Unstoppable Teams
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” (Unknown origin)
Choose goals that can only be achieved with teams.
When I asked three time Navy Seal platoon commander Alden Mills to explain his interest in teams, he started talking about poor individual performance and remarkable collective success. (See video below)
Toxic teammates say:
- That’s not my job.
- They don’t pay me to care.
- It doesn’t matter.
- Good enough.
- It can’t be done.
- It never ….
- They always ….
- Not my problem.
- Can’t see it from my house.
- Yeah, but…!
One deadbeat:
One bad apple DOES spoil the who bunch.
“[Will] Felps estimates that teams with just one deadbeat, downer, or asshole suffer a performance disadvantage of 30 to 40 percent compared to teams that have no bad apples.” (Bob Sutton in Good Boss Bad Boss.)
Teams can do what individuals can’t.
7 traits that characterize unstoppable teammates:*
- Competence – a curiosity to learn new skills and develop mastery of new subjects.
- Perspective – thoughtfulness about the way past experiences and challenges have shaped attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
- Communication – the ability and willingness to express ideas and emotions.
- Drive – a can-do spirit, a strong work ethic, a hunger to succeed.
- Humility – inclusiveness, self-awareness, and respect for others.
- Flexibility – an openness to new perspectives and the adaptabililty to let go of one idea or belief to embrace another.
- Selflessness – a willingness to serve others and to place the truth and others’ interests above self-interest.
You learn that success is all about the person to your left and right.
What do lousy team members say or do?
What do you look for in great team members?
(*”Unstoppable Teams,” by Alden Mills)
Purchase: Unstoppable Teams: The Four Essential Actions of High Performance Leadership, by Alden Mills
Visit: alden-mills.com
Connect with Alden Mills on Linkedin and Twitter
Shooting at the wrong basket!
Bonus video: A Navy SEAL’s Plan for Self Knowledge and Humility
Dan,
Excellent post, Alden’s story fits so many of us!
Thanks for sharing!
The team builder fact is there is no “I” in Team, others pick up the load when others don’t perform to keep the Team in sync! Everyone can have a bad game, day at work etc. having the sense we can make things better comes from the Team concept!
Having experienced many of the things first hand tend to lead us into the brighter side of life!
I remember back in high school as a Freshman I ran Cross Country and our Coach would say “relax and push” up the hills, by the time I was a Senior I could beat most anybody on the hills, the rest of the team picked me up on the flats!
Go Team!!
Thanks Tim. I didn’t know you ran Cross Country. Now that’s a grueling sport!
“everyone can have a bad day” Thanks for adding this idea. People who drop the ball aren’t aren’t doing it intentionally. (IF they are, they need to go.)
Dan,
Yes I dabbled in anything back then, Track & field, YMCA & Church Basketball league, Hard ball baseball, Softball, etc… just a sand lot kid….
👍
Some of the better, more successful teams that I’ve had the chance to be a part of had a boat load of fun. There was a comradery in the struggles of early practice, lifts, meetings, etc.. We all had each other’s backs because we knew the difficulty in staying committed to one another. We all fought our own battles- and as a team we won the war.
The same can be said for the workplace- trust in your other co workers to get through their hardships and they’ll trust in you as well.
I really enjoy your articles, starts my day off in a great way and perspective 🙂
Thanks Linda. It’s a pleasure to serve.
I think the kicker here is the team mission. With 95% of the teams I’ve worked with, there isn’t a team mission, there are n team members, with at least (n+1) missions, most of which don’t overlap.
The definition of a team in many organisations is “a group of people who share an office and a common overhead budget: this is the key difference between what Alden Mills et al calls a team and the use of the term elsewhere.
Thanks Mitch. A mission driven team always goes further than an team that’s driven by personal agendas.
It seems that high functioning teams know where they’re going and have members that are committed not only by personal advantage but what’s best for the organization.
Very good detailed post and the 7 Traits really well noted; This one stands out for me; Drive – a can-do spirit, a strong work ethic, a hunger to succeed. I see this one as driving the other six. Maybe it is generational but I just do not see as much Drive as I used to see in today’s’ young-ins.
Thank you Dan! I firmly believe that bad influences on a team can create a toxic culture. I wonder if there are any opportunities to help the ‘bad apple’ to find redeeming qualities listed above. Could their be a deep-dive in understanding the troubles. Maybe they’ve had bad issues prior to. I tend to view these situations holistically,
No “I” in team? A star is borne.
What about “I” in innovation?
What about “we” in genius?
Genius doesn’t actually happen in the collective, does it?
Genius occurs in the individual, as does “I”nnovation.
Thou shalt assimmilate; right?
In the Navy, It’s all about teamwork. I have briefly worked with the Seal only in a supportive manner. Their partnership is well known, and it was having been recognized. I have seen some toxic teammates. In my experience, the lousy workers and teammates cause a hostile environment. They usually have said that’s not my job, I can’t do that, you aren’t my boss and other things that bring an irritating environment. Great team members uplift their coworkers and ensure that they are okay in the environment.
Dan — I would love to share your articles in our Weekly Digest and on social media, but I had to stop because of all the vulgar language you use. Just a suggestion from a reader who enjoys your material — words like “jerkhole” and “asshole” do not belong in professional articles and only take away from the great points you are trying to make. You are doing yourself and your readers a disservice by using these terms.
Honestly, I feel like communication is the most important character trait of unstoppable teammates. I feel like all other traits listed can be remedied with effective communication of goals. Of course this is assuming all the teammates are rational and mentally stable. Moreover, I agree with Alden by stating that most (possibly all) of the great progressions of humankind have come by way of a collective success. Even in my own academic success I find myself relying heavily on the contributions of group members. This is true even when the subject of a group project is familiar to me and I choose to take the lead; I still rely on the input of others. An effective way for a leader to utilize those group resources is to motivate the teammates to provide their input. I don’t think teammates should be there for the sole purpose of carrying the mundane work load, but rather to carry the creative and analytical loads as well.