From the Founder, Brian Mazza 9/25
YOU DON’T HAVE A TEAM UNTIL EVERYONE WINS
Ten years ago, I read The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni, and one concept has stayed with me ever since:
High performing teams are built on vulnerability based trust.
I have seen it in business.
I have seen it in sports.
And now, coaching young athletes, I have realized just how difficult it is to actually create.
It starts with a social contract.
Everyone has to be a doer.
Everyone has to be willing to get dirty.
Nobody is above the work. Nobody gets to hide behind a title, a position, or past performance. Everyone has a responsibility to the person standing next to them.
Once that is understood, something powerful happens.
You earn the right to tell each other the truth.
You can look someone in the eyes and say, “That wasn’t good enough.”
You can tell a parent, “Your child isn’t where he or she needs to be right now.”
You can say, “Your child is third on the depth chart today, and here is exactly what needs to improve.”
You don’t avoid the conversation because it might hurt someone’s feelings.
You have the conversation because honesty is part of the agreement.
That is trust.
But there is another side of trust that I think is even harder to build.
Being genuinely happy when someone else succeeds.
Think about that.
When you trust the people around you, their success doesn’t threaten you.
Someone else’s promotion doesn’t diminish your value.
Someone else’s goal doesn’t take away from your performance.
Someone else getting the starting position doesn’t mean you root against them.
Because when the team wins, you win.
This has been one of the hardest concepts for me to teach young footballers.
Kids constantly hear:
You’re the best.
You need to score.
You need to stand out.
You need to get recognized.
They begin believing that scoring equals performing.
But football teaches us something very different.
When one of us scores, we all score.
The player who made the run and pulled the defender away contributed.
The midfielder who broke the line contributed.
The defender who won the ball five passes earlier contributed.
The goalkeeper who started the possession contributed.
The player who never touched the ball but created the space contributed.
And when we lose possession?
One defends. We all defend.
That is when individuals start becoming a team.
The question changes from:
How did I play?
To:
How did WE play?
From:
Did I score?
To:
Did I do my job for the person standing next to me?
The exact same thing happens inside a company.
If everyone is worried about who gets the credit, whose idea gets recognized, who gets promoted, who has the biggest title, or who looks smartest in the room, you don’t have a team.
You have individuals wearing the same uniform.
A real team can tell the truth.
A real team can disagree.
A real team can have uncomfortable conversations.
A real team can hold each other accountable.
And a real team can celebrate when someone else succeeds because everyone understands something incredibly important:
Your win doesn’t take anything away from me.
Your win moves all of us forward.
That is what I am trying to teach eight, nine, and ten year olds on a football pitch.
It is also what I expect from adults sitting around a boardroom table.
Different environments.
Same principle.
When one scores, we all score.
When one defends, we all defend.
When one wins, we all win.
Until everyone truly believes that, you don’t have a team.
You just have individuals standing next to each other.
