What the Pittsburgh Steelers Can Teach Us About Culture and Winning

Last year around this time, the Pittsburgh Steelers had about a .500 record. Failing to make the playoffs, the season wasn’t the success the team and city hoped it might be. They worked just as hard, had a similar team, Mike Tomlin was coaching both years, but something was different.

In an interview with Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, he said there was something different about the team this year: they were having fun.

Perhaps timed well with the explosive popularity of TikTok, the players on the team have taken to short dances that are getting the attention of more than just their opponents- they’re creating a whole new level of fame, too. (don’t believe me? Check this, this, or this)

Roethlisberger on his team having a little more fun than in past years: “Even in practice when someone scores a touchdown, they celebrate with each other and just have fun. It just shows how much they care for each other. I think that goes a long way on the field because it shows you’ll put in that extra effort for each other.”

And you can see it. On the field the team is smiling- all the time. They aren’t celebrating in the same gladiator-like fashion other teams and players are: they’re having fun and cheering on each other. They’re enjoying the game and their teammates. It is bigger than the fundamentals; it’s the culture.

Worth mentioning, at the time of writing this article, the Steelers are an incredible 11-1. Are they that much better at playing the sport?

JJ Watt, a coach-like figure and all-star Defensive End on the Texans had a slightly different perspective. “I don’t think you should ever show up to work happy and excited and joyous when you’re 2-7. I don’t think that is acceptable for anyone.” He went on to say, “The only way to get better at football is to practice football.”

Look, the only way to get better at football might be to play football, but in a professional league like the NFL, you have to be better than good at the sport; you have to be a good team, too.

A group of highly-skilled professionals, especially in the corporate world, are only as strong as their ability to work and communicate with each other. Perhaps if JJ and the Texans took a Steeler-like approach, their poor record would look a little different.

Here is what we need to know: times right now are beyond difficult. Working from home is testing us and having fun at work may seem like something we read about in the book we’re reading to our kids in between meetings with our new asynchronous schedule. But if we don’t create time to have a little fun with our team and focus on building a sense of trust similar to the undefeated Steelers, we’ll never realize our full potential as a group or enjoy it as much as we could.

One final thing to consider: fun for your team doesn’t have to look like fun for another team. We don’t have to have dance-offs on TikTok to have ‘fun’ as the Steelers do, but we do have to do something that puts a smile on our face. Be it a cooking competition or step challenge; trivia night or cute pet competition, there is something that can bring the team together and get everyone laughing and breaking up the workday.

Questions to ponder: