Lessons From A Long-Suffering Washington Capitals Hockey Fan

44 Seasons. 1575 wins. 1406 losses. 28 NHL Playoff Appearances and on June 8, 2018 the hockey world stopped and in a single moment the Washington Capitals had won the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup! No more "we came close" comments, no more talk of potential; regardless of their past performances, the Caps could now add the designation of Champion to their achievements.

For the owner Ted Leonis, the organization, the players, and their fans, it was a moment to savor. For now the Capitals could take their rightful place alongside hockey’s greatest. Legendary squads like The Maple Leafs, The Canadians, the Red Wings, the Penguins, and now the Capitals can equally claim to be the best of the best.

As a longtime, and I must admit, suffering fan, I lit a fine cigar and poured myself a nice glass of wine and began to think about what all this meant. How did the Caps get here? What made this season different? Were past failures just stepping stones from which to learn? As I sat there in the glow of the now self-satisfied fan, I tried to hash it out. Here are my takeaways from this extraordinary accomplishment.

1. Perseverance: 

If you don’t succeed the first time, try and try again; and maybe, just maybe by the 28th time you might get it right! My Capitals certainly have been models of perseverance.

2. Coaching Matters:

The Capitals coach Barry Trotz marshaled all the leadership skills we expect of a great coach: game knowledge, motivation, his players' strengths and weaknesses, consistency and effective communication skills. The goal of great coaching is to guide, inspire and empower an athlete or team to achieve their full potential. He clearly convinced the team to play a different style of hockey than they had played in seasons past.

3. Vested Stakeholders.

All great organizations succeed because at the very top, one or two people have an unwavering vision and belief in what is possible. Over the years, owner Ted Leonsis, invested in the team, believed in the team, and provided focus for a winning team.

4. Being a good player does not mean that you are necessarily a good leader.

However, you can develop your leadership skills. Captain Alexander Ovechkin, a shoo-in hall-of-famer but not necessarily a natural leader, clearly showed he could also become a good leader and inspirer of men.

5. Stick to the game plan. 

In interview after interview, Caps players stated that their Stanley Cup Championship performance came down to following and executing a game plan relentlessly. Clearly, the coach laid out a game plan for winning each game. The team followed it, stayed consistent in pursuing the plan, and saw the benefit in doing so.

6. Resilience.

You need to believe in yourself. You need grit. Grit is that ability to persevere, work hard, and overcome adversity. Consistently failing doesn’t mean you can’t succeed the next time. If it doesn’t go your way in the beginning or middle of the game, it doesn’t mean that you can’t come back to finish strong and win!

7. Role players are critical. 

Great teams succeed because each member has a unique role to play. Sure, it is great to have superstars who garner much of the attention, but typically the role players are as important, if not more so, to winning a championship. Every player on the team is important to success.

8. Be prepared and ready to hit the ice hard.

Be a good teammate and be ready to play. Caps goalie Brayden Holpy did not even start the first two games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He didn’t complain; instead he went on with his preparation the same as if was going to play. He worked on his craft and was on standby. When they called him to play, he was ready, played great and helped the team win the Stanley Cup championship.

9. Work hard and play hard. 

This season was special, and I think it can be summed in one word: intensity. Game after game, the Capitals, simply out-worked and out-skated their competition and the results speak for themselves.

 10. Relish the victories. 

Be a great fan. Sometimes, it takes a lot of time and patience to win the game. When your team finally does win, don’t take it for granted, stay in the moment, take it all in, and enjoy the sweet smell of victory.

Congratulations Washington Capitals!

I would be interested to hear your reactions to the following: 

What business lessons do you think can be learned from the world champion Washington Capitals?

What are some lessons that you have learned as a long term Washington capitals fan?

If you are a Washington Capitals fan, what was your favorite part of the celebration of this team?

Ken Boxer is CEO and Founder of Boxer Advisors which is engaged in providing leadership development, organizational development and employee engagement consulting, coaching, and training services to Fortune 1000 companies and Federal agencies.