Winning Environment

Olivia Rae

It feels good to receive a gift but it also feels great to give someone a gift. This is how I’ve come to think about individual contributions to team environments. 

The importance of giving and receiving in equal measure. Having the awareness to know that you’re achieving close to a balance of the two I believe is a key element in a thriving team environment.

When you go to a training session or a game day, it’s important to look to make the most of it. It feels good to learn, to take away something for you (like taking home a gift that you’ve received). Yet, how good does it feel to know we’ve made someone else feel good and added value to them or the team? (It feels good to give someone a gift).

So when we train, let’s look to receive (learn, ask questions, practice) but also let’s look to give too. Go out of our way to support a teammate, the coach, and look to see where you can help. Then it becomes a great balance of thinking about what you need to grow but also how you can give back to the team and put positive energy into the environment.