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team-building

This category contains 43 posts

Unspoken Understandings

Over the weekend, my family went for dessert at Holsten’s, the ice cream parlor where they filmed the final episode of “The Sopranos.”
It was my first trip there since the series ended, and, upon walking in, I asked the waitress, “Where was Tony?”
There were no more words needed. She knew that I was asking “Where [...]

How Teams Communicate

Two teams work in the same office. You are allowed to spend as much time as you want observing them. Then you must choose: Which one will be more successful?
That question more and more is drawing the attention of businesses. In this Harvard Business Review article, researcher Sandy Pentland concludes that patterns of communication mean [...]

Lifting Someone’s Burden

My friend Gary Pritchard, whose coaching specialty is helping build unity on teams, sent this quote from Charles Dickens today.
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Those words capture so much of what coaching should be about. The job of a leader is more than just giving orders or creating [...]

Focus on Focus

Last night I had the chance to watch a very good coach at work.
She had designed a strong practice, and tried to set the tone by writing a quote on top of her whiteboard. It said, “The power of focus is what separates those who are good from those who are great.”
When practice began, things [...]

Winning the Big One

Former LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman once did a video called “Winning the Big One.” In it, Bertman spoke of the daily, constant, relentless effort to improve.
I’m not sure if Yankees Manager Joe Girardi has seen the video, but his drive to improve has brought a motivational gem to the clubhouse.
As related in this story [...]

Jeremy Lin and Selfishness

In these days of Jeremy Lin, it’s not a good idea for anyone to be selfish, or to be seen as so.
Carmelo Anthony, who will be on the court with Lin and the New York Knicks when he returns from a groin injury, is answering questions over whether he will share the ball.
And Alex Ovechkin [...]

Perspective and Jeremy Lin

Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath wrote a book called “I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow ‘Cause I Get Better-Looking Every Day.”
Now there’s another New York sensation, and we can only wonder what tomorrow will look like for Jeremy Lin.
Lin owns Broadway right now. He’s led the New York Knicks to six straight wins, the latest [...]

Team Culture

Let’s start with a trick question.
Does your team have a culture?
Remember, it’s a trick question. And the answer is yes.
Whether in sports, in business or even in your family, your group has a culture.
It may be weak or it may be strong, but it’s a culture.
It may be positive or it may be negative, but [...]

Prince Fielder and the Tigers

Pursuing goals can be overrated.
Sometime they’re the wrong goals. And other times the way in which they’re being pursued is the wrong way.
In the case of Prince Fielder and the Detroit Tigers, the second case could be true. Fielder and the Tigers just agreed on a nine-year, $214 million deal, because team owner Mike Ilitch [...]

Total Commitment

A chicken raced around the barnyard, spreading new good news. “Hooray!” he said. “We’re going to have bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning!” All the animals except the pig shared in the joy. The chicken approached the pig and asked him why he was so solemn when everyone else was so happy.
“For you,” [...]