It has been a while, and certainly not for a lack of watching the NBA on ESPN on my part, but after a fairly long break, the latest installment of the ‘Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy’ series is back. 
JVG The Wise
As a reminder, Jeff Van Gundy (JVG), is a current analyst on ESPN’s NBA broadcast coverage, a former head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, and a provider of consistently insightful observations and commentary on leadership, teamwork, and talent management.
Earlier installments of the JVG series can be found here - (Part I, Part II, Part III).
For this installment, I submit for your consideration an observation JVG made during a recent game telecast on the importance of star players to the overall (potential) success of the team -
JVG The WiseAs a reminder, Jeff Van Gundy (JVG), is a current analyst on ESPN’s NBA broadcast coverage, a former head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, and a provider of consistently insightful observations and commentary on leadership, teamwork, and talent management.
Earlier installments of the JVG series can be found here - (Part I, Part II, Part III).
For this installment, I submit for your consideration an observation JVG made during a recent game telecast on the importance of star players to the overall (potential) success of the team -
If you want to be great, you have to have guys that are irreplaceable
JVG was talking about a basketball team, but I think the message and idea is broadly applicable to most workplace teams, whether they are creating systems, designing processes, or developing new and innovative products and services. ‘Irreplaceable’ is certainly relative, and in the workplace almost definitely transitory, as most groups do in fact carry on when star employees leave. But the essential idea that the team, in order to be truly great, (in basketball terms defined simply and clearly as winning championships), must have at least some superstar talent, and not just a collection of good, serviceable, and reliable players.
What are some of the implications of having irreplaceable talent?
Commitment - you have to be fully committed to acquiring, supporting, and quite frankly recognizing and rewarding top talent. You have to, at times, demonstrate to these irreplaceable stars that you are willing to create an environment where they can showcase their talents and actually achieve great things. You may have to bend or even break the rules sometime, as truly irreplaceable talent can take their talents to many willing and competing organizations. Finally, top talent often wants to go where other irreplaceable talent can be found. Just paying them may not be enough, (see James, LeBron).
Overall Talent Level - In sports, irreplaceable talent is often credited with raising the performance of the supporting cast. In basketball this can be attributed to superior talent, e.g. making better passes that create easy shots for teammates, drawing more attention from opposing defenses, and inspiring other players to work harder and perform better to live up to the star’s standards and expectations. Making the rest of the team better is a trait ascribed to the very best basketball players, and I bet is also seen as a positive attribute of the best employees on any team. Whether its dealing with the toughest customers, solving the most complex issues, or skillfully navigating the company politics, irreplaceable talent creates a kind of vacuum effect that creates more opportunity for others to raise their games as well.
Confidence - As a basketball player when you walk into the locker room and you see a Magic Johnson or a Michael Jordan lacing up the sneakers, you are suddenly filled with confidence, enthusiasm, and belief that you are not only on a good team, but a great team that has the legitimate chance to win titles. Really successful workplace teams and organizations have the kind of talent, that one person that everyone can look to and (sometimes quietly), think ‘We got this, we have some superstar players on this team. Let’s get after it’. When you have those kinds of situations, you had better treasure them, because one they are gone, and the ‘irreplaceable’ talent moves on, it can be a cruel shock. As one-time Celtics coach Rick Pitino famously remarked after the departures of irreplaceable talent - ‘Larry Bird is not walking through that door’.
It is often remarked and observed that organizations need solid workers, ones that come in every day, get the assigned work done on time and in an acceptable manner, don’t cause any trouble in the office, and go home. And that is certainly true. But an entire team, or organization, made up of these kind of role players is unlikely to be great, the kind of greatness that becomes transformative, enduring, and even legendary.
If you want to be great, you have to have guys that are irreplaceable.
One last thing, JVG was clear to stress the ‘want’ part of the equation, simply having irreplaceable talent guarantees nothing, just a shot at greatness.
And that my friends, is the Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy.