What The Workplace Can Learn From The Wisconsin Women’s Volleyball Team

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As an avid lover of volleyball and a high school and club volleyball coach for the past 30 years, I was thrilled when the Wisconsin women’s varsity volleyball team won the NCAA title. I had so many people who had never really watched the sport reach out to me and say how much they enjoyed the match and how amazed they were at how exciting the sport was. Friends who had never really engaged with volleyball were amazed how after every play the teams come together and high-five each other whether they won the point or not. One friend identified the coach of Wisconsin, Kelly Sheffield, in terms of how he engaged with his players. He always high-fived and smiled at every young woman who came off the court every single time.

When I think about the match, I think about what is going on in the world. I know many people are stressed and fatigued, depending on the industry in which they work, as well as lacking motivation with everything going on. I think making a direct comparison to a college volleyball match might seem unfair, but there is a lesson to be learned. With every play through the match, you never ever saw the following:

• A lack of effort

• A lack of support for teammates

• A coach upbraiding or yelling at a player

• A player lacking a smile, no matter the score

So, what does this have to do with the workplace? Here are young women in front of 20,000 fans playing what they may feel like is the most pressure-packed experience of their life smiling and high-fiving one another and even after the match talking so glowingly about their competition. Wisconsin is blessed to have Sheffield as the varsity coach for the team, and I have talked to countless coaches who have interacted with him and said he is as upbeat in person as you see him on the court. So, what is the lesson here? What if the workplace did not have the following?

• A lack of effort

• A lack of support for coworkers

• A boss yelling at their direct reports

• An employee lacking a smile, no matter the situation

What if employees in their own way “high-fived” one another? What if employees came to the support of one another even when mistakes were made? What if leaders smiled and “high-fived” their employees even when they made mistakes? Would not this lead to greater effort and happiness in the workplace?

People were coming up to me in the public restaurant where I was watching the match and asking me questions about the sport, and they could see I was enthusiastic but more importantly knowledgeable about the sport. Once I started explaining the ins and outs of the sport, many were absolutely taken by it. People were cheering during every play and here was the amazing thing: They quickly realized how differently the players acted from what we are used to in today’s world. They high-fived one another. They hugged one another. The coach even hugged one of his players when she made a mistake at a crucial part of the match, smiling at her, only to have that same player come back and have absolute success during an even more critical point of the match. What if we all did this as leaders today? What if employees smiled at and supported one another no matter the circumstances every single day? Our workplaces would become better and would be in a better position to offset these challenging and stressful times.

The success of the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team is a result of some very simple things. First, they have a leader who is always positive and always upbeat. Second, the players are always upbeat and supportive of one another, no matter the mistakes or the success on the court. Last, the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team has been successful as a culmination of all of the things mentioned within this article that build a positive and upbeat culture. This is possible for every leader at every workplace in the world.

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