Strength in Numbers: What You May Have Missed About the Warriors' Success

For basketball fans the latest rematch for the Men's NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors was an epic battle between two truly great teams who recently met for the third year in a row to decide who was this year's NBA Champion. For 2017 it turned out to be the Golden State Warriors.

What can aspiring and current leaders learn from the Warriors' success?

If you replay the final's highlight reel in your mind, perhaps you'll recognize that the clash between these two great teams was about much more than just great basketball. Oversimplifying a bit, this was also a classic match-up between two differing leadership tribes (aka approaches to building and leading high-performing teams)...

"having the best talent" (Cleveland) vs."commitment to a team-first mindset" (Golden State).

Of course, neither team is 100% one approach or the other or they wouldn't have earned the privilege to play in the finals. But Cleveland more closely mirrors the "traditional school" of NBA teams. Namely, you recruit one or two truly great players and then build a sufficiently strong supporting cast around them of about 7 or 8 players who will see regular playing time during the season (note: NBA teams are allowed 13 active players on their rosters). Most of the sports press reflects the widely-held, deeply ingrained view of "5 starters" by repeatedly talking about the "starters" and "the bench" (the rest of the team). The business press does the same thing - giving most of its attention to the CEO, the Founder or some key top executive.

Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, for you non-basketball fans, has taken a very different approach to building a great team. From my perspective as a leadership expert, he has essentially re-invented what it means to be a NBA basketball team and also re-imagined how the game of basketball can be played. In his 3rd year as head coach, while it is still early days historically speaking, it looks like this iteration of the Warriors organization could be the beginning of something truly special. For Golden State fans it already is happening, but perhaps the Warriors can also serve as a highly instructive "learning lab" for those of us that view leadership as a privilege, a craft and an honorable life-long pursuit.

Coach Kerr would be the first to emphatically tell you the Warriors success is NOT about him - not by a long shot! He always talks about how fortunate he is to be coaching such an amazing group of human beings / basketball players and work with his amazing coaching staff. Steve's experience as a successful NBA player also informs his current approach to coaching. He played with the Chicago Bulls (yes that Bulls team with MJ et al) and the San Antonio Spurs among others.

Importantly, as a player, Steve Kerr often had a "specialist" role as an NBA player as a very effective sharp-shooting 6th man.

Perhaps this inspired him to imagine something more like an actively engaged 13-man team. He also frequently cites how the Warriors owners have given him tremendous support and his mentors list is distinguished as well with the likes of Lute Olson, Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich, his father and numerous others that shaped him in important ways over the years. His current coaching team (they are way too good to be referred to as a "coaching staff") have operated spectacularly as a great team in their own right.

As evidence of the Warriors coaches being a great leadership team, look no further than how seamlessly Assistant Coach Mike Brown stepped up to lead the team for 6-weeks up until Game 2 of the Finals while Kerr attended to some challenging health issues that kept him off the court. For the record, the Warriors won every game with Mike Brown at the helm. And last year in 2016, during a season that unfortunately also included Steve Kerr's 6-month absence for similar health issues, the Warriors won the most regular season games in NBA history (73-9), though loosing to the Cavs in the finals.

A question....how many of us either lead or know of teams or organizations that not only are playing at the very highest levels in their field, but are also capable of sustaining peak performance if, heaven forbid, the top leader or CEO/Founder suddenly leaves the company or steps down for a prolonged period? I hazard to guess the list we come up with would be very short. And to extend this beyond the basketball court and dial up the relevance to leaders more generally, lets see how Uber, GE and our U.S. government fair over the coming months as they deal with their respective leadership team transition issues.

Key leadership success factors of the Warriors? What would a decent blog article be without them? What have Steve Kerr, his players, his coaching team and the Warriors organization done to enable the level of success they are having? From afar and as an avid fan / lay observer, I would offer 5 key success factors for your consideration.

#1. Love the game you are playing. Cultivate the joy in yourself and in others that comes from playing at your very best (plan A). Or, find a new game (plan B).

#2. If you are playing a team sport (double-check as not all pursuits are) then fully commit to a team-first mindset. Continuously hone how you lead and how the organization works in support of that core principle. Feature the experiences and "unnatural acts" when your team-first mindset is tested - it will be tested.

#3. Stretch beyond a "starting 5" mindset - leverage your full roster. Actively tap into the unique talents of every member. Create specific roles for each team member to make it clear how they can make a positive impact. "Put them into the game" when their role is needed. Hold each team member to the highest standards and support their growth of that pursuit.

#4. Cultivate effective leadership in every team member, then get out of the way.

#5. See leadership success factor #1.