Winning the Game of Belief: Cultivating the Cultural Grit that Defines America’s Greatest Coaches
Charles Sullivan, one of the winningest coaches in the history of the sport of volleyball, is a physical education teacher and sports psychology professor at Springfield College by trade. His story provides the reader with a unique approach to winning in sports and success in life, employing a knowledge of psychology to define his program and craft an unparalleled record of success that reveals the power of culture. Rather than lecture his players about research and theory, Coach Sullivan most often teaches through metaphor and stories. These stories share his experience on the court while providing a unique lens that enables the reader to capture the core values that unite all iconic coaches. Kevin Sheehan shares the research on cultural grit, not only, bringing Sullivan’s success to life, but also providing a formula for successful leadership in any field or endeavor. There are lessons in this book that can change your life and cultivate a culture of grit in your organization that will lead to success that you could never have imagined.
Foreword
Brian Magoffin
Introduction: The Magic of Stories
Research without Going to the Dentist’s
Office
Brain Research: The Fragile Nature of Memory
Brain Function and the Magic of Stories
Who is Charlie Sullivan?
Five Take Aways from The Power of
Stories
The Big Idea from The Power of
Stories
Part I: Beyond Winning
Chapter 1- The Culture of Winning
Springfield Volleyball: A Culture of Winning
Winning Coaches under the Microscope
Why It Is Some Coaches Win All the Time?
Winning the Game of Belief
Five Take Aways from The Culture
of Winning
The Big Idea from The Culture of
Winning
Chapter 2- Welcome to the Game of Belief
Meet Charlie Sullivan: Welcome to the Game of
Belief
The Power of Culture: You Were Made for This!
More than Pep Talks: Beyond Winning
Five Take Aways from Welcome to
the Game of Belief
The Big Idea from Welcome to the
Game of Belief
Chapter 3- Turning Obstacles into
Opportunities
What Stands in the Way, Becomes the Way
Eighteen Pencils and a Lost Coin Toss
Lessons from a Lost Coin Toss
Less than Successful Playing Career: Obstacle or
Gift?
Five Take Aways from Turning
Obstacles into Opportunities
The Big Idea from Turning
Obstacles into Opportunities
Chapter 4- The Power of Personality
NFL Draft Day: You Are on the Clock
Selection Results: Did You Make the Same Decision as the
NFL?
The Birth of Grit: Angela Duckworth Finds Her
Passion
What Makes Gritty Individuals Gritty?
Driven From Within: The Power of Effort and
Will
The Tom Brady and the Power of Belief and
Effort
Resume versus Eulogy Virtues
Five Take Aways from The Power of
Personality
The Big Idea from The Power of
Personality
Part II: Building Cultural Grit
Chapter 5- Core Values: Failing Well
Trial by Fire: Core Values Born of Struggle, Frustration
and Failure
Winning Coaches and Core Values
Five Take Aways from Core Values:
Failing Well
The Big Idea from Core Values:
Failing Well
Chapter 6- Cultural Grit
The Unexpected Phone Call: Science Meets
Sport
Making the Case for Cultural Grit
The Cultural Grit Pyramid
Level One: Shared Effort and Belief
Level Two: Striving for Perfection in Process
Level Three: Identity and Meaning
Five Take Aways from Cultural
Grit
The Big Idea from Cultural
Grit
Chapter 7- Belief
More than Pep Talks: Belief Borne of Consistent
Effort
Belief and Effort: A Two Way Street
Data Driven Cultures Built on Feedback
Transformational Leadership
Five Take Aways from Belief
The Big Idea from Belief
Chapter 8- Process
Maintaining Focus on Process Over Product
The Power of Being in the Moment
Winning by Not Focusing on Winning
Focus on Product Begins Early: A Baseball
Story
Five Take Aways from Process
The Big Idea from Process
Chapter 9- Identity
Which Ring?
The Power of Identity
Debunking the Great Player Myth
Team Identity Built on Great Communication
Collective Efficacy: The Research behind Team
Cohesion
Fostering Collective Efficacy at Springfield
Five Take Aways from Identity
The Big Idea from Identity
Part III Maintaining Belief in the Face of
Challenge
Chapter 10- Cultures Under Fire
The Haircut: Holding Fast to Core Values
Team First: Even When It Hurts
Maintaining Belief: Getting on the Bus with
Elmo
The Initial Challenge: Maintaining Belief in Building Your
Culture
Five Take Aways from Cultures
Under Fire
The Big Idea from Cultures Under
Fire
Postscript from Coach Sullivan- Raise Your Hand:
Applications to Business
Unbelievable
Five Take Aways from Raise Your
Hand: Applications to Business
The Big Idea from Raise Your Hand:
Applications to Business
A Baker’s Dozen of Big Ideas to Move Your Organization
Beyond Inspiration
Appendix A: The NFL Draft: How Did You Do?
Appendix B: April Emails
Appendix C: Springfield Core Values
References
About the Authors
[This] book argues that winning teams are not always the ones with the best athletes. Rather, they are the teams that are best prepared, not only physically but especially mentally. According to this view, such teams exhibit a strong sense of belief, an unshakable character, and a foundational grit. Through stories and case studies, the authors explore common characteristics of legendary athletes and coaches, showing that the best players do not always make the best coaches. Sullivan himself, for instance, was not a volleyball player in college, and Bill Belichick was regarded as a better lacrosse player than football player at Wesleyan. But as argued here, the lack of an impressive athletic resumé may have driven each of them as a coach, making each aware that failure instructs more than success, supporting the authors' premise that encountering obstacles can lead to creative thinking.
This book is a must read for, not only young coaches, but for veteran coaches as well. Having coached for thirty-seven years, this book is just as valuable for me today as it would have been when I started out. The book will be a tool to reinforce to my current team the extreme importance of the culture of our program. In addressing this area, the book is without parallel. Kevin and Charley have truly shared the secrets to “A Winning Culture”!
I have known Kevin for years as a coaching peer
and friend. He has coached at every level from youth to college,
and clearly understands that there are consistencies that apply to
successful coaching no matter what the sport or the age one is
working with. His passion for coaching, his attention to detail,
and his in-depth research into the field helps make him a perfect
resource for those seeking success in any area of
life.
This is a must read for those who want to succeed
in this business or in any business for that matter.
Building belief is what we do as coaches do, and this book clearly articulates a plan for all of us, in any field, on how to create cultural grit in our organization. The lessons that can be drawn from the stories on these pages have impacted my coaching and my team in ways that are truly beyond belief and that I could not hope to share in such a limited space. I am confident that this book will have the same impact on your leadership, and the grit that you cultivate in your organization.
Product Details
- Title : Winning the Game of Belief: Cultivating the Cultural Grit that Defines America’s Greatest Coaches
- Authors:
- Sheehan, Kevin
- Sullivan, Charles
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Publication Date: 2019
- ISBN: 9781475849004
Dr. Kevin Sheehan is
a tenured associate professor at Molloy College where he has served
on the faculty for over a decade as well as being an
internationally recognized coach in the world of lacrosse. In the
lacrosse world, Kevin’s accomplishments are numerous including
helping to coaching Adelphi University to three Division II
National Championships, the Australian National Lacrosse Team to
two Bronze Medals, and Massapequa High School to its first New York
State Championship on the scholastic level. A member of the Long
Island Metropolitan Branch of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Kevin,
believes that all of these coaching efforts have been shaped and
influenced by positive psychology research that defines this
book.
Charlie Sullivan will enter his 21st
season as head coach of the men's volleyball team during the
2018-19 academic year, and will once again be an assistant
professor of physical education at his alma mater. In 20 previous
years at the helm, Springfield has established a pedigree of
championship success and has an overall record of 396-181 for a
.686 winning percentage.In addition to his role as the
men's volleyball coach at Springfield, Sullivan has also had
several stints with the U.S. National Team. Recently, Sullivan was
chosen to receive USA Volleyball's All-Time Great Coach award in
the Donald S. Shondell Contemporary Division for 2015.