Ok, lets just set the scene here first. This blog is about a sports team, however it is not an article about sport. The Golden State Warriors are currently one of the premier sports teams in the world. They have approached the game of basketball in an entirely different way and the results are historic numbers of wins, championships and they are constantly in the press. They are the current poster boys of the National Basketball Association, and so they should be. So what have they done differently? In a team sport with the current culture of individualism and selfishness they share everything. The Warriors are different and their success depends on this difference. They have created a culture that supports their desire to be successful, whilst most other teams in their league seem to be content to go round in circles making the same mistakes time and again.
So what makes the Golden State Warriors different from all the other teams in the NBA? Why are they so successful? Why are they so different? What leadership threads could you take from them and apply to your work, family life and free time? The Warriors shared what underpins the team and organisational culture and this insight is very powerful. If you watch the video at the top of this blog you will see that the Warriors have 4 Core Values that direct them every day. These Core Values are: Competition, Compassion, Mindfulness and Joy. Lets have a look at each of these and see how they are important in a sports setting and how they can be applied to your life. Competition: It is obvious that a sports team would have the word 'Competition' somewhere in their goals, values or in their day to day vernacular. However this value for the Golden State Warriors goes deeper than just being in competition with the other teams in the NBA. This core value is not just about competing against the opposition. It is there to remind each player and coach that they have to compete with themselves on a daily basis to stay in shape, to be game ready. That they have to compete with their ego and not let themselves get bigger than the team. It is there to ensure they remember to turn up at practice and compete against one another in order to prepare for the ultimate competition when they are on the court. However the players are also reminded to respect their competition, be mindful of their competition and to learn how to compete. In order to do this they have built a culture that means they turn up in good time, the prepare fully and completely and they don't take their success for granted. They compete each and every day and they live this core value out through how they prepare and how they perform. They live to be in the fight at the end of a close game, and they shine in this very high pressured environment. They shine because they prepared and because they work hard to compete as a team, each man knowing his role. They shine because the respect the competition enough to put in the hard work and effort in order to gain success. We all can learn from this by ensuring we turn up every day ready to compete. If it is in a work setting, we make sure we know our schedule, we prepare for each meeting, we learn to understand our customers or we go the extra mile to make sure the work is done. We respect our team mates by working as hard as possible so that the sum is greater than the value of each part. We park our individual ego at the office door and become part of the team ego, understanding our role within it and respecting everyone else's. At home we can make sure we are able to give 100% of our attention to our families. Paying attention to their needs and helping each family member at whatever they need. We need to be ready to get the kids to school in the morning, or ready to take them on their bikes, even when you are tired. You need to put in the time to get to know your kids and to continue to know, love and understand your partner. You have to be ready to compete in the game of life. Compassion: This may seem like an odd thing to have as a core value for a basketball team, never mind arguably the best basketball team on the planet. However when you think about it compassion is an essential ingredient for any successful team. In order to be successful, truly successful, you have to not only like your team-mates, you have to have a deep rooted care for them. If you are on a team where the personalities don't mesh any success that is achieved is hard to come by, it is not appreciated and it is short lived. Teams that really care for each other thrive. Their energy is infectious and their appreciation for one another is visible. My current basketball team that I play on has had a lot of success over recent years, winning cups and going undefeated in our league. A major reason for our success is because we are a very tight unit. We all care for one another. This helps us in tough games, has allowed us to win against more talented teams and has kept our heads up when we have had tough losses. As team mates we have been with each other through marriages, divorces, break-ups, babies and graduations. Getting to know each member of the team off the court has really helped us to be successful on the court. We care for one another and it shows. Compassion and empathy is so important in all aspects of our lives. There are psychological benefitss to us showing love and care to another human being, as well as receiving it. Compassion is self generating, once it is shared from one person to the next it becomes easier to share with another, and another, and another. Compassion is infectious. It is so important to show your work colleagues that you care about them. I mean really care about them, not just their whether or not they can get the job done, but whether they are healthy, happy and ready to work hard each and every day. As a leader you have to show that you are ready to serve those in your team, so that they learn to serve also. This only comes from being compassionate, completely caring for each individual. Mindfulness: In a high octane sport like basketball, where so many things are happening at any one time, you do not often find coaches and players who talk openly about mindfulness. You will hear a lot of players talking about playing in the moment, however mindfulness takes playing in the moment and raises it up a couple of notches. Mindfulness is the act of being aware of the exact situation you are in, including all the external factors impinging on your current and future actions. When being mindful you not only take into consideration how you are feeling, but you understand why you are feeling that way. You also think about how others around about you are feeling and how your actions will make them feel. On top of this you add in external factors such as the temperature in the room, the amount of light, the weather or the general mood in the room. The Golden State Warriors play with such unity and togetherness, which makes it so clear that they are very mindful of themselves and each other. They understand that their actions have an impact on their team mates, on the fans and their coaches. The five players on the court play as a unit, they play as one. This can only be achieved by being mindful, respecting each other, knowing each others individual strengths and weaknesses and helping each other out at all times. It is very difficult to get a whole team of 12 individuals to play as one unit, however the Warriors achieve this through a number of tried and tested management techniques employed by the coaches. The glue that keeps the team together through thick and thin is their mindfulness towards each other and the mindfulness of each situation they are in. In my family life I have learned to be mindful. If you don't spend time caring for each individual family member life in the home can become very difficult. When I first became a parent I found that I got frustrated and angry when I had to go and change a nappy, rather that sit and watch the TV. I was grumpy during night feeds and I argued with my wife and children over small inconsequential things. I was putting my needs before theirs. I was not being mindful within the home and it took it's toll. However I recognised the error of my ways and slowly employed some techniques that I have cultivated and developed over time to help me put my wife and children first. By doing this I have been able to have a mindset shift and now it is easy to put my family members first. By being mindful of my current situation, how I am feeling, how my wife and children are feeling and any number of external factors I have been able to become a strong servant leader in my home. There are less tantrums by the kids (and me!!!) and the general feeling in the home is fun and excitement. Joy: Joy is not generally a word that you would relate to competitive sports. Especially not professional sports. Joy is usually saved for baptisms, weddings and surprise birthday parties. So why is joy important to the Warriors success? To work in a joyful frame of mind creates a fun, happy, creative workplace. Joy is the feeling of immense pleasure. It is plain to see that the Warriors really enjoy playing together. They are dancing and celebrating when they are winning, and they are focused and productive when their backs are against the wall. They find it very pleasurable to be around one another and to play basketball together. So where does this joy come from? Although the Warriors are a very successful team and win a lot of games they do not place their happiness on winning. Winning games is a by product of their behaviour, however it is not the reason for their behaviour. They find joy in the process, not in the result. They revel in great passing, on fantastic dribbling skills, on shooting the ball well. They find satisfaction on playing great defence, on knowing where to be and when to stop their opposition. They find happiness on working together, through the easy times and through the tough times. Their joy is found in the small details of the game, it is found in the details of their preparation for a game, it is found in each other. Their joy is a result of being competitive, being compassionate and being mindful. Their joy is in the here and now, it is not based on some result in the future. It is based on their work presently. I have often found that being present and focusing on the task at hand really helps to bring a sense of happiness to me. In an age of instant gratification we are all finding it harder to find joy in the present moment. We try to find it on a facebook post, on a twitter feed or an instagram. We crave the dopamine hit of getting a new notification and this keeps or minds distracted on some future event that may or may not gratify us. It makes it difficult for us to truly be present and find joy in the moment. So here is my challenge to you, go and find joy, but not on your phone, or your computer. Go and have a real interaction with a friend, partner or work colleague. Work with someone on a project and focus on the immediate, don't look into the past or toward the future. Look at right here and right now. Focus on the line you are drawing, the word you are writing the paint stroke you have just made. Focus on the details and enjoy the process of creating, of cultivating, of designing. Enjoy the conversation, enjoy how the coffee tastes, enjoy the hug and the laughter. Get caught up in the details of doing and understand that joy and happiness do not sit over the next hill, they are not there when you finish your project. They are in the present moment in which you inhabit, you are all to often looking else where to notice. If you do this you will find success, and it will be more abundant and sustainable. So please take these lessons from the Warriors, a basketball team, and apply them to your everyday lives: - Be Competitive; - Be Compassionate; - Be Mindful; and - Find Joy!!!! Peace and happiness my friends, Andy.
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AuthorMy name is Andy Smyth, I have spent the last decade working in the field of Sports Development, where I have had the pleasure of working to grow leaders within local community sports clubs in Scotland. Archives
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