Who Are We - Who Are We Becoming? - By Rick Williams

Follow Rick Williams on LinkedIn

Who Are We – Who Are We Becoming?

CBS’s 60 Minutes profiled Sean McVay, head coach of the Los Angeles Rams. McVay’s concept of success and his performance as the leader and coach of the Rams is profoundly different than how most leaders talk about success.

I skipper and race my J 130 sailboat CHARIAD from Marblehead, Massachusetts. We have won many New England regattas and raced from Newport to Bermuda this year.

I am the skipper and coach of our eight to ten person crew. We are your classic all volunteer, “weekend warriors” who train and work hard to be competitive – often against professional sailing teams.

McVay’s comments strongly resonated with me and my experience building and maintaining a competitive team.

McVay said that after every practice and game day he challenges himself and the team by asking, “Who are we becoming in the midst of this journey?”

He is not asking, “Will we win the Super Bowl?”

McVay is asking, “Who Are We – Who Are We Becoming?”

Who are we as a team? Who are we becoming as a team?

Are we training as a team?

Are we learning as a team?

Are we playing as a team?

After every sailboat race, we come together for a crew debrief. What went right? What went wrong? How can we do better next time?

Like McVay, my role as a leader and coach is to strengthen our performance as a team rather than focus on winning the next trophy. I judge our performance and my performance by McVay’s question – “Who Are We – Who Are We Becoming?”

Do we:

Communicate as a team

Learn from each other

Help each other succeed

Challenge each other to do better

Race and win as a team

To be successful in your job as the leader of your company, department, agency, or team, challenge yourself and your team with McVay’s question. “Who are we becoming in the midst of this journey?”

1st Place Trophy – Last Race of Sailing Season

We have been battered by a powerful Nor’easter storm along the northeast US coast for the last four days. My sailboat CHARIAD is on a mooring in Marblehead Harbor, Massachusetts. Anxiety and fear shadowed me since the middle of last week.

The previous weekend, we raced in our last major regatta of the 2026 season. We won Eastern Yacht Club’s Chandler Hovey Trophy for winning Class A. Winning the regatta was a super accomplishment for CHARIAD’s racing team and a great way to finish the racing season. Yes, we debriefed for at least a half hour after the race to capture what we learned and to help us perform even better next season.

View Rick Williams’ Latest Blog Posts

Return to Blog Listing