Team Consulting & Culture Building | Transforming Teams

My team consulting approach is built on The Culture System by JP Nerbun, a practical, step-by-step framework designed to help leaders intentionally build, support, and sustain world-class team cultures. This systematic approach breaks culture development into four core components:

1. Transformational Leadership (Start with the Leader) Before we can shape team culture, we must clarify coaching philosophy, values, and behaviors. We work with coaches to define their purpose through mission, vision, and values, creating a Leadership Operating System that ensures actions consistently reflect beliefs. Effective team culture cannot exist unless leaders embody the desired standards and mindset.

2. Establishing Culture (Relationships and Standards) Once leadership frameworks are set, we establish culture by building strong relationships among team members while clearly defining, communicating, and modeling team standards. We create systematic onboarding processes that connect new members to core philosophy and expectations. Teams thrive when both relationships and standards are high—people feel valued and accountable.

3. Supporting the Culture (Nurture and Develop) Culture requires ongoing support through mentorship, developmental feedback, and open communication. We encourage peer accountability and continuous learning while reinforcing standards and relationships through intentional team-building and recognition. This means focusing on effort, resilience, and valued behaviors, especially during challenging times.

4. Enforcing the Culture (Shared Accountability and Consequences) True culture includes consequences—not as punishment, but as accountability. We address lapses in standards promptly and relationally, using clear, fair consequences that align with previously defined values and purpose. We empower team members to hold each other accountable, creating robust, self-sustaining environments.

Throughout this process, we maintain that high standards must be matched by strong relationships. Culture is systematic but adaptable—like gardening, not engineering. We prepare, plant, and regularly adjust for the shifting needs of each unique team.

Hazing and Toxic Traditions We work with teams to identify and eliminate harmful practices while building positive traditions that truly unite rather than divide. Our crisis intervention approach can be implemented quickly when hazing incidents are identified, helping teams rebuild trust and psychological safety.

Internal Conflict Over Playing Time We help teams understand the difference between healthy competition and destructive comparison. Athletes learn to train to compete while supporting teammates, recognizing that individual excellence and team success are interconnected rather than competing priorities.

Cliques and Division Through targeted exercises and ongoing culture work, we break down divisive subgroups and help team members see each other as whole people rather than just roles or positions. We create opportunities for authentic connection across traditional team hierarchies.

Prioritizing Personal Gain Over Team We address the cultural shift from "me" to "we" through shared purpose development and accountability systems that reward team-first behaviors. Athletes learn that their individual success is enhanced, not diminished, by team commitment.

Our trauma-informed approach frames challenges through the lens of "what have they been through" rather than "what is wrong with them," building understanding and compassion while addressing problematic behaviors effectively.

The transformation possible through systematic culture work is profound and measurable. One team came to us after their two best players were hazing younger athletes, creating an environment where nobody trusted each other and everyone played for individual statistics rather than team success.

After our intervention, the same team members gave dramatically different feedback: "This is the best we've played in my four years on the team" and "This is the closest this team has felt since I've been here." The shift from individual focus to collective commitment was visible not just in their relationships but in their competitive performance.

As the ongoing team consultant for an NCAA women's cross country team, I've witnessed how sustained culture work creates lasting impact. The athletes routinely share that being on a team that prioritizes culture, mental health, and connection has created one of the best places to run and compete in all of NCAA. The team shows up for each other consistently, demonstrating that when culture becomes embedded rather than episodic, it transforms the entire athletic experience.

What makes these transformations possible is the systematic nature of culture change combined with the willingness to address both relationships and standards simultaneously. Teams discover that accountability and care are not opposites—they're essential partners in creating environments where everyone can thrive.

When teams embrace the "be the first" mentality—taking initiative to positively impact culture rather than waiting for someone else to lead—they create self-sustaining systems of excellence that outlast any individual season or roster.

Recognizing that coaches are the primary architects of team culture, we offer specialized programming for coaches that addresses the unique challenges of leadership in athletic environments. This includes training in motivational interviewing, understanding different levels of discipline (logical consequences, natural consequences, restorative consequences), and developing the skills to make difficult decisions about team membership when necessary.

Coaches learn to create systems where consequences repair harm to the community rather than simply punishing behavior. This approach builds stronger teams while teaching life skills that extend far beyond athletics.