Management

THE BEST PERFORMING TEAM IS…

By Robin Shelton • CCM, PGA Master Professional General Manager • Newport Beach Country Club

AT A STAFF WORKSHOP/RETREAT, I asked our department managers – “Who is the best performing team in the history of the world?”

This led to some answers that you might expect: • Tom Brady’s New England Patriots • Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls • The current Golden State Warriors • The Los Angeles Lakers during the

‘Showtime Era’ • The New York Yankees of the 1950s and 1960s • Manchester United

What would your response be to this question? Are there other teams you think belong? Any teams that were left out?

As the person asking the question, I had advance time to think about the answer to this question. I thought about the teams listed above. I thought about Olympians. I thought about consistent success over time.

Then…it hit me – The Navy Seals might be the best, highest, and best-performing team to ever exist.

I then began a deep study into the leadership and success of the Navy SEALs and found some lessons that I believe are beneficial and worth sharing.

TRUST IS MOST IMPORTANT

Great teams have an incredible amount of trust between each other and team members. We have all seen the ‘ball hog,’ or the ‘control freak,’ or the ‘ego maniac,’ which have led to teams not achieving their potential. The Navy SEALs have none of these people as team members on their teams.

If you had a choice of hiring a person of high performance or high trust – which one would you hire? Many managers choose the person of high performance over the person of high trust. The Navy Seals do the opposite – they choose the person of high trust.

Naturally, all of us would want the person who is the high performer and also the person of high trust. Not always does that person exist and sometimes we must choose. Simon Sinek does an incredible job sharing this idea in a short video (highly recommended watch – Google ‘Simon Sinek Performance vs. Trust’). Trust matters more to the Navy SEALs.

How does the greatest performing team choose trust over performance? Trust creates a sense of belonging and psychological safety which creates strong relationships, which all great teams have.

ALL IN, ALL THE TIME

“All in, all the time” is a phrase used by team members of the Navy SEALs. This idea refers to the commitment of each and every Navy SEAL, and means their commitment is beyond reproach and they will give “everything” at any time and in all situations.

In society today, temporary emotional feelings can cause people to change their direction. A bad day, an undesired result, a challenging situation with a member/ employee can cause a drastic change. A decision made the day or night before doesn’t change the commitment brought the following day. Nobody requests a trade. Nobody changes teams.

There is no adversity that will change their commitment. There is no temporary emotional feeling that will change their focus towards the end goal.

THE NAVY SEAL ETHOS SAYS:

I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.

Talk about commitment – and being “All in, all the time”

HAVE A SHARED SENSE OF PURPOSE

Club leaders and employees must all have a shared sense of purpose. All must know ‘why’ or have a goal to what he/she is doing, ‘why’ the team is going in that direction, and what play is being called.

If you think of a football or basketball team, they also know the direction and purpose for the season. They know what success looks like. Are they trying to win a championship? Is the goal to make the playoffs? Is it a “rebuilding” year?

The football/basketball teams all have a playbook, and they all know which play is being called when going on the field/court. They huddle and plan for the play being executed. If one person doesn’t follow the correct play, it never works.

World-class athletes and Navy SEALs come with a special motivation and are wired to a clear team and individual goal – winning. NFL players want to win the Super Bowl. Navy SEALs want to rid the world of evil. It is hard to get that level of clarity and motivation in the workplace, but a shared sense of purpose is critical for any team.

The culture of the Navy SEALs is centered around trust, commitment, and a known/shared purpose.

The Navy SEALs are perhaps the greatest performing team in history and provide incredible examples and ideas to create a high-performing team at your club.