The Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy - Part V
SteveThe sage was at it again the other night during the Oklahoma City - Memphis NBA playoff game.
In case you don't know what I am referring to, former NBA head coach, and current TV analyst Jeff Van Gundy (JVG) dropped another bit of simple, yet essential knowledge about basketball that I think is also directly applicable to the workplace, management, and organizational dynamics.
By my reckoning, that is nothing new for JVG, and if you wish - you can check out the previous installments of the JVG 'wisdom' series here - (Parts I, II, III, and IV).
But back to the story. During the game Oklahoma City forward Nick Collison made a smart play on defense to cause Memphis to lose the ball, hustled to the offensive end of the floor, and then positioned himself properly to make a scoring move when the ball was rotated to him in the flow of the offensive play. It was a brief series of actions that were not necessarily terribly athletic or skilled or even that remarkable, but as a kind of orchestrated series did add up to an excellent and winning (apologies Chas. Sheen) play.
Immediately after Collison, who is not a starting or star player on the team, completed the play, JVG observed that winning teams need guys like Collison, players that may not have all the physical skills of the top players on the team, but have found ways to contribute using capabilities and attributes that are mostly 'choices' and not simply genetic gifts.
The money line from JVG:
'Guys like Collison, guys that grind, are essential. The best ones are coachable, accountable, and professional. And you can win with guys like that.'
Coachable - willing to accept suggestions, able to make adjustments in style of play to fit the team goals, and cognizant that what may have worked in the past (in college, or on former pro team), might not be the desired behavior on the current team.
Accountable - understands the role, knows how the role impacts and contributes to the success of the team, makes the effort to put himself in the right situations, and simply does his job fully knowing the rest of the team depends on him to meet his objectives. And if other guys on the team, maybe the star players, are having an 'off' night, then he knows when to try and give a little more than normally needed.
Professional - in the narrow sense, we are all professional, i.e. we are paid to perform. But what JVG really meant was a level of personal integrity, pride, and dedication to himself as a player, to his teammates, and to the supporters of the team. This means showing up and giving your best effort even when times are tough, when the team is down, or when you are not meeting your personal objectives. It means being proud of your contribution in every game, and even every practice. It means setting an example for others to follow, even if you don't hold a formal title or leadership role.
Coachable, accountable, professional. All important. All under your control every day. Super talented people in any game or industry or field can get away with only one or two of these, and can still make incredible contributions to the organization. But if you are like most people, and are not in that rare category of naturally talented superstars, just focusing on being coachable, accountable and professional will go a long way in determining your success in any role.
And stacking your team, no matter what the game, with those kinds of players will make you look pretty smart as a leader as well.
And that my friends, is the Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy.
Reader Comments (7)
Ok, you know I was dreading another basketball post. However, this one is on the money. You need the people who are your utility people. They are just there, knowing where to jump in and how to best support the team by being exactly where they need to be, or knowing how to get there quickly.
Thinking two things about you....1) You need to write a book on JVG and 2) when is he going to be a guest on HR Happy Hour?
I've long ago abandoned the notion that I recruit and place only "A" players. In fact I'll even admit to (from time to time) helping "B" companies hire "B" players. Sure we all want the best - but let's be real. Someone has to come in off the bench and make a few plays.
@Trish - Thanks - I have tried to contact JVG, but so far no luck - need to keep at it!
@Jerry - I am with you, a couple of months ago I posted about a presentation from Peter Cappelli that indicated that some research suggests the focus on 'A' players is really overblown, and largely ineffective. Think about everyone you ever worked with. Lots of 'B' talent. But 'B' talent makes the trains run so to speak.
This is an important post, Steve. So often the "average middle" of employees are over looked, but they're the ones that make it possible for the stars to shine.
As hiring begins to pick up, organizations better be concerned about the middle tier -- as BlessingWhite research pointed out: “The 29% of employees who are engaged in the typical organization, while not immune, are less likely to respond to competitive overtures. However, the 27% who are ‘almost engaged’ are strong performers — and they’ll take the call from a search firm.”
I wrote more on this, including links to the research, here: http://www.recognizethisblog.com/?p=408
Thanks for this, I absolutely loved this post. Nothing like a good sports analogy to spice up some HR, and JVG is bonus.
I'm interning in the marketing department at Drake International for the next couple of months and I would love to speak with you about possibly having you contribute to our corporate blog, and/or me writing something for yours. You can check it out at DrakePulse.com.
I hope to speak soon!
Most people will disagree with me here, but JVG never won a championship at any level. I admit that there is wisdom in his comments about "B" level talent, and most of your organization will fit in this category. But at the end of the day, it's all about winning championships. We make a lot of comparisons about Sports and Business, including me, but the difference is competition. It's great to have a bunch of Nick Collison's on your team, but if you have too many of them and your organizational identitly and management style focuses too much on "B" level talent, your superstars will leave and you'll never win a championship, like JVG.
There is a balance here, but you need to carve out enough focus on "A" level talent, if you want to win the championship or replicate, let's say, Apple or Google. But then again, it's ok to be Microsoft or Yahoo. They have talent and they make money, and I'm sure they have alot of clever techniques for managing "B" level talent. But they won't win another championship, because they no longer place a higher emphasis on competition than they do comfort.
Found your post when I was looking up more JVG wisdom, where in the NBA finals he said, "You have to fight human nature," re: playing with the mindset that you have a "cushion" if you're up in the series.
Great post.