Strong Roots
One question I get a lot is whether I miss coaching basketball.
And the truth is, my answer always surprises people.
What I miss most about coaching isn't just the games.
It’s the experience of doing hard things with people.
There is something powerful about pursuing something difficult alongside others.
When you do hard things together, pieces of you become part of them.
And pieces of them become part of you.
It becomes part of the fabric.
This week I heard Joe Mazzulla, head coach of the Boston Celtics, say something that captured this perfectly:
“At the end of the day, if you have a bunch of wins but you don’t have the relationship with the guys, it’s pretty empty.
You’re in it to go after stuff together with people.”
That’s the real gift of teams.
Not just what you accomplish.
But who you grow with along the way.
Looking back, the teams that meant the most to me weren’t defined by what we won — they were defined by what we went through together.
Because when people pursue something meaningful together — especially when it’s hard — something deeper begins to take root.
And the truth is…
Roots don’t grow strongest in perfect conditions.
The best teams I’ve ever been part of weren’t defined by comfort.
They were defined by what we were willing to go through together.
🎥 3:20 Watch — “Make Culture Your Edge”
(From the Basketball Immersion Podcast with Bret Burchard)
💭 Why It Matters
The clip highlights a fascinating discovery from the experiment known as Biosphere 2. Scientists created a perfectly controlled ecosystem where trees grew quickly and tall.
But eventually the trees began to fall.
What researchers discovered was simple but profound: the trees had never experienced wind. Without wind pushing against them, their roots never developed the strength needed to support them.
Wind stress is what strengthens roots.
The same dynamic shows up in teams and organizations.
Culture is built through tension points.
The moments when confusion forces clarity.
When resistance tests standards.
When conflict challenges trust.
Adversity builds resilience.
But resilience alone isn’t what allows cultures to endure.
Connection does.
Former Oklahoma women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale writes about the redwood forests of California in her book Rooted to Rise.
Redwood trees can grow hundreds of feet tall despite having relatively shallow roots.
Instead of growing deep, their roots grow outward — wrapping around the roots of the trees beside them.
Underground, they form a network.
They hold each other up.
So when the wind howls and the earth shifts, redwoods stand.
Not because they are strong alone.
But because they are connected.
As Coale writes:
“People aren’t much different. We don’t become who we are on our own… It’s the intersection of our lives that shapes who we become.”
Teams work the same way.
Wind strengthens roots.
Roots intertwine.
And the most important work of culture happens underground — in the relationships, trust, and shared experiences that hold people steady when pressure arrives.
📌 Quote of the Week
“A tree with strong roots laughs at storms.”
— Malay Proverb
💬 Reflective Questions
Where has the “wind” shown up in your team recently?
And how might those moments be strengthening the roots beneath the surface?
✍️ Closing
Thanks for dropping in.
When the wind comes, the strength that holds us steady is found in the roots we’ve grown together.
📅 Ready to lead from the inside out? Let’s connect.
See. Serve. Empower.
— Angel