Being A Great Teammate.....What Would EJ Do?

World's Greatest Teammate

We have all had good teammates and we have all had bad teammates. However, even on the same team, different people will have different opinions of who is a good (or bad) teammate. That is because being a good teammate is really a one-on-one interaction. So what makes you a good teammate? And just as importantly, what can make you a bad one?

I have had the same golf partner almost all the time for the last 15 years. His name is Eric Johnson (EJ). I can't imagine anyone anywhere being a better teammate.  There are many reasons for this. Very few of them have anything to do with golf, and all of them translate right onto the basketball court or any other situation in life where you work with other people. If you want to be a great teammate, here is the blueprint:

1. Build trust. When you get a new teammate, you do not know what to expect. You cannot possibly have any trust that they will make the right play or throw the right pass.  You can't even be sure if you are going to like them or not. But over time, you can build a positive relationship with each teammate. Your shared experiences on and off the court will help you gain trust in each other. Eventually you reach the point that you know you can count on them even if something bad happens on the court or in life. Use this example; If your golf cart is sliding toward a ditch, does your teammate bail out or hang in there with you? Great teammates never bail. Anytime in the last 15 years that my golf cart was sliding toward a ditch EJ stayed in the cart with me. You owe teammates like that a debt you can never really repay. You can only settle for letting them know you are grateful.
2. Set an example of excellence. With every pair of teammates, one will be the better player. But from the best player on the team to the last guy on the bench, you all have a responsibility to make your teammates, and therefor your team, better. On the golf course, EJ is the far superior player.  EJ can't make me be as good a player as he is. What he can do is strive for excellence each time we play. I observe his good habits and try to take pieces of them to incorporate into my own game. You can do the same by observing your more talented teammates. The way they play the game is a model to you of what you need to do when your opportunities come. Conversely, the less talented teammate also has a responsibility.  There may not be anything I can show EJ that will improve his golf game, but by always being willing to work hard at my game, I show my teammate that what we do is important. On the basketball court I may play much less or play rarely, but if I am always working hard in practice, good teammates notice. We are creating an unspoken agreement that we will both try to be the best players we can possibly be.  Spread that same relationship to all of your teammates and you have a very positive culture that your entire team can buy into every day: "We can all work hard, we can all help the team excel."
3. Create positive energy. Success breeds success. You should be genuinely happy for your teammates when they have success. I may be proud when I hit a great drive, but I should still be happy when EJ hits his even farther. His success is good for the team, even if it hurts my pride. And when I do happen to hit a good shot, EJ knows that is good for the team as well. Great teammates don't care who gets it done, as long as it gets done. When things are going poorly, as they sometimes do, your positive energy is even more important. You can't drag down the team by pouting or being angry with yourself. Remember: IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU...it is about the team.  
   
   Can you find the guy who doesn't care about his teammates as much as he cares about himself?.......So can everyone else. Somebody in that game used to be on the bench supporting him. He should be doing the same.
4. Hold your teammates accountable. Once you have developed all of these good relationships with your teammates, you have earned the right to call them out when they are not working hard or up to the standards you have all set together. Players have to understand that everything they do is reflected onto the team. No one feels like working hard every minute, and everyone makes bad decisions, but when you are surrounded by teammates that care about you and are not afraid to hold you accountable, you are much more likely to stay out of negative situations and attitudes.

Having others think you are a great teammate doesn't happen over night.  It is a process that can only take place over time. Also, the ways that you can interact positively with your teammate is different for each person. The process will go faster and better if you keep those four rules in mind. If you also recognize and respect that your teammates are trying to do those same things for you, you will have a great team atmosphere very soon. When in doubt just ask yourself "What would EJ do?"

"From All of My Fathers, To All of My Sons"

FR: All of My Fathers

TO: All of My Sons

.....life lessons learned on or near the court......

My earliest memories are of being on the floor at Walsh University in Ohio where my father was the coach.  He sparked a love for basketball in me that burns almost 50 years later.  Basketball has given me the good fortune of being around innumerable wonderful people who nurtured, protected, and encouraged me throughout my life.  I have been smart enough (most times) to listen, learn, and add their knowledge to my own.  Basketball was often the context, but life was what I was learning.  Their accumulated wisdom from personal experiences helped to make my journey easier.  They are my personal bridge builders.  They took me under their wing and helped me to become who I am.  In turn, I feel a tremendous obligation to try and help young coaches and young players in that same way...my own sons now among them.  And in the same way that my basketball life has many fathers, so too does it have many sons.  These are the lessons I want to share with all of them:

Compete in everything that you do.  No matter the activity, strive to be the best.  Understand that you will often fail, but in the act of pushing yourself you always become more than you were.  There are no negative outcomes of great competition.  Average people show up and go through the motions, great ones show up and compete.

When it is over, Respect everyone who competed with you and especially against you.  You will not like them all.  They will not all act the way you think competitors should.  Some won't like you very much, or at all.  A few may actually be bad people. However, every competitor deserves your respect.  That person fought the same battle you did and made the same sacrifices to get there.  Congratulate them.  Shake their hand.  Compliment them on what they did well.

Even on your toughest days, Enjoy what you do.  It doesn't always seem like it, and some days are tougher than others, but you are lucky to be doing what you love.  If you missed eight free throws in yesterday's game, haven't been in a game for weeks, or coach a team that is currently 2-15, there are people who would change places with you in a heartbeat.  Remember how you felt when you made the team, became a starter, or got the job? CHOOSE to embrace that joy every day.

Persist until you succeed.  So many players and coaches stop working hard, or stop working at all, often because they don't feel they are succeeding.  Sometimes that is a sign that something should change...a practice plan, a shooting form, etc. Lack of success is NEVER a hint that you should stop working.  Sudden success is never really sudden, those people work hard every day until it happens. Even if you never reach your goals, you have the pride of having worked hard at something important to you.

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. -Thomas Edison

Encourage all of those around you.  Encourage your teammates, your coaches, yourself. Basketball, like life, is a pretty hard game.  No one is at their best every day.  But if you create the mindset in your team (or family, or company) that we are all for each other, the collective positive energy that is created helps to get you through the tough times.  People who play, work, or live in an encouraging environment have more confidence and take more ownership of what is going on around them.  That is a recipe for success.

Protect what you have built.  Others will always try to tear it down.  Remember your foundation, the core values that you believe in...mine are listed in this post.  If everything you do pays respect to what you believe, you are right where you need to be.  Protect the people who built it with you.  That does not mean keeping them out of harm's way.  All of my fathers "protected" me by supporting me every time I needed supporting and kicking my tail every time it needed kicked.

Be Loyal.  That doesn't mean you always agree.  In fact, in order to be successful I believe you must have dissenting voices.  If you always remove dissension you are dismissing the possibility that they are right.  Instead, I define loyalty as disagreeing in private.  Have open lines of communication inside your team/family/company and one voice when you "take the floor".

Approach what you do with Unbounded Enthusiasm.  First, if you think about it, you will realize that "enthusiastic" is really how you feel about basketball, school, or family anyway.  We don't always think we feel that way, but enthusiasm is at the heart of why we do what we do.  Secondly, your enthusiasm infects your players, teammates, or family.  Being around people who are excited about what you are doing creates a situation in which it is easy to exist and to work.

Be competitive, respectful, joyful, persistent, encouraging, protective, loyal, and enthusiastic.....What a wonderful lesson  to learn from your 'fathers' or pass on to your 'sons'.