Issue 751 - "Seven Ideas to Improve Team Spirit"


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 13	Issue 751
Craig Impelman Speaking \| Championship Coaches \| Champion's Leadership Library Login
"SEVEN IDEAS TO IMPROVE TEAM SPIRIT" John Wooden Video Clip (66 sec.): Coach Wooden defines Competitive Greatness. John Wooden defined Team Spirit this way: "A genuine consideration for others. An eagerness to sacrifice personal interest or glory for the welfare of all." Here are seven Ideas for Great Team Spirit by improving cooperation and collaboration: 1. Take the time to teach others how and why to do the work—even when it takes longer. Doing it yourself is faster once. Teaching someone else how to do it—and why it matters—takes more time, but it builds independence, capability, and better thinking. When people understand both the what and the why, they don’t just repeat the task—they also may improve the process. If you don’t take the time to teach it, you guarantee you’ll keep doing it. A leader should ask two questions at the end of the day: "What did I get done?" and "Who did I help improve?" 2. Help everybody understand that every role is essential and should be appreciated. No job is more important than another—only different. If people believe their work matters more than others, respect declines and cooperation breaks down. Strong teams understand that every role contributes to the outcome. 3. Create a culture where people willingly share information, clients, and opportunities. When people hold onto information out of fear, growth is limited. When they share it, everyone improves. Cooperation requires trust that sharing helps the team, not hurts the individual. 4. Have an environment where processes and knowledge are visible and understood. No one should be the only person who knows how something works. When knowledge is controlled too tightly, dependency increases and progress slows. Transparency builds strength and trust. 5. Share best practices across the organization. Success in one area should benefit everyone. When teams keep what works to themselves, improvement stays isolated. When they share, the entire organization gets better. 6. Use great communication to align team members on both the goal and how to achieve it. It’s not enough to agree on the objective—you must agree on the approach. When teams pursue the same goal in different ways without alignment, confusion and inefficiency follow. 7. Have clear communication from leadership to every level. Everyone should understand the direction, priorities, and expectations. When communication breaks down between leadership and the front line, misalignment is inevitable. Clarity creates connection. Communication should flow in both directions, not just top down. These seven principles were present throughout John Wooden’s basketball program (and his life). He gave us three easy reminders: "What is right is more important than who is right." "Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own." "it’s amazing how much can be accomplished if no one is concerned with who gets the credit." Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 751. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 751. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
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