Let's Talk About Team Culture

If you’re reading this, chances are, you’re a member of a team. Read on for a blog post about team culture, and how fueling fits into the bigger picture.

Maybe your days as a high school or collegiate athlete are long-gone. You might not meet up for daily practices, wear matching uniforms, or travel to competitions on a stuffy school bus. Maybe your team is a community running group, or a group fitness class at your local YMCA. Maybe it’s the circle of running accounts you interact with on Instagram. Maybe your team doesn’t focus on sports- it could be your co-workers, neighbors, or best friends.

No matter what “team” means to you, it’s defined by a collective set of goals and values known as team culture. 

What IS Team Culture?

Team culture sets the standard for what’s acceptable and what’s not. Does your team focus on fun, or a win-at-all-costs mindset? Does it encourage healthy competition or harmful comparison? At its best, team culture can perpetuate positive vibes. At its worst, it can breed harmful behaviors. 

Whether your team culture is inspiring or draining, there’s good news. Team culture is built by everyone on the team. This means you’re in the driver’s seat. 

I promise, this blog is about nutrition.

But it’s important to recognize how fueling fits into the bigger picture.

Keep reading to learn how each of us can change our team culture through the fueling choices we make, the language we use, and the bodies we promote. When we’re mindful of our impact on team culture, we can promote positive behaviors and keep the good vibes flowing. Who knows- these good vibes might flow beyond your team and change the culture of the entire sport.

The Foods We Choose

Let’s just tell it straight…engaging in constant diet-talk isn’t helpful or interesting. Turning your team’s weekend long run into a 2-hour discussion of intermittent fasting is a snooze-fest. Using language that promotes restrictive diets or demonizes certain foods can be harmful to those struggling with disordered eating. 

Ever heard the phrase “actions speak louder than words”? This applies to team culture. It’s no secret that your personal fueling choices influence your own health and performance. Grabbing a snack before practice will help you power through that tempo run, while skimping on fuel will leave you feeling sluggish. But when you’re part of a team, these behaviors can also influence others. 

Think about foam rolling- something we all love to hate. When one teammate finishes the run with a foam-rolling session, it sends a message that foam rolling is a valuable habit. As a result, other teammates are likely to join in. This pattern also applies to fueling. When one teammate skips the spaghetti at team dinner, it sends a message that carbohydrates are harmful. When someone fills their plate with nourishing portions of all food groups, it promotes the importance of all nutrients. Modeling a positive, balanced relationship with food can improve the health and performance of everyone on the team. 

The Language We Use

Raise your hand if you’re guilty of speaking about yourself in a negative way. You’re not alone- this behavior is so common that we often fail to recognize it. How many times have you overheard a self-loathing statement at team dinner or in the locker room? “My thighs look HUGE in these shorts.” “I was SO bad this weekend- I ate pizza AND ice cream.” “Better run a few extra miles to burn off last night’s cookies.” It’s normal to have insecurities, but speaking them into existence can have a damaging effect on team culture. Our language matters, and these statements can be contagious. They can spread negative perceptions about food and bodies. “If SHE’S insecure about her thighs, what does that mean about mine?” “I have pizza and cookies all the time…is this something I should feel bad about too?” 

The weight of our words doesn’t stop there. It can also reflect the well-meaning words we direct at others. Complimenting weight loss tends to be the biggest culprit. Weight loss can occur for a number of different reasons. Sometimes, it’s the result of mindful meals, consistent hydration, and a solid training block. Other times, it’s an outcome of restrictive dieting, skipping meals, and overtraining. It can even be an unwanted side effect of certain medical conditions. The point is, complimenting someone’s weight loss might not be the well-meaning compliment you intend. It’s important to remember that not all weight loss is intentional, and it doesn’t always correlate with better health and performance. Not everyone needs to lose weight! Praising weight loss can reinforce dangerous behaviors or create an uncomfortable situation. 

I shouldn’t have to say this, but it’s also best to avoid commenting on someone’s weight gain. You don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, and just like weight loss isn’t universally good, weight gain isn’t universally bad. In fact, let’s stop the body-focused comments altogether. Sure, your teammate’s legs looked long and lean legs on the track this morning. But those legs carried her through a strong workout, so a performance-based compliment might be more meaningful. Or, give a compliment that’s unrelated to sports. Maybe her hilarious stories help pass the time on marathon training runs. Maybe you appreciate her light-hearted humor between reps on the track. Tell her! These observations mean more than any physical compliment.

The Bodies We Promote

Bodies come in a diverse range of shapes, sizes, and skin tones. This is normal and natural. Some people run best at a higher weight than others. Some people distribute their muscle and fat in different places. As a white cis-gender woman in a thin body, I benefit from an enormous amount of privilege in the running sphere. When I show up on a starting line, I tend to blend right in. Is this because thin, white bodies are better for running? Or is this a result of a harmful culture that perpetuates discrimination in the sport of running? I’m leaning toward the later. When we place a central focus on thin, white bodies, it sends the message that other bodies are not welcome in the sport. 

Underrepresentation of diverse bodies is a defining factor of our sport’s team culture. It’s time to own up and change it. It’s going to require a lot of mindful work to unlearn our biased thoughts and actions, and I’m not claiming to have all the answers.  But we can start by centering stories about runners whose bodies are underrepresented in traditional media. We can ditch the traditional definition of a “runner’s body” (more on that here) in favor of an inclusive, 

Remember … Team Culture Is In Your Hands

If your team has a positive culture, keep it up! Discover the behaviors that fuel your team for success, and spread them beyond your small social circle. If your team culture has some work to do, start right now. Be a positive role model with your fueling choices. Use language that builds your teammates up instead of tearing them down. Use your voice to center athletes in underrepresented bodies. These small changes can make a world of difference.