TEAM SPIRIT- John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success #12

TEAM SPIRIT

Block # 12 in John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success.

"The final block on the third tier- the center tier of my Pyramid- is Team Spirit. Initially, I defined Team Spirit as  "A willingness to sacrifice personal interest or glory for the welfare of all," but there was something in the definition that bothered me, something not quite right. What wasn't quite right was the word "willingness."

When you stop and think about it- as I did many years ago- there is a profound difference between mere willingness and eagerness. A prisoner on a chain gang may be willing to break rocks to avoid punishment. But how eager is he? I wanted to work with individuals who were eager to do what was best for the group -our team- even at the expense of their own personal statistics or gain. Thus, in my definition I changed "willingness" to "eagerness".  And it's stayed that way for fifty years.

Of course, we all want to do well and receive individual praise. That's fine if the praise comes because your 'individual' effort was something that contributed to the improvement or strength of the group, the team, whatever your team is: sports, business, family, or community. Praise that comes because of your contribution to the group is the kind of praise I prize. And so should you.

Team Spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player. And, for me, I was constantly looking for that player who would make the team great rather than just a "great player." The difference in the two is usually Team Spirit. "

-John R. Wooden