Researchers studied a coach who won five consecutive national championships - Chantal Vallée at the University of Windsor women's basketball (2016).

Before she arrived, the program had only four winning seasons in 50 years. They had never hosted a playoff game. Within a few years, they were winning national titles back-to-back.

The study identified four keys to building a championship culture:

What's striking is that X's and O's barely made the list. The sustained excellence came from empowerment and growth - not just strategy.

This echoes what we see across championship programs: culture isn't a slogan. It's a set of behaviors, repeated daily, that compound over time.

The best coaches aren't just teaching their sport. They're building people who happen to play their sport.

👉 Read the full study: Vallée & Bloom (2016), "Four Keys to Building a Championship Culture," International Sport Coaching Journal

Rick Pitino was asked what stops people from being great.

His answer was one word: Ego.

"Ego stops greatness. I call it edging greatness out."

"In a spiritual sense, ego is edging God out. But ego is edging greatness out."

And he made a key distinction: "I'm not talking about confidence. You have to be a confident person."

"But ego really gets you to where you think you've arrived. You think you know it all. You stop learning. You stop listening."

That's the trap. Confidence keeps you hungry. Ego convinces you that you've already made it.

I see this all the time with coaches, athletes, and executives. The early hunger that drove them to success starts to fade. They stop asking questions. They stop seeking feedback. They start believing their own press.

And slowly, without realizing it, they plateau - or worse, decline.

Pitino nails the antidote:

"Learning and listening are important for great leaders. Great leaders have to listen and they have to continue to learn and surround themselves with people that are better than them."

EGO = Edging Greatness Out

The moment you think you've arrived is the moment you stop growing.

Stay confident. Stay humble. Never stop learning.

I've been thinking about Roger Martin's concept of "betterment."

Martin is one of the world's top strategy thinkers. He was dean of the Rotman School of Management for 15 years. When he started, the school was unremarkable. By the time he left, it was considered one of the most transformational programs in the world.

Here's what struck me about how he did it:

"My goal was to have the change in any one year be so small that nobody's gonna freak out and leave or freak out or push back or anything. But then when they look back after fifteen years they can't even remember what we were like fifteen years ago."

Little steps. Little steps. Over and over.

He didn't feel badly about how long it took because they were getting better every year.

Martin's insight on strategy: every organization already has a strategy - it's what they actually do, not what's written in a planning document. The goal isn't to create strategy from scratch. It's betterment.

"Be patient but resolute in your pursuit of awesome strategy by way of betterment."

This applies to teams. To programs. To your own development.

We get seduced by transformation. The big overhaul. The fresh start. But the most durable progress comes from small, consistent improvements that compound over time.

What's your version of betterment this week?

Source: Roger Martin, "Where to Start with Strategy: Focus on Betterment"

For coaches and leaders:

For athletes and performers:

All of these posts and more are in the Coaching Vault.

What I am reading and listening to:

📚 Book: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

🎧Podcast: How Belichick Actually Makes Decisions (It’s Not What You Think) | The Knowledge Project Podcast

🎥 Video: Dr. Kevin Elko | Building Champions with Inspiration & Motivation | BUILD25

Want More?