Building Culture as a Player
While coaches establish the framework, players ultimately bring a team’s culture to life. According to Dunn, she felt that she was able to positively impact the team when she felt cared for as both a person and a player.
“The environments where I felt most successful, most like myself, free to express who I was... there was always clarity around what the expectations are for the total group, but also the individuals that make up the group,” Dunn said. “The healthiest environments I was a part of allowed me to impact the environment as a leader and as a top player on the field.”
The attitude and performance of players like Dunn impact the entire team. Younger and newer players look to team leaders to understand what is expected of them, making the players themselves key drivers inshaping the culture.
Parlow Cone, who joined the USWNT as a teenager in the mid-1990s, experienced that firsthand. From Mia Hamm treating her as an equal during her first camp to Julie Foudy and Carla Overbeck sprinting to bring in the goals during her first training session, Parlow Cone said she learned lessons from her teammates that she still carries with her today.
Those legendary players showed her not only how to lead but also the grit and resilience required to sustain a career at the highest level. The physical, mental and emotional commitment is part of the foundation of the team’s culture.
Dunn’s 12-year USWNT career similarly taught her that the environment is not for everyone. For those who want to thrive in it, she believes that self-awareness is essential. Her own experience of adversity, including being left off the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup roster, forced her to work harder, learn a new position and grow through discomfort.
“To be challenged is to learn and to grow," Dunn said. “That is something I learned in a very hard moment in my career. But looking back, it was exactly what I needed in order to become the player that I ended up being.”
Building Culture as an Executive
With an extensive career as both a player and a coach, Parlow Cone knew what kind of culture she wanted to create when she became President of the Federation in 2020. She said her main priority is supporting everyone else so that they can do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
“Emma doesn't need me to pick her roster or tell her who to start,” Parlow Cone said. “Crystal doesn’t need me to tell her how to play left back. My role is trying to clear the path ahead of them, so they have the runway to go and achieve great things. This could be putting together strategies and how to finance those strategies, but also it's real-time, immediate solving and tackling.”
Her experience at the highest level also taught Parlow Cone how to be a teammate – a lesson she now applies to leading a Federation made up of numerous member organizations. She said that means leading with curiosity to understand what others are trying to accomplish, while also having the patience to allow those goals to develop.
Ultimately, U.S. Soccer’s mission is to grow the game as a whole. But for Parlow Cone, growing the women’s game means ensuring that growth is informed by the women and girls who experience it.
“I feel, as President and as a former coach and player, that we have a responsibility to grow this game, not only here domestically but internationally as well,” Parlow Cone said. “And when I say grow it, I don't just mean more, but how do we help everyone create more developmentally appropriate, fun, engaging environments for the female player across the landscape, regardless of the level.”
