In this month’s 3 Points, we’ll take a look at how environments shape behavior, and the lengths one English Premier League club goes to put this belief into action.
1. Environments influence behaviors.
I believe we know this, but if you are skeptical, walk into a casino. You will notice a few things. There will not be any windows, there will be bright lighting and energizing music, there may even be pure oxygen being pumped into the room, and sometimes even free alcohol. Why is this? Because they know (and profit enormously) that behaviors are shaped by the person’s environment. Casinos influence risk-taking behaviors, not by changing individuals, but by creating an environment that helps ignore cues of fatigue which impairs decision-making. They have created an environment that facilitates risk-taking.
2. Back to coaching…
If casinos have become experts at creating environments that facilitate risk, how can coaches create environments that set their athletes up to be their best? I give you Brentford FC.
Brentford FC was just promoted to the English Premier League and is severely underfunded compared to the rest. They aim to be the best at everything, and one of the areas they see an advantage is in their environment. Brentford FC doesn’t have an unlimited number of coaches, and one of the advantages is that everyone knows each other. So among other things, Brentford FC has set out to be the happiest club in the league and the world, and they are quick to note that this, “Doesn’t mean we’re happy to lose. We’d be very unhappy if we’re not in the Premier League." Instead, they see happiness as a valuable element that ensures everyone, coaches included, can reach their optimal performance as often as possible.
So how does Brentford seek to create a happy club in the high stakes of the premier league? One way is to create an environment that makes happiness easy. Their smaller budget means that Brentford has a relatively small staff. In fact, they have only five members on their coaching staff and Brentford sees this as an advantage.
“If we get to a point where we don’t know everyone in that building by name and what they’re doing then we’re going away from what we want. You look at other clubs, the amount of people when there is a warmup … you just see these huge entourages. I’m like: ‘Please, Brentford, we can’t.’ I never want it to be like that.” - Ben Ryan
Brentford's Performance Director, Ben Ryan, has gone as far as meeting with people who have created scents for hotels in Las Vegas and introducing them to Brentford's performance center. As Ryan puts it, “You want to be in an environment that you want to stay in.”
3. Reflect
I realize not every team has access to those resources, but I believe it’s a powerful example, as Brentford didn’t seek out greater happiness at an individual level, they created a welcoming and tight-knit environment with familiar faces to facilitate happiness.
Environments are most successful when they have a strong and coherent culture, characterized by espoused and enacted values being aligned, which creates stability and clarity for coaches, managers, and athletes. - Dr. Kristofer Henriksen
What does your team/program value?
How does your environment currently facilitate those value? (Like casinos facilitate risk-taking)
What is one thing you can change about the environment to move everyone closer to the things you value?