The Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy - Part V

The 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.

The Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy - Part IV

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 -

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.

Jay Leno and Generation X

There have been numerous posts about NBC's mishandling of the Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien situation. Most have taken the stance that NBC has royally screwed up, they have managed to alienate the talent, the audience, and the general public as well.

I don't really care all that much about who hosts the Tonight Show, I won't watch unless NBC names basketball commentators Hubie Brown the new host with Jeff Van Gundy as his sidekick.

But to me, the real issue is only partly about inept executives and (possibly) scheming celebrities.

It is a straight up workplace generational drama. Leno is just a few months shy of 60, placing him squarely in the Baby Boom generation, that massive group that has led and shaped the business world for the last 20 years or so. O'Brien is 46, and could be considered at the upper end of Gen X, and after waiting patiently for his chance (to be fair, one that was promised to him) at the 'big job' suddenly finds himself getting squeezed by a Boomer that won't retire.

A long-tenured Boomer with the plum job that he can't or won't let go, a guy that has a track record of success (Leno was regularly the ratings leader in his old time slot), with a talented, yet frustrated Gen X dude waiting in the wings eager for his chance.

This little scenario is likely to play out more and more in the next few years.  Unlike Leno, whose issues with simply walking away are not financially driven, we know many, many boomers will have to postpone retirement, still trying to recover from the effects of the recession on retirement savings and real estate values.  And waiting in the wings, like Conan was, the Gen X cohort that keeps wondering when these boomers will finally step aside and let them climb in to the big boy chair.Hubie circa 1981

For organizations, managing the expectations of the top Gen X talent, facing what has been called a 'gray ceiling' above from boomers that by choice or necessity are not ready to retire, and pressure from increasing numbers of ambitious younger generations could be a significant issue. 

Figuring out how to manage the Gen X stars when the boomers won't let go is a challenge for sure.  It is a good thing for Jeff Van Gundy that even though the 76 year-old Hubie won't retire either, there are plenty of games to go around, and both announcers have work. 

What do you say, am I just being a sour grapes Gen Xer here?