What NCAA Coaching Teaches Us About Building Elite Business Teams
By Vilis Ozols, MBA | Leadership Speaker & Former NCAA Coach
What do a national championship volleyball team and a high-performing corporate team have in common?
More than you might think.
As a former NCAA coach, professional athlete, and corporate consultant, I’ve spent my career studying what makes teams thrive—on the court and in the conference room. And here’s the truth: the same strategies that build champions in athletics are the ones that elevate performance in business. The environments may differ, but the principles of team synergy, accountability, and motivation are universal.
Let’s break down what the world of competitive athletics can teach your organization about building elite business teams.
1. Culture Is Everything—In Sports and in Business
In athletics, culture is non-negotiable. It’s not a buzzword—it’s the invisible force that drives behavior, mindset, and results. Coaches understand that the wrong culture will sabotage even the most talented roster. I’ve coached teams with great culture—and teams with toxic ones. Your results always match your culture.
In business, the same is true. A high-performing sales team or cross-functional group will only succeed if the culture aligns with the mission. Culture affects:
- How your people handle adversity
- Whether they collaborate or compete destructively
- Whether they speak up—or stay silent
One of the first steps I take with corporate clients (from United Airlines to Miller Brewing) is evaluating their team culture scorecard. What are the unwritten rules? Who sets the tone? Is psychological safety present?
👉 Athletic Lesson Applied: Like a team huddle before every practice or match, leaders must set the emotional tone and values early—and reinforce them daily.
2. Understand the Stages of Team Development
Whether it’s a college volleyball team or a new corporate project team, every group moves through predictable stages:
- Forming – Everyone’s polite and positive.
- Storming – Conflict arises as personalities and expectations collide.
- Norming – The team begins to gel.
- Performing – They hit peak productivity and flow.
Too often, businesses expect teams to jump to performing without investing in the groundwork. NCAA coaches don’t. They build routines, roles, and rituals that move teams through these phases faster—and stronger.
👉 Athletic Lesson Applied: Don’t fear the “storming” phase. Embrace it, coach through it, and use it to build the foundation for long-term success.
3. Feedback, Motivation, and Accountability Are Skills—Not Guesswork
Great coaches don’t yell—they teach. They know how to deliver real-time feedback that inspires and improves performance.
In business? Feedback often gets avoided—or worse, delivered in a way that shuts people down. Motivation becomes reactive instead of proactive.
Here’s the coaching playbook I’ve used in both worlds:
- Immediate feedback beats annual reviews
- Specific praise creates repeatable behavior
- Public accountability builds private discipline
At Marvin Windows and Doors, I worked with a division struggling with silos and sluggish collaboration. We introduced team-based recognition, weekly alignment huddles, and consistent feedback loops. Within six months, engagement scores rose by over 40%.
👉 Athletic Lesson Applied: Build systems of feedback and recognition—don’t leave motivation to chance.
4. From Velcro to Disney: Real-World Team Wins
I’ve seen firsthand how organizations of all types apply these high-performance principles:
- At Velcro, we used sports-based models to help teams break out of “silo syndrome” and embrace interdependence.
- At Disney, I coached creativity leaders on how to build team rituals that reinforce their legendary brand values.
- At the Department of Veterans Affairs, we developed leadership sprints based on Olympic-level coaching frameworks.
The result? Teams with tighter cohesion, faster decision-making, and a stronger belief in what’s possible.
5. The 3-Step Playbook for High-Performance Business Teams
Here’s a simple, actionable framework you can implement this quarter:
✅ Step 1: Establish Your Cultural Anchors
Define your team’s “locker room rules.” What behaviors will you reward—or reject? Make them visible. Revisit them weekly.
✅ Step 2: Implement the Feedback Triangle
Train managers to deliver:
- Real-time micro-feedback
- Weekly recognition
- Monthly developmental coaching
✅ Step 3: Ritualize Success
Create team rituals—just like a pre-game chant or halftime huddle. Examples include Friday win shout-outs, “Coach of the Week” peer awards, or Monday purpose resets.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need a whistle or a clipboard to think like a coach. You need a system, a belief in your team’s potential, and the courage to demand excellence.
Whether you’re leading a department or managing frontline staff, these high-performance principles from NCAA coaching can transform your results—and your people.
Because at the end of the day, the only goal you can’t accomplish is the one you don’t go after.
Interested in building a championship team inside your company?
Let’s talk. I’d love to bring this mindset—and this playbook—to your next leadership retreat, team offsite, or company event.
📧 vilis@ozols.com | 🌐 www.ozols.com