Building a championship team
What all championship winning teams have in common
I've been an avid sports enthusiast for a while. I’ve enjoyed Rugby League since I was a kid and in my adult years taken an interest to Basketball. Having played for many years and watched countless hours of sports, I have acquired an understanding that I believe is transferable to any field that involves a 'team' and 'winning'.
Given I'm on my journey to live intentionally, a big part of that will be working on projects that will involve leading a team. Although I don’t believe comparing sports to life is necessarily the best thing, I do believe you can learn a lot from team sports especially if you are trying to create the right conditions to achieve shared success with a group of people.
I thought I will share what I believe makes a championship team and that anyone can utilise if they are trying to construct a high performing team.
I call it the Championship Team Model. Yes I know, so original.
I believe there are 3 core elements to a championship team, they are:
Identity: This reflects the team's foundational principles and enduring character. It's about the ethos and values that define the team's approach and are visible in every aspect of its functioning, from the management down to the players.
Depth: The breadth and quality of the team's roster. Depth ensures that the team can maintain performance through challenges like injuries or suspensions, with second-string players capable of stepping up without a minimal drop in quality.
X-Factor: The unique abilities or characteristics that give the team an edge. It could be an individual's unusual skill, a strategic innovation, or any other distinguishing feature that can unexpectedly shift the outcome of a game.
As mentioned I’m a Rugby League and Basketball fan, so using my own knowledge and the top professional leagues in each sport, NRL and NBA, I thought I would show you how these elements are reflective in the each champion over the last decade:
As you can see all of the champions ticked each box. While reflecting on some of the years, going through stats, articles and videos, what stood out to me was that there were multiples team in a given year, that ticked all boxes as well. In another lifetime or year, they may have well become champions but just happened to face a team that was more superior in certain element as shown with the double ticks.
So I guess to get back to the reason of sharing this...
How could you use this to support or develop a championship ready or high performing team?
I've developed three questions in association with the elements that can help. They are:
How do our core values shape our team's identity and actions?
How can we improve our team's depth to ensure performance under any circumstance?
What unique strengths can we develop to give our team a competitive advantage?
Some of these questions imply that some things are already in place i.e. values. If they are not, you might want to start there first. These questions can hopefully shed light on what you may need to develop or what to consider if you do want to develop a championship ready or high performing team.
I'm most definitely oversimplifying the process of forming such a team. Even with a championship-caliber squad, success isn't a certainty. Nevertheless, I hold the belief that a complex strategy isn’t necessary. Grasping how to secure or cultivate essential elements can significantly contribute to assembling a team poised for 'winning'.
These elements might require years to develop and I personally don't see any reason to aim for the fastest route to success. In my view, committing to a pursuit over an extended period of time might mean you don't have success in the beginning but with persistence you could develop something that might win not only one but potentially plenty of championships.
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