What does alignment look like within a team or organization verses just getting agreement. What are the key aspects of alignment and how can you make the organizational shift.

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[00:06] Ryan: Welcome to shift happens where we talk everything, mindset, development, taking lessons from the college and pro athletes, coaches and teams that we work alongside. I'm Ryan Schachner. This is Cheney Robinson. And today we're talking about team alignment. Cheney, before we get into team alignment, what percentage of teams would you say have from top down coaching or GM to coach to the players, have team alignment?

[00:40] Cheney: Probably less than half.

[00:44] Ryan: I would say that might be even high.

[00:46] Ryan: Right.

[00:48] Ryan: Because if I think about the teams that really had alignment.

[00:53] Ryan: Right.

[00:54] Ryan: I think football, I think the Patriots.

[00:58] Ryan: Right.

[00:58] Ryan: Winning, you know, their division champion, year in, year out, Super bowl appearance. You could almost write it in pen at the beginning of the season.

[01:09] Cheney: Right.

[01:09] Ryan: So those guys had to be aligned. The Bulls with their run.

[01:14] Ryan: Right.

[01:15] Ryan: Both the three peats. The Lakers with, you know, Kobe, shaq, the Brave. Michael.

[01:23] Cheney: Yeah, Michael.

[01:24] Ryan: Winning Olympia.

[01:26] Cheney: Right. And the Braves, I think, won. Was it 14 straight divisions? Yeah. There's a lot. There's a lot to say there, too.

[01:36] Ryan: Absolutely. Absolutely. So, all right, let's help. Let's define what, in our words, what we would say team alignment is. What does it look like? I'd say shared. Common vision. You're sharing that vision, the goals and then the values. And I'd say values. And I'd put that in the context of moral values. What is morally important? Is there shared vision and agreement on those. Being able to use all those to work together. Right. To achieve the common vision, being able to understand and being committed to the team's objectives and really having the clarity. And I think this is important, the clarity regarding individual roles and responsibilities within the team. Yeah, I think that's one that a lot of times is missing. And then how do you then encompass and foster a sense of camaraderie, mutual respect.

[02:46] Ryan: Right.

[02:46] Ryan: As team members, that doesn't mean friendship. That means mutual respect.

[02:52] Ryan: Right.

[02:52] Ryan: You respect what they're able to do and they respect what you're able to do. And the result, a lot of times it leads to the increased collaboration, innovation, but at the heart of it, overall team performance.

[03:05] Ryan: Right.

[03:06] Ryan: You win more.

[03:07] Ryan: Right.

[03:08] Ryan: You have more wins, longer stretches of wins. They support each other, whether it's in the media, on campus, or, you know, off the field, they're able to communicate. Sometimes that's not always happy communication. Kobe and Shaq, it was yelling at each other, but they had 

[03:44] Ryan: Right.

[03:44] Ryan: That's just how they interacted and being able to leverage each other's strengths in certain situations throughout the season in order to achieve the team goals. That would be how I would define team alignment.

[04:08] Ryan: Right.

[04:08] Ryan: What does team alignment mean? I would say to me, that's what team alignment means. What are your, what do you think?

[04:15] Cheney: I concur with all that. I think, too, there's a very high level of trust that is very, you know, very apparent there, too, within the group. And I think that comes from that. The last couple points that you made, camaraderie and then just the respect that they have for each other as a 

[04:41] Ryan: So indicators, right, that we've seen that a team is not aligned.

[04:46] Ryan: Right.

[04:48] Ryan: Lack of communication.

[04:50] Ryan: Right.

[04:51] Ryan: And that could be just talking on the field. I mean, we've, we were at AAU tournament and the team that we work with was getting stomped. And this is, these guys are the best of the best. They're going power five out of high school. You're getting stomped. And there was almost zero communication going on on the court.

[05:15] Ryan: Right.

[05:15] Ryan: So it could be on the court, it could be in the locker room. Communication, information sharing.

[05:22] Ryan: Right.

[05:23] Ryan: Being able to exchange ideas. Hey, this is what I'm seeing. These are the adjustments you need to make, right. Being able to spot out some of those things, different goals and priorities between. It could be position groups, it could be players on the team, low morale, low motivation, long season, maybe it's not going like we thought. So low motivation, inefficient use of resources, and then lack of trust and accountability. And I'd say those are, if there's. It doesn't, the team doesn't have to embody all of them.

[06:06] Cheney: Right.

[06:06] Ryan: It just has to be one of those for there to be misalignment within the team.

[06:12] Ryan: Right.

[06:12] Ryan: And then that's, that's like the, you know, the blueberry that you get in the pack that starts to grow the mold on it, and it's one, you don't take it out of the pack that day, you're thinking, oh, it's just one blueberry. I'll take care of it when I get them tomorrow. And then tomorrow comes and there's ten blueberries that have mold on them. Right. It's. It's that mold that grows and then it impacts, at the end of the day that the team goes.

[06:39] Ryan: Right?

[06:39] Ryan: Yeah. So then, then the result of that is clearly decreased productivity. There's silos within the team and that really hinders the, you 

[07:04] Cheney: I think the first and most important thing that you just said there was communication or lack thereof, because if we're not communicating, we're going to have a story built up in our minds of what's happening and we can potentially silo ourselves or be out on our own little island. And because we hadn't communicated or been curious and asked questions and, you know, let stuff not let stuff fester but bring get it out, you know, talk. Hey, let's discuss, you know, we may not agree, but now we're sharing where we are and how we're feeling and what's, what's going on. And again, you're right, too. That was the end of the season for them and it may not have been as successful a season as they were hoping for is the goals that they had set, but it's still productive season. Right?

[07:55] Ryan: Yeah.

[07:55] Ryan: I look at, I remember an interview that I saw. It was a player that played for Belichick and wide receiver coming friend was a free agent. He came in as a wide receiver and getting targets throughout the season and really only played special teams those years.

[08:15] Ryan: Right.

[08:15] Ryan: And. But he did it. He embraced it. He was on board with it. And so the interview was what happened? You know, you came in and you were getting targets as a wide receiver and, you know, you didn't get the chances to play the position. You just stayed on special teams. What 

[09:07] Ryan: Right.

[09:08] Ryan: And so it was very clear.

[09:11] Cheney: Right.

[09:12] Ryan: Hey, this is what I bring you in here for before the contract is signed. This is my expectations. This is the role you're going to play.

[09:22] Cheney: Right.

[09:23] Ryan: And if you don't want to play it, that's fine, but you need to know upfront so that it doesn't create that, you know, the mold in the locker room.

[09:30] Ryan: Right.

[09:31] Ryan: And he accepted it. He didn't have to like it.

[09:34] Ryan: Right.

[09:34] Ryan: But his goal was to win the Super bowl, and he realized that, hey, if I want to do that, I got to play my, my role on the team.

[09:41] Ryan: Right.

[09:42] Ryan: So we talk communication top down of what expectations are, reasonable expectations and expectations, you know, although that sort of stuff. But then we talk about communication from how do you maximize a player's ability?

[10:00] Ryan: Right.

[10:00] Ryan: And it's understanding how to communicate.

[10:04] Cheney: Yeah.

[10:04] Ryan: And we see this, I think, is the biggest missed opportunity and I think of a guy named, you know, DJ Uyungle.

[10:15] Ryan: Right.

[10:15] Ryan: When he was at Clemson, he was guy, the next guy.

[10:19] Ryan: Right?

[10:20] Cheney: Yeah.

[10:20] Ryan: Clearly he was at Clemson. Something did not click.

[10:24] Ryan: Right.

[10:25] Ryan: He was, he was a second too late on throws and there was hesitation out there when he was playing. Well, then he goes out west and now he's, I believe he's at Florida State. Yeah. And he, he crushed it out west. And I have no, you know, that my expectations is he does the same thing at Florida State.

[10:49] Cheney: Right.

[10:49] Ryan: Well, was that, did his talent get that much better? I don't. So, like, the talent was there. Did his football grow? Yeah, probably a little bit, but significantly, I think he got in the right system and the coach was able to communicate in a way that could maximize, you know, DJ's talent.

[11:14] Ryan: Right.

[11:15] Ryan: He was able to align communication with how DJ learned in order to help him maximize his ability.

[11:24] Ryan: Right.

[11:24] Cheney: Yeah.

[11:25] Ryan: And so I think it's that being able as a coach to identify. All right, what are my players, how do they communicate and how can I or my staff adjust how we say things so that we can get the best out of them.

[11:41] Cheney: Right. Well, and we know, too, there's so many times, you know, the sender and receiver, what we're saying one thing and we know what we mean to say, but the receiver is not receiving it that way. So what you're, you've hit the nail on the head. It's, you know, we're communicating 

[12:39] Ryan: But I think it's right. I mean, as the, as the elite coaches in their sports, they're able to identify these communication styles and they're able 

[12:59] Ryan: Right.

[13:00] Ryan: Yeah. Then I think it's.

[13:04] Cheney: So.

[13:04] Ryan: I think that's one key. Right. To me, there's two key takeaways of things that can be worked on, and then, in my opinion, everything else kind of falls into line.

[13:16] Ryan: Right.

[13:16] Ryan: So communication is definitely one of them. But then being able to understand the player's performance capabilities or performance capacities. Right. Understand their strengths and weaknesses. Being able 

[13:49] Ryan: Right.

[13:50] Ryan: Being able to know, hey, is this, this player may follow direction and be coachable, but is he going to accept coaching? Meaning if I can spot a way for him to improve long term, and it means changing footwork or changing position, those sorts of things, is he going to embrace and accept that coaching and make that change long term or is he going to pay it lip service and, you know, temporarily switch up his footwork, but then at the end of the day, he's just going to revert back to the old habits.

[14:29] Ryan: Right.

[14:30] Ryan: And so it's. It's being able to. To identify how their brain works, how, you know, their experiences, uh, that they. That they had growing up are. Are impacting the behaviors that we see and understanding before it exhibits itself on the field or on the court. And so I think that's the other 

[15:22] Ryan: Right.

[15:22] Ryan: And then being able to communicate.

[15:25] Cheney: You're exactly right, I think, in encompassing all of that, too. I think ultimately, if the athletes know that you care about them, right, that you want the best for them, it's not just, hey, I want you to your **** in my, in my chess game here of trying to win a national championship. Maxwell talks about this. Leaders that are looking to influence people, they, whomever they looking to influence has got to be able to answer three questions, can you help me? Can I trust you? And do you care? And you better be. They may be able to say yes to all three of those. And the last one I think is probably the most important is do you care? And I think that's where just the interactions, trying to figure out how to communicate with each individual person, whether it's on your athletic team or it's a CEO is talking to is Jamie Dimon is talking to his group and saying, okay, here's the strategic vision moving forward for us. Here's how it's going to impact each other and here's the expectations. If they, if the team and the group knows, hey, he cares about us individually also as a group, then there's gonna be a lot more motivation, a lot more willingness to lean in and jump and embrace it.

[16:45] Ryan: Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. And I wanna hit on something. Cause you said vision, right? What is the vision? A lot of times the vision. I mean, I don't know that there's a team in the NFL that begins the season saying we want to finish last in the division.

[17:03] Ryan: Right?

[17:03] Cheney: Right.

[17:05] Ryan: It's, we want to finish first in the division then, you know, and then, you know, win the AFC or NFC and then the Super bowl. No one's goal is to be last or to, hey, we want to just miss the playoffs.

[17:20] Ryan: Right.

[17:20] Ryan: That, that's our, that's our goal. And so it always starts with, um, you know, that, that grand goal, but then it's breaking down into, all right, how do we know if we're outside of just wins and losses if, if we're making progress towards this, right? And I know talking to some Ohio State football guys that played on offense, Urban Meyers thing was, all right, every snap the goal is to get three and a half yards.

[17:52] Cheney: Yeah.

[17:53] Ryan: If we get three and a half yards, right. First down, second down, third down, we're going to score. Right. So it's not that, hey, we need to score on x number of possessions. It's we need to get three and a half yards. So, and it could have been a Hail Mary, it could have been a running play, but the goal at the end of the day was, can we make this and get our three and a half yards? And so it was a tiny measurement that they could identify early on in the season, early on in the game to see if they were making progress towards those goals. And they knew if they got those three and a half yards, they were going to score points. They knew if they were going to score points, they were going to win football games. And they knew if they won football games, they would get an opportunity to play for the national championship and probably one of the most successful coaches of all time from, you know, getting teams very quickly to that high level.

[18:54] Ryan: Right.

[18:54] Ryan: And so it's, it's not just sharing what the vision is, but giving workable goals to help show progress right. Outside of wins and losses. 

[19:08] Ryan: Right.

[19:08] Ryan: It's empowering the team. It's letting them know that you care to.

[19:14] Ryan: Right.

[19:16] Ryan: By checking in with them.

[19:17] Ryan: Right.

[19:18] Ryan: Especially if you know where some of the weaknesses are. If you can identify play starting to falter or their performance isn't where it could be having those key indicators of what might be the leading cause of that.

[19:35] Ryan: Right.

[19:36] Ryan: And being able to identify that, to have those check inside, but then empowering the team as well. And so it's not, you know, I think of the best teams I've been a part of, the best teams I've seen is they delegate that. The coaches delegate the power.

[19:55] Ryan: Right.

[19:56] Ryan: They delegate the leadership to not just the captains, but inside the position group.

[20:02] Ryan: Right.

[20:02] Ryan: Is somebody gonna lead in that position group? And it doesn't matter if they're a freshman or a senior. It's somebody's got a lead and they got to delegate some of that authority inside that position group with guardrails, clearly. But it's, it's letting the, the team, you know, coach each other, hold each other accountable. Have those. Yeah. That open dialogue.

[20:27] Ryan: Right.

[20:27] Cheney: Yeah. When Phil Jackson, you know, long time coach of the Bulls and ended up being with the Lakers, too, he's, I've read quote from him saying a coach led team is a, can be a good team, but a player led team can be a great team. And I got, I gotta, I gotta trust he's, you know, he's got nine plus rings, if not more. You know, he's got fingers for all the rings that he's got. So he's got a pretty good idea of what he's, what he's talking about.

[20:55] Ryan: For coaches, for organizations looking to. All right, are we aligned?

[21:01] Ryan: Right.

[21:01] Ryan: I mean, we can, we can help identify the, you know, the strengths. Right. I think key number one is identify the strengths and weaknesses of your team where you have them in certain positions.

[21:15] Ryan: Right.

[21:15] Ryan: From up from leadership positions to are they in the right, you know, physical position, more, more corporate side for that last one. Are they in the right role to maximize their strengths?

[21:29] Ryan: Right.

[21:29] Ryan: Or is that role highlighting their weaknesses? Because you could have the right person, just in the right spot, being able to understand how they all communicate. Step two, being able to break down the goals, the vision of the team. So getting the right people in the right place, talking to them in a way that's going to help maximize their talent, get that shared vision, shared goals. And the communication then leads to that team camaraderie.

[22:03] Ryan: Right.

[22:03] Ryan: And so I think one thing a lot of times that I see coaches try and do is the team bonding, and they think that that's going to help build the camaraderie.

[22:16] Ryan: Right.

[22:17] Ryan: And I just look at some of the most successful teams from a winning standpoint, you could argue, had some of the most selfish players on it, right. And I say, and I say, you know, I look at a Jordan who, you could argue he isolated himself, right. A Kobe Bryant who isolated himself. Yet 

[23:13] Cheney: Yeah. Well, and I think for Kobe, and it seemed like what I've read, what I've heard about him was if you put the work in, then you're, you're, you're on the inner, inner circle with him. If you didn't, then he wouldn't even pass you the ball. Right. Like I saw an interview where one of his former teammates very, he didn't do anything basketball related outside of the scheduled practice time. Right. And Kobe's practicing three times a day. And you can look back at his schedule. He's, he's early, early in the morning, he's refueling, you know, recovering, and then there's another one a few hours later, recovering, refueling, and then there's another one. Right. So he was at peak physical level and he, that's, he knew that's where I've got to be to be able to withstand the beating that I want to take. Same thing with Jordan. You know, Jordan rules. He realized, hey, I better put some weight on. If this is the game that I'm going to play, this is what I've got to do. And he had that same expectation, too. Like he'd get on, he'd get in your face, like. But he understood, too. I know I can't do it by myself. I've got to have the support of these guys and I'm going to go push them because I see what they're capable of, and I'm going to push them past their limits because they don't know what their limits are. I can see it. And I'm going to help get them past their limits. So they ultimately are helping us go 72 and ten and putting that big honking ring on our, on our finger at the end of the season.

[25:02] Ryan: Yeah, for sure. You know, one of the funniest Kobe stories, and as we wrap up this episode is poor performance on, you know, they. I think they had lost a couple games, right. And the players, a lot of the guys on his team wore the shoes, the Kobe Bryant shoes, right. And he was so upset that he told the locker room attendant, you know, hey, next morning, take the shoes back. Don't let them wear the shoes because they're making my name, they're not wearing them.

[25:39] Cheney: Right.

[25:40] Ryan: And so sure enough, one of his teammates shows up and the attendant is pulling the shoes. All the Kobe's off the, you know, out of the 

[25:58] Ryan: Right, right.

[26:01] Ryan: So he, you know, he isolated himself. He had high expectations. He had ways of delivering messages that may be to some unorthodox, but just because you have that, he wasn't a big team bonding type guy.

[26:17] Ryan: Right.

[26:18] Ryan: That didn't make him a bad teammate. And so bonding to, you know, bonding doesn't always solve the problem. I think it's a component, especially as, you know, the team is bigger and younger and all that type of stuff, but that's not the end all, be all, you know, quick fixed. So, hey, thank you for joining us on shift happens. We can't wait to see you next time.