Team Work
May 17th, 2018
Teamwork. Here’s a word we use a lot, often without really thinking about what it means. It’s like communication, cooperation and trust. We were all conditioned to use these words from an early age. Those were words the adults in our world liked to hear. They represented the values and principles they taught us. As we get older we continue to use the terms but can lose sight of the meaning. If we were to ask a group of players, “What is it going to take to get us to play better?” within seconds someone would say “Teamwork!” They might be right, but would any of us really know, specifically, what it would take? At some level we know what communication, cooperation, trust and teamwork mean but we seldom really think about what’s involved in communicating, cooperating, being trustworthy, trusting another or being a part of a team.
To meet our program goals we need to work on the human relations skills as well as the technical skills. We have to grow from a group into a team. This work becomes more time critical as the players get older. When the current junior class were freshman they played as well together as any group that came into the Voorhees program in recent years. They were tight as a group both on and off the court – as you can see in the picture below, taken at the tri-county championship game in 2016!
Things change as they get older. There is competition for Varsity positions and minutes. Personal recognition becomes more important. Players are more aware of playing time - theirs and their teammate’s. Issues arise that are difficult to discuss. The pressure to score and win mounts. What was once a close knit group can become split and fractured. For some (not all) it’s no longer about the team it’s about me, the player. If it’s not acknowledged and addressed a game that was once fun is no longer fun – it becomes more of an obligation.
Team players are Humble, Hungry and Smart
Lencioni, The Ideal Team Player
Humble players are confident but lack excessive ego. They are quick to point out the contributions of others, put team ahead of personal achievements and have little concern about status.
Hungry players are always looking for more – learning more, taking on more responsibility, going above and beyond for the benefit of the team.
Smart is not about intellectual ability. It is about being socially smart - knowing how to deal with others in the most effective way – with good intentions.
Teamwork can be defined as the combined efforts and actions of a group of people that leads to the achievement of a common purpose or goal.
In my experience (in both work and athletics) we often work in groups but rarely work in teams. Yet we use the teamwork term often. Have you ever worked with a real team on the job, or on the court – one free of petty jealousy, personal agendas and gossip? Have you ever watched a basketball “team” that was, in reality, a group of players, wearing the same colors, running around the court – each with a separate, personal agenda? It can be hard to watch and, for a player it can be disappointing.
The work in teamwork is just that - it is work. It is about sustained commitment – to your own improvement and to your teammate’s success. It doesn’t come easy. If it was easy there wouldn’t be 100,000 “experts” offering their guru services to help people figure it out. If it was easy we wouldn’t be subjected to all the special acronyms, theories, and exercises designed to take a group of misfit toys and turn them into a dynamic, high functioning team. But teamwork is easier to write and talk about than it is to achieve.
I’m no expert on the subject but I do know this – once you have experienced working with a true team you know that it is the best way to work (or play). Once you’ve experienced it you will want to do it again. I was fortunate to play on a true team in high school (not as fortunate in college). Both experiences influenced me in ways I did not fully understand until much later. It influenced my choice of study in college, it influenced my career path, and it influenced my desire to give back in some way, to extend the legacy of those who so willingly gave to me. Without being aware of it I spent years trying to re-create the team experience and the feeling of connection that comes with it. I got lucky a second time working for many years with a true team in a work environment. We got to see it happen for the Lady Vikes as they made three straight trips to the state sectional finals – winning the tri-county, conference and state championship in 2016. In my case, and in the case of our other coaches, Sean and Dan, we hope to see others experience it as well. It’s one of the motivations for running the One Voice program.
Before that can happen we have to put actions to the words. We have to do more than say we need teamwork. We have to do the work. In The Wisdom of Teams, Katzenbach and Smith define true teams as those who –
Ø Have complementary skills
Ø Are bound together by a clear and compelling common purpose
Ø Establish a common set of performance goals
Ø Agree on a working approach to meeting their goals
Ø Hold each other mutually accountable for their performance
To become a team you have to score well on all five of the criteria above but where it all typically falls apart is either COMMON PURPOSE or ACCOUNTABILITY. Complementary skills, specific goals, agreed approach are all doable. Agreeing on a Common Purpose and Accountability to that purpose is hard and the most challenging.
Common Purpose – Why do you do this? What do we want from our efforts? What do I contribute to the experience of others?
Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, talks about having a deep understanding of our purpose, or why we are drawn to certain activities, careers or pursuits. Typically we are drawn to these activities because there is something about the activity that relates to who we are at our core – to the things most important to us and to the person we aspire to be. In the case of a group of basketball players there is something about basketball that resonates with a player. For a group of players to become a team there has to be some commonality, or alignment of those personal purposes. When that happens players tend to want the same things from their team experience and strive to create that experience. When a team discovers it they agree to put aside personal desires – understanding that if the team succeeds individuals succeed too.
Those who are driven by a different purpose can contribute to team disharmony and subtly, maybe unintentionally, sabotage team chemistry – what one is looking to get from participating on a team is in conflict with what another is looking for. It won’t work. If even one group member’s purpose is not in alignment – high performance will be difficult. For example, if most of the players play because of their desire to learn new and advanced skills, to connect with others and be a part of something larger than themselves, but one player is only concerned with staying in shape until the spring sports start and another player is driven by the desire to play basketball in college it will be difficult to find a common purpose without conflict – because they are motivated by different things. Failing to look for this disconnect may lead us to miss the reason for team dysfunction or struggles.
Accountability
“The best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, but the worst thing you can do is nothing”
Teddy Roosevelt
“Team accountability is about the sincere promises we make to ourselves and others, promises that underpin two critical aspects of teams: commitment and trust. By promising to hold ourselves accountable to the team’s goals, we each earn the right to express our own views about aspects of the team’s effort and to have our views receive a fair and constructive hearing.”
Katzenbach and Smith
Accountability involves discipline and the ability to work through conflict. This is especially difficult for high school kids because so much of their self-confidence is tied up in their peer relations. It’s not just kids who struggle with the skills or desire to deal with conflict constructively, many adults struggle with this as well. For high school kids to move from a group of players to a team they need to commit to the common purpose that drives them and ties them together. And then they also need to hold each other accountable to their commitment. To hold each other accountable the group has to be willing (and able) to deal with conflict so, when someone fails to live up to their commitment to the common purpose, it can be addressed productively. True teams address these failed commitments. They speak to them. That involves risking rejection, alienating other kids – sometimes friends - and creating tension. It takes extraordinary courage. Those who do it take the risk because they care about the team and those on the team.
Lots of people think that if players just work on getting along everything will be fine but harmony is overrated. It makes us feel good and safe but when we emphasize harmony above accountability it can lead us to ignore real issues that eventually impact team performance. Teams will not evolve with conflict averse individuals. As difficult as it can be, teams have to learn to work with the conflict and tension or risk becoming dysfunctional. Dysfunction in teams can suck the life out of team members.
Discipline sets teams apart from groups – even more than “togetherness”. It takes discipline to meet a performance challenge. To maintain discipline teams need support from the coaches, team leaders and other team members. There are two critical things real leaders don’t do:
1. They do not blame or allow specific individuals to fail
2. They never excuse shortfalls in team performance
When I first got involved with management I had a mentor who advised me to “see what you see”. What he meant was in a leadership position you have a responsibility to step up whenever you become aware of something that needs to be addressed – anything that impacts team performance. You can’t pretend you didn’t see it, you can’t ignore it and hope someone else saw it, you can’t delay and hope it goes away. It is a leader’s responsibility to “see it” and address it. In the end, it is the coach’s responsibility to see what you see and help the players to see what they see and to work on it. During the off season that responsibility falls to Sean, Dan and I – at least as it pertains to the kids in our program. If we fail to see what we see we are saying that we are willing to lower the bar regarding our expectations of this group of players. We’re not willing to do that. What we see now is the need to do the work necessary to become a better team. This year’s group has the potential to be successful but there’s stuff in the way. They see it too. The question is – are we willing to speak to what we see – to do the work we need to do so we can move past it and reach our potential?
We’ve had discussions about this with the high school players. They have been honest and engaged in the discussion. Our plan is to continue working on it – specifically finding a common purpose and getting better at accountability. We also plan to start working with the younger players on basic team concepts to set a foundation for the years ahead. `
There is another variable that you won’t find in the literature about team development. The role that we, as adults and parents play. I’m speaking from personal experience – maybe you can relate. My kids played competitive sports. My daughter played for Voorhees. During her years in the program her teams went to the county championship game three times in four years – winning it twice. And yet there were difficult times during her junior year. Although I tried to stay on the high road during her years in the program there are some moments that, in retrospect, I wish I’d handled differently. It was a pretty crazy group of parents and the craziness influenced other parents and the team’s play. To their credit the players (and a new group of parents) turned it around in her senior year and they went on to have one of the best seasons in the school’s history. Here too, common purpose has to be aligned. Do we, as parents, want the same thing from the “team” experience as our kid does? As the coach does? If not we can be part of the problem. It’s really hard. We want the best for our kid. We want them to succeed, feel good about their efforts and even get some recognition. But, let’s be honest, it’s not easy to put the team before the interests of our own child. So the question is – Do we serve our kids best by trying to assure that there are no struggles, no failures, no conflicts, clearing the opposition out of their path and keeping them comfortable? Or do we encourage them to learn from the struggle, challenge them to communicate their concerns in productive ways, and suggest that they do their best and take pride in that effort?
We’ll all make mistakes – coaches, players, parents, officials. That’s what happens when humans interact. If you watch any basketball game, at any level, you can attest to that. Bobby Knight said, “Basketball is a game of errors and mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes usually wins the game”. There’s no shortage of things that can be done better – on the court, off the court, on the sidelines, and in the offseason. Those things are worthy of discussion. That’s what we do. It comes from the passion we bring to the experience. But that’s not the point. In the end when we look ten years ahead what is it that we hope our kids have taken from their high school experience? A deadly jump shot? All County honors? Or do we hope they learn to deal with adversity, develop the skills and courage to speak to their concerns, learn how to develop and maintain lasting relationships and understand that if they truly put in their best effort they’ve been successful – regardless of how others measure their success?
For these kids to enjoy being part of a true team we need to be aware of the influence our words have on their experience. We have to know, share and support their common purpose. We need to be accountable. Encourage them to take responsibility for creating a better outcome. We believe that the skills you develop becoming a better player are also skills that help you become the best person you can be. We also believe that all of these kids can and will be successful – on the court and down the road. Let’s support them in meeting the challenge.
Three weeks left before we break for the summer. It’s important for the players, especially the young players to anchor the basic skill concepts. You’ll need to get in lots of repetitions this summer if you want to be an improved player next winter. You won’t get the benefit of the repetitions if you don’t do them correctly. So make use of the time left before the spring workouts end.
Bob Peterman
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