As leaders, we all want to build great teams and be part of great teams. In this October 6th article written by Ted Nguyen for The Athletic, Ted takes a look at this year’s San Francisco 49ers defense and why it has a chance to be historic. Whether you lead a church, business, non-profit, educational or athletic organization, the lessons learned can help us all build more effective and high-performing teams as well.
Great Teams have great players.
This is not complicated. John Wooden said, “I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.” Coach Lou Holtz added, “I’ve coached teams with good players and I’ve coached teams with bad players. I’m a better coach when I have good players!” Nguyen made note that the 49ers had blue-chip players at every level of defense – the defensive line, linebackers, and secondary. Simply put, they are loaded with talent.
Great Teams have players who play to their strengths.
If you want a bad team, simply have a large number of people doing what they are not good at. That is a recipe for failure. Nguyen writes, “Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans understands the strengths and weaknesses of his players and puts them in a position to succeed.” Do you know the strengths of those on your team and have you put them in positions to be successful? If not, stop reading this article and develop a plan to do so right now!
Great Teams continually make adjustments.
Yesterday’s solutions do not solve today’s problems. The world is too fluid for rigid leaders to be successful. Today’s most successful teams are nimble and “can make necessary schematic adjustments.”
Great Teams know who fits best in their culture and hires only those people.
Culture is who you hire. The problem with many organizations is they don’t know who they are and their hiring practices reflect such. The 49ers know who they want from a size, skill, and mentality perspective. Nguyen wrote, “The 49ers seek out big, explosive athletes who can change directions.”
Do you have an ideal employee profile for the type of individuals you want to add to your organization? If not, get together with your team and make one up today!
Great Teams have many great leaders.
No matter what type of organization you may be, you can never have enough leaders. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is generally recognized as one of the brightest head coaches in the game. Ryans will be on everyone’s short list for head coaching opportunities next year. And then there is defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.
What is interesting about the previous point about the 49ers wanting “big, explosive athletes who can change directions” is what is not said. Skill was not listed. Obviously, they want a high level of skill but if the players have a certain mental and athletic makeup, Coach Kocurek is tasked with teaching them the schematic elements of their craft.
Great Teams have great depth.
The 49ers have a number of great players who play to their strengths. The team also has a great culture, continually makes adjustments, and has many great leaders. But Nguyen writes, “what makes the 49ers special is how deep their rotation is.”
Depth gives your team margin in case of injuries, resignations, or individual poor performance. It also gives you a developmental pipeline ensuring long-term success. You want your team to be green (continually having young talent) and growing (proven talent). Depth gives you this possibility.
What is one thing you learned from the San Francisco 49ers potentially historic defense which will make you a better team?
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