3
The Locker Room Is Broken
For Everyone
Core Lessons
- There are physical signs of racism, but sometimes we need someone else to show us what those signs look like.
- Racism will destroy a team if it is allowed to exist in the Locker Room.
Chapter Summary
Coach Washington takes Coach Smitty into the locker room and asks him what he sees. With some guidance, Coach Smitty realizes that the athletes have all racially segregated themselves within the locker room. This causes Coach Smitty to realize how poorly he handled the subject of Davey's inappropriate jokes. However, Coach Smitty doesn't yet understand the full extent of the problem of racism in the Locker Room.
Deep Dive Teaching
Like friendship, leadership is unique to the person who is in that role and to the team they are leading. This chapter shows many different parts of leadership. Let's look at three of the most important:
- Vision
When Coach Smitty speaks of the Six Pillars on the walls, what he's really talking about is his vision for the athletic program. Your leader's vision may be expressed as the five traits or the four rules or similar. For the Northwest Tigers of the story, their leader's vision is expressed as the six pillars: Tough People Win, Integrity Over Everything, Growth Follows Belief, Excellence Everywhere, Relentless Effort, Service Before Self.
A clear vision can help the team unite and give them direction. But it's just a starting place.
- Perception
Sometimes even a clear vision written on the wall can be smudged or misaligned by competing goals, like an overwhelming desire to win. Coach Washington takes on a leadership role as he helps Coach Smitty perceive the locker room as it actually is. Coach Smitty's vision has been distorted by the hope of a championship, but Coach Washington is going to shine a light on a dark area so that Coach Smitty can see things clearly.
The ability to adapt to another point of view is important to leaders. If Coach Smitty was unwilling to see what Coach Washington had to show him, there would have been no light bulb moment.
- Correction
Coach Smitty's reprimand of the freshman for missing the basket with his towel might look trivial at first, but it's actually an important correction for the player. One of the Six Pillars is Excellence Everywhere. “Everywhere” includes the locker room, and leaving your dirty towel on the floor for someone else to pick up is not showing excellence. It's a little thing, but Coach Smitty is trying to teach his athletes that the little things matter.
Coach Smitty also receives correction when he and Coach Washington discuss how to fix the broken Locker Room. Coach Smitty has become aware of the symptoms, but he doesn't yet understand the root of the problem. Through Coach Washington's correction, Coach Smitty can further alter his perception, return to his vision, and get the team back on track to being a team.
For the Individual
My Key Takeaways
Journal Questions
- What does your Locker Room look like?
- What happens when you try to fix Monday's problem with Saturday's solution?
- What six pillars would you choose to describe your character?
- Are those the same pillars you would use to describe your team's values? Why or why not?
- Do you think racism is impacting your team? Why or why not?
Exercise
Gaining a New Perspective
- As you go about your daily routine, deliberately change something about your routine in each setting.
- For example, you could change where you sit, what you order to drink, or who you talk to.
- After experiencing each change, write down anything new that you noticed by stepping out of your routine.
For the Team
Discussion Questions
- How do teammates treat each other on your team?
- How did you choose your closest friends on the team?
- What makes your Locker Room unique?
- Is that uniqueness a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
- What would be some signs that your Locker Room is broken?
Exercise
Group Identity
- Designate each corner of a room as A, B, C, and D. (A court, field, or diamond works well for this, too.)
- Ask the team members which answer they identify with most in the following list (A, B, C, or D), or create your own.
- Instead of verbally replying, the team members should physically group themselves in each corner according to their answers. Don't give them time to think about it. Use a timer if necessary.
- After each question, have at least one representative from each group tell the team what makes them happy or proud to be in that group.
- The questions are not meant to be serious. They're meant to give team members a chance to see similarities with their teammates in a lighthearted way so they become open to the concept of looking for similarities in more serious ways.
- For the last question, ask: Which of the following do you identify with? Make one of the answers your team mascot (or however you typically refer to the team). This will bring everyone to the same corner to remind them that they're all on the same team.
Identity Choices
- Which color do you identify with? A) Green B) Blue C) Orange D) Purple
- Which beverage do you identify with? A) Water B) Soda C) Juice D) Milk
- Which animal do you identify with? A) Cat B) Dog C) Horse D) Bird
- Which room do you identify with? A) Bedroom B) Living room C) Garage D) Kitchen
- Which subject do you identify with? A) Math B) Science C) History D) Art
- Which activity do you identify with? A) Skiing B) Drawing C) Surfing D) Playing cards
- Which article of clothing do you identify with? A) Jeans B) T-shirt C) Sweatpants D) Swimsuit
- Which type of weather do you identify with? A) Sunny B) Windy C) Rainy D) Humid
- Which mythical creature do you identify with? A) Dragon B) Elf C) Unicorn D) Phoenix
- Which genre of movie do you identify with? A) Romance B) Action C) Sci-fi D) Comedy
Notes