The Words That Build Champions

Drew Maddux inherited a losing program.

Christ Presbyterian Academy's basketball team wasn't accustomed to winning. More importantly, the kids didn't believe they were even capable of winning. They'd been losing for so long that losing felt like their identity.

When I interviewed Coach Maddux on my podcast in 2021, I asked him how he'd changed that - how he'd taken a program full of kids who didn't believe in themselves and turned them into multiple state champions.

His answer was simpler than I expected.

"I spoke to every kid in the program as if they were already champions."

Not someday.

Not if they worked hard enough. Not once they proved themselves.

Already.

He encouraged them. He reminded them they could win. And he held them to a championship-level standard for the culture he was building, even when they had zero championships to show for it.

The kids lacked confidence, so Maddux took every opportunity to speak it to them. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month.

Eventually, the players started to believe him.

As their belief grew, their behavior changed. They rose to the standard Maddux was calling them to live.

That losing program became one of Tennessee high schools' best ever. It didn't happen overnight, but it happened over time because their leader made an intentional decision to speak life into those he was there to serve.

The Words We Choose

I've aligned with Coach Maddux's lesson for years (Chief Encouragement Officer, right?) but since we talked, have tried to be more intentional bringing into every leadership conversation since. Your ability to lead starts with your choice to speak confidence into those you live, work, and commune alongside.

Maybe you chose the people on your team. Or perhaps, like Maddux, you inherited them when you stepped into this role. Either way, set aside any preconceived notions of what someone is or isn't capable of. Don't allow past performance or a current lack of confidence to influence how you invest in them.

Give them a clean slate. Allow them the opportunity to become their best.

How you speak to them will determine how they respond.

You get to decide whether you'll reinforce people's lack of confidence by reminding them of past failings or if you'll call them toward their potential.

Some of the people you lead may have never had someone tell them they're capable of more. Their belief in themselves is small because no one ever cared enough or knew enough to speak something better into them.

When we see ourselves as capable of more, we start to behave as more.

What if your words become the catalyst that changes how people see themselves?

Catching People Doing Good

I learned this lesson the hard way with my dog, Pop-Tart.

For months, I only caught him being bad. Barking at neighbors. Destroying furniture. Making messes. I'd film him misbehavior out of pure frustration, building a highlight reel of everything he did wrong.

Then I realized: I wasn't doing the same effort to reinforce what he was doing well.

How many times as leaders do we focus primarily when our team members upset or frustrate us? We set up meetings when someone's struggling or have "the talk" when their numbers are down. We put tremendous effort into addressing problems and almost none into catching them doing good work.

One of the easiest ways to improve your leadership influence is to inspire confidence in others by speaking life into them:

Acknowledge something specific your coworker does really well. Not a generic "good job" - tell them exactly what you noticed and why it matters.

Praise your team member's hard work, even if they aren't getting the results they desire just yet. Outcomes matter, but we can't always control outcomes. We can control effort. Reward the effort that, when repeated, is most likely to lead to the outcomes you desire.

Encourage someone about their potential to succeed. Tell them what you see in them that they may not yet see in themselves.

Words have the power to break hearts or raise spirits. As a leader, how you use your words each day is crucial.

We live in a culture that emphasizes and praises outcomes.

It would be foolish to say outcomes don't matter. It matters who wins the game. It matters who signs the client. Outcomes matter.

But knowing we don't fully control outcomes, how much would those we lead benefit if we became better at praising the process?

That takes courage.

Courage to praise the rep who showed up prepared to every call this week, even if they haven't closed yet.

Courage to recognize the team member who helped a struggling colleague without being asked, even though it didn't directly impact the numbers.

Courage to call out the person who maintained a great attitude during a brutal stretch, even when the results aren't there yet.

These are the behaviors within their control. These are the things tied to your values. These build the culture that produces sustainable results.

The Culture You're Building

Coach Maddux didn't wait for his team to win a championship before treating them like champions.

He spoke to them as champions when they were losing. He held them to a championship standard when they had zero trophies to show for it. He praised the behaviors that would create champions—long before anyone else believed it was possible.

The result? They became exactly what he'd been calling them to be all along.

Your team is watching. They're listening. They're learning who they are based on what you tell them.

Are you speaking to them as they are today? Or are you calling them toward who they're capable of becoming?

Are you only praising outcomes? Or are you catching them doing good in the process?

Are you waiting for results to celebrate? Or are you speaking life into the behaviors that will create those results?

Write down a list of the "good" you want to catch your team doing.

Create time each week to praise someone on the team for living out a value or making a positive choice in their work.

Make it specific. Make it timely. Make it public.

Because rewarded behavior is repeated behavior.

And the words you speak today are building the culture - and the Competitors - of tomorrow.

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Jake Thompson is a keynote speaker on competitive mindset who works with sales-led organizations, construction teams, and associations to build high-performance cultures that compete every day through the C.O.M.P.E.T.E. Framework®, inspiring keynote programs, and practical systems that turn inconsistent results into sustained excellence.