Tania Fowler Guest Blog - Phil Jackson on Teamwork

Normally I would not post a sports interview as a business teamwork analogy but this interview with Phil Jackson caught my ear.  First of all, having lived in Sacramento these past 25 years, I can safely say that loathing Phil Jackson has been a past time and sport in and of itself here.  But…ahem, the King’s don’t have much to show for all that loathing while, Phil Jackson on the other hand, does.  So what does one of the ‘winningest’ coaches in professional basketball have to say about teamwork?  You can read the interview here. This is the part of Mr. Jackson’s interview that got me thinking, and nodding, and smiling, and all that good stuff. A spot-on metaphor for business teamwork:  “The fact is, selflessness is the soul of teamwork. We have a practical rule in our game: when you stop the basketball, when it resides in your presence and you hold it for longer than two counts, you've destroyed our rhythm. When the ball is in your hands, you become the focal point. And when you become the focus, our system breaks down. It's that simple. Suddenly the defense can catch up, and the spacing is destroyed. So it's the unselfish players—players who are more interested in reading what's happening and keeping the flow going on the floor—who are the most valuable players that you have.” With many, many teams, invariably someone wants to hold the ball longer and get all eyes focused on him or her.  Heck, I have been guilty of that at times; it’s a learning process for most people who want to achieve. But, the difference in business from sports is that you aren't playing for a big audience with people analyzing every play; dysfunctional behavior on a business team can go on and on unabated, sometimes without anyone actually understanding what is going on at all!  People are way too busy at work to spend tons of time critiquing what is wrong thereby, unintentionally, leaving room for certain folks to get really good at camouflaging their egocentric ways and confounding others. I wonder what teamwork at work would look like if every meeting began with the participants’ imagining themselves in a packed stadium with screaming fans, TV Stations galore, and array of announcers dissecting their every move.  I bet those meetings would go much smoother than many of them typically do. Selflessness is the soul of teamwork.  Teamwork can be made more effective by paying attention to how you work together, checking your motives, and not just assuming that smart people will get it done.    Let people finish their thoughts, but don't monopolize the meeting.  Think before you speak - 'do I really need to say this or has it been said already and I'm just trying to get the last word in'.  Clarify all decisions before the meeting is over so that people don't 'interpret' what they're supposed to do; rather, be clear on expectations.  Hold each other accountable.  Don't let your teammates down - follow through. That’s teamwork and it’s hard.  To make a great team you need a really strong and zen-like leader, maybe someone like Phil Jackson.  And you need to be selfless. Tania Fowler is an executive coach and founder of Interplay Coaching