About a month ago, I watched a video about the San Antonio Spur's philosophy. Please take a few minutes and watch it from a leadership perspective, rather than a sports perspective.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=694340777299682&fref=nf
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=694340777299682&fref=nf
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That's a cool video, but now what?
There is one thing that I would like you to take away from this video --- a Team First Mentality. I know, that is a lofty topic coming out of a sports video, but here it goes.
Team First Mentality: When a player can put their trust in the team and decide to put the team's goals over their own, great things happen (most of the time). Why only most of the time? Because it takes hard work, perseverance, and feedback to get all the way there. Your responsibility as a leader is to ensure your teams get all the way there. Here are a few ideas to help you:
- Each and every person on the team has to understand the direction, buy into that direction, and be 100% committed to that direction.
- Everyone must believe in the direction and each other which involves a lot of trust.
- Each teammate must act unselfishly by helping others succeed (the team's goals before personal goals).
- When a teammate is not meeting expectations (either with performance or putting themselves first), you must provide delta or corrective feedback.
- When a teammate is meeting or exceeding expectations give them plus/positive feedback (celebrate).
As the leader, you set the tone. The team will follow your lead (with words and actions).
- Great examples of this from the video are:
- Tim Duncan requesting Gregg Popovich coach him just like every other player
- Tim Duncan pulling Tony Parker away from another player and the referee
A leader's job is to spend time with SAM and GRAD:
Setting Direction
Aligning Resources
Motivating
Goal setting
Regular feedback
Accountability and Measurement
Development
Whether you are leading a small team or a big team, if you are the primary leader or are a supporting leader; leverage SAM/GRAD and your team will be more successful.
Remember One Interstates, One Service; and lead the Interstates Way!!
I like how you called out that teammates must believe in and trust each other. You can't just help someone succeed, you need to believe that they will too. The Spurs could just pass the ball around every possession and play unselfish basketball, but they couldn't win games unless someone actually took a shot. They each believed that their teammate was as committed to the direction as they were and could make a good decision to take the shot at the right time. It's hard to pass the ball to a teammate if you don't believe that they can effectively and responsibly handle it. On the flip side, they need to believe that you'll be supportive of them when they take a bad shot or commit a turnover and that you'll help them learn and grow from that mistake. Mutual trust is a key factor in getting all the way there.
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