The Gold Medal Edge: What the US Women’s Hockey Team Teaches us About Winning Teams

I’ve learned something after three decades of working with teams:

Most teams don’t fail because they don’t have goals.

They fail because they don’t have the edge.

And the edge is almost never tactics or strategy, it’s the strength of the team environment.

That’s why the US Women’s Ice Hockey Team is such a masterclass. Yes, they’re world-class athletes. But their secret weapon isn’t just talent, it’s culture.

It’s the way they fight for each other, hold the line together, and refuse to let one teammate skate alone.

Forward Taylor Heise said it in a way every team should steal: “This is an all of us mentality.”

Not “all of me.” Not “the stars and everyone else.” All. Of. Us.

Think about it.

Before you worry about the scoreboard, you build the room. Before you chase outcomes, you strengthen the bonds. And there’s one shift that changes everything, especially for leadership teams:

Stop being polite.

Start being honest.

Because here’s the thing… the US Women didn’t become gold-medal gritty by avoiding hard conversations.

They got powerful by telling the truth, early, often, and with love.

Politeness protects feelings. Honesty protects the mission.

And when you combine the love of a connected team with the honesty of a high-standard team, you get something rare.

Love is the fuel. Honesty is the engine.

This is your ultimate, practical guide to building that kind of culture using three Uncommon standards, anchored in the USA Women’s hockey journey:

1. Connection
2. Commitment
3. Caring

The Foundation: Locker Room First (Why Culture Beats Strategy)

I’ve walked into enough “winning on paper” teams to know the signs.

The meetings are clean.

The dashboards look great.

But the room feels… tight. Guarded. Careful.

That’s when I realized something: a team can be polite and still be broken.

The locker room is where teams either:

• tell the truth and get better, or
• avoid the truth and slowly drift apart

If you want the Gold Medal Edge, start inside the room, the office, your home, because that’s where trust lives.

Culture is built in conversations.

Uncommon Standard #1: Connection (From Polite to Powerful)

Connection is the choice to belong to each other.

And with the USA Women’s team, it’s not a cute slogan, it’s a competitive advantage.

Here’s what I love about their culture: they don’t stay “nice” to keep the peace.

They get real to protect the standard.

That “fight for each other” spirit shows up in radical honesty, calling out the lazy backcheck, the missed assignment, the energy dip… and doing it without making it personal.

Not polite.

Powerful.

On your team, Uncommon Connection looks like:

• telling the truth fast (before resentment grows legs)
• owning mistakes out loud (so the team can adjust)
• pulling people in instead of leaving them out

Try these two questions in your next huddle:

• “Where are we operating like me instead of us?”
• “What are we being polite about that’s costing us wins?”

Because when a team is connected, feedback becomes coaching, not criticism.

Connection makes teams resilient.

Uncommon Standard #2: Commitment (The Tuesday-Morning Standard)

Forward Hilary Knight said it plainly: “Gold is always the goal when we start this journey.”

Gold. That’s clarity.

But the USA Women don’t win gold on the day the anthem plays, they win it on Tuesday morning.

You know what I mean.

The grind workout when nobody’s watching.

The film session when it’d be easier to coast.

The rep where you choose detail over drama.

That’s Uncommon Commitment: standards you refuse to negotiate, especially when you’re tired, frustrated, or not getting your way.

Commitment is what you do when:

• energy is low
• the win feels far away
• you’re tempted to blame, withdraw, or coast

And this is where a slogan becomes real: positivity isn’t fake happiness, it’s a choice to bring energy and belief to the work.

It’s choosing the next right play.

It’s staying connected to purpose.

On your team, the “Tuesday morning” standard looks like:

• doing the hard thing without needing applause
• practicing the fundamentals (again)
• showing up with energy that lifts the room

Because the scoreboard doesn’t reward your intentions.

It rewards your habits.

Commitment builds champions.

Uncommon Standard #3: Caring (Fight for Each Other)

“Caring” is love with skates on.

Not the Hallmark version.

The competitive version.

This is the heart of the USA Women’s culture: they don’t just share a jersey, they share responsibility.

They fight for each other, on the forecheck, on the backcheck, on the bench, in the weight room, and in the hard conversations.

Caring shows up as:

• telling the truth quickly (so we get better)
• coaching instead of criticizing
• stepping in when someone is struggling (before they spiral)
• doing the unseen work (because the team matters)

And here’s the seamless bridge to your world:

Your team doesn’t need a rink to live this.

You just need people who decide, “I’ve got you,” and then prove it in how they communicate, how they prepare, and how they respond under pressure.

Because love is the fuel.

But love without honesty turns into avoidance.

And honesty without love turns into damage.

You need both.

Caring makes honesty safe.

Love Is the Fuel. Honesty Is the Engine. (How Great Teams Talk)

If you want one “operating system” for your team, make it this:

• Love says: “I’m with you.”
• Honesty says: “So I won’t let you stay here.”

That combo creates psychological safety and performance.

It turns feedback into coaching.

It turns conflict into clarity.

It turns meetings into momentum.

Honest teams move faster.

Leader’s Checklist: Build the Gold Medal Edge (Do This This Week)

Use this as a practical playbook, pick 3 and run them for the next 7 days:

Connection

• Start every meeting with a quick win and a quick appreciation (name a teammate).
• Ask: “Where are we siloed right now, and what’s one cross-team fix?”
• Identify one person carrying too much; redistribute one responsibility.

Commitment

• Define your “gold” in one sentence (the standard, not just the metric).
• Choose one behavior you’ll no longer tolerate (and say it out loud).
• Replace one “it’s fine” with one honest, caring conversation.

Caring

• Do one 10-minute 1:1 focused on support: “What do you need from me?”
• Celebrate effort and improvement, not just outcomes.
• Make it safe to own mistakes by owning one first.

And one bonus question that keeps the locker room strong:

• “What truth are we avoiding that would help us win?”

Small agreements create big culture.

The Call to Action

If you want your team to live this—not as a one-time boost, but as a culture—this is exactly what we do at Next Level Us. Through workshops, keynotes, and coaching grounded in Jon Gordon’s proven principles, we help leaders build connected teams that communicate honestly and commit uncommon.

If you’re ready to build the locker room that builds the results, let’s talk.

Because gold is the outcome.

But the edge is the room.