Secrets to Team Success

Jay Bilas wrote a book titled “Toughness.”? Jay is a former Duke basketball star under Mike Krzyzewski.? In his book he quoted NASA’s Daryl Woods while discussing communication.? Bilas stressed the importance of communicating on defense and committing to stopping?an opponent from scoring?as a team?instead of just focusing on your role (or man).? True defense is a philosophy of “five as one” versus “five as five.”

?“Responsible?to the element, accountable to the mission.”

Paul Buyer

?Jay went on to say about the above quote, “When I first read this quote, I was struck by the words?element?and?mission.??Element is about each player’s unique role, job,?and contribution to the team, while mission is about the big picture,?culture and philosophy,?and common goals everyone is working toward.

But the more I read it, the words?responsible?and?accountable?started to?pop out more.??I think what Woods is?really saying is that true teamwork is made up of a group of people who simultaneously?hold themselves?responsible?for?doing an excellent?job individually as well as?accountable?to?his teammates?for how his work contributes to the?ultimate success of the organization.”

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Responsibility is about trust,?reliability, and?dependability. ?Accountability is about loyalty,?commitment, and not letting?each other?down. For?true teamwork to work,?hold yourself responsible?and be accountable to others.

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In the basketball world.? Mike K taught Jay that top tier teams do this.? Whereas lower tier teams are busy just trying to get their guys to do their individual roles well.? This is why those top tier teams excel and the others . . . don’t.?

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In the business world this concept can be a differentiator.?