associates, inc.What is the best strategy to create a winning team?
On March 18, 2014 the NY Knicks basketball team announced the hiring of Phil Jackson as their President of Operations. What drew my interest is that it represents a whole new beginning. And new beginnings are what most of my coaching clients want; whether they are searching for a new way to succeed in their current position, launching a new product or looking for the next challenge in their lives, businesses or careers.
The owner of the Knicks, Jim Dolan, is famous for being a hands-on owner. In fact, Dolan has famously meddled this proud franchise into gargantuan mediocrity. So, he reached out to an acknowledged basketball “genius” saying that bringing on Phil Jackson was “like having Einstein help you with your math homework”. The big question is will it work or will it devolve into more meddling and failure.
I believe it will succeed because of the way Jackson and Dolan came to their agreement. It turns out that Dolan made a concerted effort to court Jackson by developing a relationship with him first. They had several secretive meetings in out of the way places where they got to know each other, bonded and built a level of trust. When Jackson finally agreed to a deal and it came down to a contract, Dolan made the following statement: “Let me tell you what I tell everyone who was involved: This is not going to be about a contract,” Mr. Dolan said. “This is going to be about a relationship. We can write anything we want in the contract. But in the end, what will make this a success is the relationship. And what will make this a failure is the relationship. And so that’s what we’re going to work on.”
Relationships are what it all comes down to every time, whether you are a marketing director, an advertising professional, a business owner hiring a key employee or self-employed. How much do you value your relationships and how do you build a bond of trust? Part of the bonding process involved Jackson’s good old fashioned hanging out with his future boss and telling him what he sees for the organization. “On Saturday, they watched basketball on television. On Sunday, they rode ATVs in the desert. “Mr. Jackson talked about his vision.”
How is that different from coaching my advertising and marketing clients? It isn’t any different and I believe it is the foundation of every successful organization and career. We all need a strong team to win. If Jackson is allowed to do his basketball genius thing, then there is no doubt in my mind that he can eventually bring the Knicks back to their past glory. A key component of that winning strategy is starting with a powerful and clear vision. There is nothing as motivating as creating an exciting promise for the future. That is a basic premise of enrollment, sales and engagement. In his remarks at a press conference Jackson stressed the importance of team work. He also mentioned the importance of a positive atmosphere in which players can thrive and feel supported. That summarizes the simple and powerful strategy for success for any team:
• Have a vision for what you want to achieve
• Express your vision to someone who can do something about it
• Create an atmosphere of support for all players
• Build a level of trust and a strong relationship from top to bottom so when the unpredictable bumps in the road inevitably arise, the environment will foster an opportunity to work things out.
No one can predict the future but I’m pulling for the team. I wish them luck and look forward to seeing some wins, for the Knicks…and for you.