Are you still going through Olympics withdrawal? Me, too! But imagine this: You can put yourself in the story.
You may not be ready to run a relay race or perform a high dive. However, you can get a gold medal in people skills by duplicating the same mindset champions use. Tennis legend Billie Jean King summed up this winning attitude by saying, “Everything we do, we must do with pride, passion, and purpose.”
Team sports are fascinating because they combine individual excellence with collaboration. So, in the September series, we’ll learn how to master collaboration from one of the most inspirational groups in sports history: The University of Washington 1936 rowing team, better known as “The Boys in the Boat.” You’ll learn how the UW team put three non-negotiable people skills—cooperation, flexibility, and accountability—to work to become champions.
Let’s look at how The Boys blended the abilities of eight incredibly different people in the rush to capture the gold.
If you don’t know the story, The University of Washington team was a scrappy junior varsity squad that rose from unfunded obscurity to become Olympic champions. When you think of gold medalists, you probably think of the best of the best. But here’s the reality: The Boys were hardly a bunch of ringers. No one had impressive credentials or private trainers.
To set the stage, let’s meet a few crew members. (And as we’re going through the line-up, see if you’ve ever tried to collaborate with similar personalities.)
* Joe Rantz was eager to make his spot work because he was struggling to make ends meet. There was just one problem: He had never rowed before.
* Saying Don Hume was quiet is an understatement. He kept most of his sentences to three words or less.
* Then there was Bobby Moch, the coxswain. He had a brilliant mind but an equally fierce temper. Moch’s keen eye was critical to fashioning a strategy where the team rowed as one.
Coach Al Ulbrickson knew that becoming medal winners was much more complicated than finding eight talented people. Everyone had to boss up. But here’s the kicker: Bossing up wasn’t about a single talent. It was about the collective.
And here’s the parallel to your collaboration challenges: Just like a team at your office, The Boys didn’t have any influence on who made the cut. Their shot at winning required cooperating and optimizing what each rower brought to the table. That meant everyone had a role to play—pushing or forcing others to a single way of being wasn’t an option.
So, here’s lesson #1: Being a champion collaborator requires creating a coalition.
You might think, These high-minded ideas sound good, but I have similar issues. I didn’t choose who is in my boat. That frustration is understandable, especially if a team is having ups and downs. However, two things are within your control: How you show up and how you work with others.
So, collaborate well by building a coalition with the same people skills used by the UW squad—cooperation and respect. Here are three realistic ways to demonstrate these qualities:
Keeping teams rowing forward is possible, even when conditions are against you. But to achieve that goal, you have to find common ground. Create solid alliances and build your coalition on people skills.