Ask yourself: “What does this team need from me?”

 

I’m a big NBA enthusiast (Go Utah Jazz!), and I’ve really enjoyed the off season period of free agency and trades.  If you follow anything at all about sports, you’ve probably heard once or twice about Kevin Durant moving from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors now are going to be a scoring machine, probably more so than any team in NBA history.  It’s going to be something special to watch.  But I came across an article yesterday that caught my eye.  It centered on Klay Thompson, one of the multiple All Stars on the Warriors’ roster.  With Durant joining the team, it appears that Thompson is going to get fewer scoring opportunities.  Coincidentally, this may take him further out of the limelight on a team loaded with stars.

Apparently, Thompson worries nothing about this.  From the story:

When asked in Vegas of the memories that fuel him, Thompson said, “I felt that feeling of winning before and I was so close again. The pain of losing is way worse than that of winning. So I just want to keep winning, man. And we’re set up hopefully not just for this year but for years after to do it, and that’s what really motivates me.”

In the high stakes and high ego world of professional sports, this stands out.  But we face similar challenges regardless of our chosen area of work.  We all have ego, promotion opportunities, raises, and job satisfaction to think about.  To ignore those things is to invite mediocrity.

But what about the team?  In sports, players like Thompson become increasingly valuable. They identify what the team needs, and apply their skills to match that need.  That’s when excellence is created.  It’s rare because it’s hard.  It’s not easy to get everyone on the same page, accomplishing tasks, sharing credit, sharing blame, and getting the team towards its goal.

This being true, challenge yourself by answering the following questions:

1. “What does my current team/project/assignment need to deliver excellent results?”
2. In light of the above answers, where can I make a specific contribution immediately?

Answer those two questions, and follow up TODAY!  Start delivering on that insight.  Make yourself absolutely invaluable.  The great paradox of recognition is that it often comes when you are motivated by rewards other than recognition.

Regarding the NBA, will Klay Thompson be as consistent in his application as he has been in his off season quotes?  Time will tell.  But his willingness to discuss it provides a reminder of the opportunities that lie before you and me every day.

Deliver excellence today!

 

 

Your Project, Your Legacy

I came across two challenging ideas recently, one from a book I’m reading and one from a social media message.

The first idea is from  “The Project 50” by Tom Peters.  This book is an effort to transform the way we view and approach assignments and opportunities.  According to Peters, every task or project we endeavor to accomplish should be a “WOW Project.”  If it doesn’t make you say “Wow!” then the project is not worth doing.

Again, according to Peters, you can know that a project is a good one if it is remembered several years after its accomplishment.  It takes a lot of thought, effort, and execution to deliver that kind of result.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins begins with a quote:  “Good is the enemy of Great.”  Peters stresses this concept throughout his book as well, focusing on the project aspect of our lives.

As I’ve been reading this book, I came across a quote from Gary Vaynerchuk, who isolated this idea even further when he identified two reasons people fail:

1. Fear of Failure
2. Laziness in Execution

It was point #2 that slapped me in the face.

We’ve all had things we’ve had to do, right?  School work, volunteer assignments, work tasks, “honey-do lists,” and on and on.  But how many of those tasks really amounted to something special?  Is there a project or assignment that you blew out of the water?

This is a difficult question to ask.  I did well in school and I do reasonably well in my work. Far too often, though, I was and am simply doing what it took to approach “satisfactory.”  This works to an extent, but the greatest joy and satisfaction in life comes from delivering exceptional value in something worth doing.

That’s the catch, though: exceptional work requires exceptional execution.  “Just good enough” doesn’t cut it when we are striving as a team or as individuals to deliver excellent results time and again.  If it was easy to achieve excellence all the time, we’d see it happen far more often in the world. This isn’t the case in reality.

What we do in life matters.  Our results are essentially our legacy: what we leave behind for the world to benefit from or to trip over.  Just like a thriving garden requires consistent effort, our work and projects deserve our highest attention.

Think about the current assignments you have.  What can you do to make those assignments really turn in to a reflection of the value you can bring to the world?  What little details can you improve to make this project memorable?

Let’s get to work!

 

 

 

“Above the Line”

One of my favorite activities to do with my children is wander around our local library.  The library is quite large, has statues, play areas for kids, and (of course) loads of books.

On a recent excursion to the library, I noticed a new book on the display shelf that I hadn’t noticed before.  It was called “Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season.”  Written by Urban Meyer and Wayne Coffey, the book outlined principles of preparation and process employed by the Ohio State University football team, which won the College Football Playoff and National Championship in 2014.

Having grown up in Utah, I was familiar with Urban Meyer from his short stint as head coach at the University of Utah.  I followed his career to Florida, where he experienced a lot of success and then burned out in a spectacular way.  I was most intrigued by the book because of its focus on culture:  the way the Ohio State Football Program approaches their work and maximized contributions from each player, coach, and staff member.

The book had many chapters I found intriguing and fascinating as a football fan as well as one who studies team excellence.  The principle that stood out to me the most, however, was what Meyer called the foundation: Above the Line.  He chose the phrase as the title of the book because of its fundamental importance to the success of his program.

Last week, I wrote about process, and how imperative it is for aspiring teams to have a process that produces results.  While this book illustrates multiple components of the Ohio State process, everything is dependent on “Above the Line” behavior.

From the book:

The performance of a team rises or falls on behavior.  Winning behavior is intentional, on purpose, and skillful.  It is Above the Line.  But it’s easier to be impulsive, on autopilot, and resistant.  This is Below the Line. Below the Line is dangerous because it is comfortable and convenient.  It is the path of least resistance.  Below the Line takes little effort or skill, and the best it can produce is “just OK.” Eventually, it produces failure.

Above the Line: Lessons in in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season.  Pg. 27

This had a profound affect on me as I read this chapter.  Guiltily, I began to see how often I reacted in impulsive, lazy, or resistant “below the line” behavior.  In fact, I am embarrassed to say this behavior was not exclusive to my career, but my relationships and personal life as well.  I resolved to do better.  Much better.

This principle is nothing new or earth-shattering.  But the effort required to follow it takes an incredible amount of effort and devotion.

Consider the following activities:

1. Identify an area on your team or in your life that is producing mediocre results.
2. What intentional behaviors can you change right now that may modify those results?
3. Incorporate the selected behaviors in to your process immediately.
4. Track whether or not this simple behavior change modifies your desired result. If so, keep it up! If not, try steps 1-3 again.

The beauty and challenge of “Above the Line” behavior is that only you and your team will really be able to identify what it means to be “intentional”and act on purpose.  But simply taking the time to identify what it means to you is the first step.

The Value of “Team”

Over the last months and years, I’ve been contemplating things that fascinate me, cause me to pause, and encourage me to share ideas with others.

I’ve always loved sports, and it occurred to me that the examples of success, execution, teamwork, and practice are universal patterns of fulfillment across our multi-faceted lives.  The excellence we see on a field or court has been molded through hour after hour of repetitive adherence to the principles of excellence.

As a business major in college, this intriguing concept followed me to my work and career.  The principles that enable a player or team to hoist a trophy at the end of a season apply to individuals and organizations operating within virtually any sphere.  You obey and follow those principles, and success inevitably follows.

In sports, we hear the term “dynasty” used to describe teams that have maintained a consistent standard of excellence over a long period of time.  Cable sports network analysts will argue about whether or not a team has reached “dynasty” status.  This is not an honor bestowed easily.  We have champions every season.  But we have dynasties rarely.

So, what makes a champion?  Most importantly, what molds a champion into a dynasty?

These writings are my endeavor to organize my experiences with and observations of teams that not only reach a high level, but can maintain that level of excellence day after day, month after month, year after year.  These observations and experiences come from a variety of reading, my own experiences, and lessons I learn from individuals and groups that I interview.

I hope you find these writings insightful, that you share your own thoughts, and that the concepts invite introspection and application to your own team process.

-Sean Jaussi