Championship teams do all three…

Posted: February 8, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

“This is not a disciplined football team!”  Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has been known to say that often.  When I hear that, it reminds me of three key components I find in every championship team:

Discipline. Reinforcement.  Re-direction

 In 1998, I was drafted to coach a little league team my son played on.  I was resistant, since I didn’t think I knew enough about baseball fundamentals to be effective.  I did have experience with leadership fundamentals, and I made it my strategy to surround myself with people who knew what they were doing.  It worked.  We had a 12-3 season.

Discipline in sports is being where you are supposed to be and doing what you have committed to do with excellence.

I remember clearly the turning point for the team.  In one of our early season practice sessions, I heard the biggest kid on the team make fun of a younger player who was not well-coordinated and has just missed a catch.  The big kid’s name was Jim.  I took a time out, and walked out to Jim to have a conversation.  I said, “Jim, you strike me as a guy to loves to win.  Am I right?”  “Yea!”  He replied.  “ I am curious…just now, you called one of your teammates a ________.  When people say things like that to you, how do you feel about it?”  Jim replied that he wouldn’t feel that good, and that it probably would affect his focus and attitude.  I then said, “How can we build a winning team when team members are insulting each other? “  Jim got it, and he never brought down a teammate again.  He learned the value of positive reinforcement.

What about re-direction?  What if someone on the team was not paying attention, and missed a fly ball? That is where a strong team really shows their stuff.  You will hear, “Hey Steve, quit daydreaming and pay attention.  We are counting on you!”  If a team has a solid working agreement, there is a structural tension built in that allows each team member to hold each other accountable.  Assuming you have built a high level of trust, team members re-directing each other can give an added dimension of excellence.

If we want to be a winning team:

• Establish Discipline and clarity
• Give positive reinforcement when appropriate
• “Re-direct” when someone has made a judgmental error