Rule 1 of leadership from Jack Welch’s “Winning” states
Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team, using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach, and build self-confidence.
It is often said that the team with the best players wins, but we know that wasn’t the case for USA basketball.
In 1992 USA started fielding what would be called the Dream Team. The teams dominated in 1992 and in 1996. Then they barely won gold in 2000 and finished 6th at the World Championship in 2002. In 2004 USA got bronze.
If the team with best players always win then USA basketball would win every year they fielded top NBA players. It’s not that there are no great non-American players, but everyone knows that more American players top the list of great basketball players than any other.
So, what made the difference this time? Leadership.
Let’s look at the details under Rule 1:
Evaluate – making sure the right people are in the right jobs, supporting and advancing those who are, and moving those who are not
Coach – guiding, critiquing, and helping people to improve their performance in every way
Build self-confidence – pouring out encouragement, caring, and recognition. Self-confidence energizes, and gives your people the courage to stretch, take risks, and achieve beyond their dreams. It fuels winning teams.
When USA basketball built the new team they wanted to make a good team. They learned from past mistakes that they could not just put the best players together on the court and expect magic to happen.
As much as I hate Duke (I refuse to link), Mike Krzyzewski and the rest of the coaching staff did a great job making a winning basketball team.
Let’s not fall into the trap of old USA basketball. In order to succeed you must have a great team, not just a collection of great people.
