Multiple "experts" on ESPN kept coming back to similar reasons for Butler's apparent unhappiness with the Wolves. The common theme was that Butler did not like the attitude or behavior of teammates on the Wolves. One player was described as having a "lack of passion," he was just playing for the money according to a source. And another significant player was described as "poor priorities." The feeling was that this player was much more invested in personal stats than in winning games. The conclusion was that Butler saw these players who were significant to the team and the teams success, but who had major character flaws. And the experts went onto say that Butler felt, "you can't win championships with players who lack passion (heart) or who have selfish priorities." The point was that no matter what the talent level of a team- the team's culture will determine their ceiling!
After listening to this, I was reminded about a book about North Carolina women's soccer program. The soccer program may be the most successful program in NCAA history. In the book, Coach Dorrance talked about building team culture. Here is part of his thoughts:
North Carolina Women's Soccer Team's Core Values
by Anson Dorrance, Head Coach
There are certain principles of behavior that
produce extraordinary results. People who make a
living from studying what makes organizations excellent usually boil their
consistent success down to the group living a powerful set of core values.
Every year
when I meet with the rising seniors each week in the spring our discussions
center around our core values and what they can do to live them and how they
can help drive everyone within the culture to live them as well. Human nature being
what it is, some leaders embrace the personal and public challenge of our
discussions and some don't; just like some people within the culture live the
core values and some just don't have the strength.
We need them to embrace and live what
we have collected below because our culture and core values are only as strong
as our leaders and what they endorse and drive as acceptable behavior. So over the past 25 years, since our program
began in 1979, what are the best elements of our tradition? What are our core
values?
THE CORE VALUES
1. Let's begin with this,
we don't whine. This individual can
handle any situation and never complain about anything on or off the field.
("The true joy in
life is to be a force of fortune instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of
ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to
making you happy." George Bernard Shaw).
2. We work hard. This individual embodies the
"indefatigable human spirit" and never stops pushing herself. She is
absolutely relentless in training and in the match.
("The difference
between one person and another, between the weak and the powerful, the great
and the insignificant, is energy -- invisible determination . . . This quality
will do anything that has to be done in the world, and no talents, no
circumstances, no opportunities will make you a great person without it."
Thomas Buxton - Philanthropist).
3. The truly
extraordinary do something every day. This
individual has remarkable self-descipline, does the summer workout sheets from
beginning to end without omission or substitution, and every day has a plan to
do something to get better.
("Roosevelt, more
than any other man living within the range of notoriety showed the singular
primitive quality that belongs to ultimate matter, the quality that medieval
theology assigned to God: 'he was pure act'." Henry Adams, Theodore Rex -
Desmond Morris).
4. We choose to be
positive. Nothing can depress or
upset this powerful and positive life force -- no mood swings, not even
negative circumstances can affect this "rock".
(" . . . everything
can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to
choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own
way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the
opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would
or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self,
your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the
plaything of circumstance . . . in the final analysis it becomes clear that the
sort of person (you are is) the result of an inner decision . . . therefore,
any man can . . . decide . . . that (this) last inner freedom cannot be
lost." Viktor E. Frankl Man's Search for Meaning).
5. When we don't play as
much as we would like we are noble and still support the team and its mission. This remarkably noble, self sacrificing,
generous human being always places the team before herself.
("If there is a
meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is
an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and
death human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate
and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives
him ample opportunity -- even under the most difficult circumstances -- to add
a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or
in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and
become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make
use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a
difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of
his sufferings or not." Viktor E. Frankl Man's Search for Meaning).
6. We don't freak out over ridiculous issues or live in fragile
states of emotional catharsis or create crises where none should exist. The best example is
the even-keeled stoic that is forever unflappable. The worst example is the
"over-bred dog," that high maintenance, overly sensitive
"flower" that becomes unstable or volatile over nothing significant.
("What an
extraordinary place of liberties the West really is . . . exempt from many of
the relentless physical and social obligations necessary for a traditional life
for survival, they become spoiled and fragile like overbred dogs; neurotic and
prone to a host of emotional crises elsewhere." Jason Elliot, An
Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan).
7. We are well led. This is the verbal leader on the field that
is less concerned about her popularity and more concerned about holding
everyone to their highest standards and driving her teammates to their
potential. This person competes all the time and demands that everyone else do
as well!
("Not long ago, to
'believe in yourself' meant taking a principled, and often lonely, stand when
it appeared difficult or dangerous to do so. Now it means accepting one's own
desires and inclinations, whatever they may be, and taking whatever steps that
may be necessary to advance them." William Damon, Greater Expectations).
8. We care about each
other as teammates and as human beings. This is that non-judgmental, inclusive
friend that never says a negative thing about anyone and embraces everyone
because of their humanity, with no elitist separation by academic class, social
class, race, religious preference, or sexual orientation.
("No man is an
island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the
main . . . any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and
therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
John Donne, For Whom the Bell Tolls).
9. We play for each
other.
This is the kind of player that works herself to death covering for all of her
teammates in the toughest games. Her effort and care (her verbal encouragement)
make her a pleasure to play with and her selflessness helps everyone around her
to be a better player.
("People don't care
how much you know until they know how much you care." Note given to me by
Rakel Karvelsson (UNC '98))
10. We want our lives
(and not just in soccer) to be never ending ascensions - but for that to happen
properly our fundamental attitude about life and our appreciation for it is
critical. This is that humble, gracious high-achiever that is thankful
for everything that she has been given in life, and has a contagious generosity
and optimism that lights up a room just by walking into it.
("Finally there is
the question of whether we have a duty to feel grateful. Hundreds of
generations who came before us lived dire, short lives, in deprivation or
hunger, in ignorance or under oppression or during war, and did so partly
motivated by the dream that someday there would be men and women who lived long
lives in liberty with plenty to eat and without fear of an approaching storm.
Suffering through
privation, those who came before us accumulated the knowledge that makes our
lives favored; fought the battles that made our lives free; physically built
much of what we rely on for our prosperity; and, most important, shaped the
ideals of liberty. For all the myriad problems of modern society, we now live
in the world our forebears would have wished for us--in many ways, a better
place than they dared imagine. For us not to feel grateful is treacherous
selfishness.
Failing to feel grateful
to those who came before is such a corrosive notion, it must account at some
level for part of our bad feelings about the present. The solution--a rebirth
of thankfulness--is in our self-interest". Gregg Easterbrook, The Progress
Paradox.)
11. And we want these
four years of college to be rich, valuable and deep. This is that
focused individual that is here for the "right reason" to get an
education. She leads her life here with the proper balance and an orientation
towards her intellectual growth, and against the highest public standards and
most noble universal ideals, she makes good choices to best represent herself,
her team, and her university.
("College is about
books. And by the word books, the proposition means this: College is about the
best available tools--books, computers, lab equipment--for broadening your
mastery of one or more important subjects that will go on deepening your
understanding of the world, yourself and the people around you. Reynolds
Price).
No comments:
Post a Comment