The Greatness of Teams

Anyone who has known me well for very long knows that I may be a bit of a sports nut.  Loved them as a kid, and still do.  Team sports were my favorite, and even today the whole dynamic of teams is still fascinating to me.  I love to look at what makes a particular team great, and would ideally like to be a part of an organization that "wins it all."  I love the concept of synergy that teams create.  That idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  I particularly enjoy seeing a group of individuals working together to achieve a goal that none of them could achieve on their own.  This past baseball team, I got to see such a team - the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals.  Each team has its own internal dynamics that make it unique.  This team offered up some lessons that each of us could use to make us better individuals and make the organizations we were work for achieve more than anyone thought possible.


Those of you who followed this team know the story.  This team was behind by multiple runs late in the game of many of its post season games.  Time and time again, they refused to give up and found ways to win.  This team set a record by winning seven post season games after trailing by two runs or more at some point during their sixteen post season games.  The Royals scored 40 runs from the eighth inning on during the post season.  The next closest team scored five.  The Royals had many good players, but no real superstars.  Many might find it odd that a team with no real stars could win.  So, what made them so great?  I will offer three things that I found in this team that made it unique and great.  These three lessons can help us as individuals and organizations.


Relentlessness
The one word I would use to describe this Royals team is relentless.  Babe Ruth once said, "You just can't beat the person who never gives up."  And this team would simply never give up.  The Royals set a baseball record by coming back to win seven games during the post-season in which they trailed by at least 2 runs at some point in the game.  Most teams would consider one such victory to be a defining moment for them.  This team did it seven times!  Who could forget the way this team came up with two runs in the top of the ninth inning in Game 5 versus the Mets to extend that game?  It was the mentality of attack, attack, attack.  That is what this team did, they would keep coming after you, they dared you to step up and make the play.


Joy
Most books on the subject of greatness will not mention joy.  But this was a characteristic of this team.  Hey, they are being paid millions of dollars to play a kid's game, they should be joyful!  True, but how many people display such joy?  The joy this team exhibited was best displayed by catcher Salvador Perez.  He played every game like he was having the time of his life.  Try doing that while wearing catcher's gear and you are catching your sixth game this week with temperatures in the high 90's, high humidity, and you are taking a dozen foul balls off various body parts each game.  Teams that continue to thoroughly enjoy what they do, even during the most adverse circumstances, will likely experience a great deal of success.


Every Player Played His Part
The phrase used over and over was "keep the line moving."  Just do your part, that is all you had to do.  This was particularly true when the Royals were at bat.  I had an old little league baseball coach who drilled into us that "when you are at bat, the objective is to get on base."  You did not need to hit a home run every time.  Just get on base, then let the next guy get on base.  Keep the line moving.


While there were other factors, these were the main things that stood out about this team.  These are just a few of the characteristics that made this team great.  Each team is different, and has its own dynamic.  All successful teams need good leadership, and leaders with a clear vision.  This team had that.  I do find it interesting that this team had no superstars.  The Royals showed you do not need superstars, and their often over-inflated egos.  Sacrificing the individual glory for the good of the team brought each individual more glory than any of them could ever imagine achieving on his own. 


Chuck Heath