We all want to be part of a great team. Furthermore, we want to build and lead great teams. This is because great teams accomplish great things and significantly make a difference in the lives of people.
But what makes up a great team? Are the qualities which can be identified and replicated? The answer is “Yes”.
In today’s issue of USA Today, writers Scott Gleason and Chris Chase ranked the Top 10 Duke basketball teams of all-time. What made each team so successful teaches us much about building great teams ourselves.
The following are 10 Qualities Which Make Up Great Teams we learn from the greatest Duke basketball teams:
- Great Teams Have Great Experience – The 1991-92 national championship team is considered the greatest Duke team of all-time. It was also the most experienced.
- Great Teams Accomplish Great Things – Great teams must do something significant. The 1990-91 national champions defeated the undefeated defending champion UNLV Running Rebels.
- Great Teams Have Great Intelligence – Great teams are smart. The 1985-86 team featured Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry, Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker, Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins and ESPN’s Jay Bilas.
- Great Teams Have Great Collective Talent – The 1998-99 team featured six players who would have careers in the NBA.
- Great Teams Have Great Individual Talent – The 2000-01 national championship team featured Shane Battier, the Wooden Award winner as the nation’s top player.
- Great Teams Have Great Expectations – Unfortunately, sometimes even the best teams fail to meet expectations. The 2001-02 team was expected to repeat as national champion but were upset in the Sweet 16.
- Great Teams Have Great Depth – This year’s Duke team has an incredibly strong supporting cast to support star center Jahill Okafor.
- Great Teams Have Multiple Options – This was not the case for the 2005-06 team which consisted of two players, Sheldon Williams and J.J. Redick, scoring the majority of the team’s points. When Redick shot 3 for 18 against LSU, the team had no other options losing to a very good team.
- Great Teams Have Great Chemistry – The 2009-10 national champions only had one future NBA player and he played a supporting role. Though they overachieved, they were a great team in the truest sense of the word.
- Great Teams Utilize Momentum – Though the 2003-04 team finished the regular season with a 5-4 record, they caught fire in the tournament making it all the way to the championship game where they lost to Connecticut.
Experience, Accomplishment, Intelligence, Individual and Team Talent, Expectations, Depth, Options, Chemistry and Momentum. If you have these 10 things, you may be part of a great team as well.
What is one area on this list you can improve in as a team?
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