This article by Bruce E. Brown describes a team that chose gratitude as one of its core covenants during a leadership retreat. It explains what core covenants are, why gratitude is a powerful team value that shifts focus from the individual to others and the team, and how selecting values must be followed by committed actions and behaviors. It closes with coach feedback on the Captains and Coaches Workshop.
Introduction
We have been fortunate to work with a program for the last 3 years and recently we hosted two coaches and their team leaders at a Camano Island Retreat. One of their goals was to develop the core covenants for this season. Core Covenants – a binding agreement where you can witness the difference – a pact and pledge to each other to commit with actions to their team values. Covenants are the behaviors we commit to do all the time and are willing to hold each other accountable to. The team was coming off two straight state championships and had experienced the power of having clear and consistent team standards. (Proactive Coaching booklet – First Steps to Successful Teams, Core Covenants and book, Proactive Leadership, Empowering Team Leaders)