towards being hard on self, easier on others. In fact, I have found that most people know all the things they’re doing wrong… sometimes simply reminding them of all they’re doing right, pointing as to how far they have come (not how far they have to go), can make all the difference.
I am working to correct some alignment issues within our culture. It’s really easy, and even recognized, to take on the beliefs of whatever environment you’re in. But when done without consideration, without holding up to my beliefs, it leads to dissonance. For the majority of my life I have unintentionally and intentionally avoided the feeling of dissonance. It’s more comfortable to put your head down, get back to work, get back in line, and forget about it. I’m reframing my belief on this internal feeling of tension. Instead of seeing it as a negative, I’m looking at it more as a compass, a reminder that something is off. Instead of ignoring it I’m pressing in.
Hard on self, easy on others. Hard on self, not down on self. Hard on self, not high on self. All great reminders and worthwhile aims.
My daughter was upset with me yesterday because before I would play a game with her I told her I needed to do some core work – reading, writing and a workout, and she needed to get her own “morning routine” done. I told her I really needed to put first things first in order to have a great day. She kind of sulked off…but wandered downstairs half way through my workout. She joined me, and while I tossed a Kettlebell around she swung around on the pull up bar and did her own core work. My wife came to the basement and saw what we were doing…and commented how proud of us she was. We had a good chat about creating habits, core work, and when we played later on…she said she was glad we got our stuff done, first. my 20 sf is improving, day by day.