Monthly Archives: December 2017

“When we walked into a building for practice or a game, we left our egos outside the building. However, we brought our TEAM EGO into the building.”

The above quote is how Bill Russell described the Boston Celtics basketball teams he played on. Their Team Ego resulted in 11 NBA championships in the 13 years Russell played in Boston. I cannot imagine any future player entering the NBA whose team will win 11 championships in 13 years.

The essence of sport is getting teammates to drop their individual egos for the sake of the entire team. Various coaches have reiterated this concept in a myriad of different ways.

Vince Lombardi used to tell the Green Bay Packers, “Individual commitment to a group cause is what makes a team, a business, a church, or a country work.”

UCLA’s legendary coach, John Wooden, coached many stars during his tenure with the Bruins. He was the College Player of The Year when he graduated from Purdue University, so he knew about stardom from both playing and coaching. His insight was, “The main ingredient of a star is the rest of the team.”

Al McGuire, the former Marquette coach and the most “street-smart” person I ever worked with used to tell his athletes, “Either we all go uptown together or nobody goes uptown at all.”

When I think of some of the really good teams I was privileged to play on or coach, there is no question that everyone was on the same page and that page was “Us.” Individual glory was sacrificed for team glory.

I have always believed that the concept of teamwork definitely transcends athletics. If this is true, should not the first priority of a leader be the development of teamwork? If a business or any organization is to pursue excellence, I do not think they can achieve that goal unless they commit to teamwork.

A classic example of teamwork in the medical field is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Friends who have been there tell me that they are immediately met by a primary physician. After a thorough examination of the medical issues, the patient is then assigned to a team of doctors. All the doctors work together to find the best treatment for the patient. Their commitment to Team Ego has earned them international acclaim.

In my 34 years at the University of St. Francis, I served on a number of committees with the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and was always proud of our work. Everyone was committed to make the best decision for the conference as a whole, not the best decision for their individual schools.

I have also been in situations where jealousy was preeminent and your outside competitors were not the problem; the problem was the people within the organization. The excellence that could have been — and should have been — achieved never came to fruition.

Leaders must do everything they can to develop Team Ego within their organizations!

My sister, Marybeth Balog, sent me a number of quotes and quite a few of them referred to how we will be remembered at the end of our lives. Enjoy them.

• Clarence Darrow wrote, “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.”
• Mark Twain saw it this way: “I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”
• Oscar Wilde wrote, “He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.”
• Stephen Bishop was quoted as saying, “I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.”
• Mae West stated, “His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.”
• Finally, Oscar Wilde once again: “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.”

I think I would be correct in assuming none of us would like to have any one of the above quotes be the theme of our funeral.

The Irish have often celebrated death by imbibing in the drink. They have been known to say that the only difference between an Irish wedding and an Irish wake is one less drunk.

On the other hand, there have been two funerals that I will never forget. The first was my good friend, Tony Delgado’s father. After the priest and the altar boys reached the altar, a Mariachi Band came up the center aisle playing very loudly. We were all surprised as none of us had ever experienced that in church before. In his eulogy the priest explained that Mr. Delgado requested the band to be part of his funeral. He said every room Mr. Delgado entered in his life, he brought joy and he wanted that joy to be part of his funeral.

The second was Dr. Gene Curran. Doc was a podiatrist and took the time out of his busy schedule to teach Biology at our high school. When the priest gave the eulogy, he referred to Doc as “the quiet man who said so much.” He truly was a mentor to many of us and he taught us how to treat people, not by his words but by his actions. His actions did say a great deal.

When leaders ever take the time to reflect on their legacies, they may want to reflect on Mr. Delgado and Doc Curran who lived by a creed Albert Einstein believed in: 

“I can think of no reason why we are here other than to help others.”

Leaders are in a unique position where they can help others.