Giants Win! – The Power of Teamwork

Tags

collaboration, giants, goals, leadership, san francisco, team dynamics, team work

Giants Fan

Wow! What do I do with my time now?  The San Francisco Giants did the unthinkable.  Nobody thought they would win the NDLS yet the World Series.  But they pulled it off and stunned the US.  A friend of mine told me last night that the World Series had the lowest television viewing in 30 years.  Why?  Because the underdog took it?  I have a theory why the Giants were able to persevere and do the “unthinkable”.  The power of teamwork.  When Pablo had a slump at mid season, late season, and post season, somebody stepped it up.  When Torres was out for his appendectomy, Rowand stepped up.  Even though Rowand is the second highest paid Giant, he sat out and let his “hot” teammates do the work.  When Cody Ross (Sorry Doc) got cold, Renteria stepped it up and earned himself MVP.

The underacknowledged component of the Giants team is the coaching and Medical Staff.  These people all get world series rings too… and are well deserved.  The Team MD (Dr. Ken Akizuki) helped keep Uribe in the game with a torn biceps.  The head coach Bruce Boche is responsible for putting together an amazing mid-season roster (Cody Ross, Pat Burrell, and bringing up Buster Posey / Madison Baumgartner).  These pick ups were not sole ideas of Manager Boche.  The ideas were contributed by all coaching staff and even players.  Talk about teamwork.

The following are characteristics of teams according to Larson and LaFasto in their book titled Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong.

1. The team must have a clear goal. – Obviously this was to win the World Series.  Some may say that it was also to beat the Padres.
2. The team must have a results-driven structure. – Boche’s ideas on coaching and not being afraid to bench high paying players.
3. The team must have competent team members. The Giants had veteran players Huff, Renteria, Torres, and  Huff who were hungry enough to win combined with new talent Posey and Baumgartner who are destined to make history.  In the education setting this can be take to mean that the problem given to the team should be one that the members can tackle given their level of knowledge.
4. The team must have unified commitment. Despite the obvious variances of backgrounds (southern boys and latino boys all living in liberal San Francisco) the team had a commitment.  This doesn’t mean that team members must agree on everything. It means that all individuals must be directing their efforts towards the goal. If an individual’s efforts is going purely towards personal goals, then the team will confront this and resolve the problem.
5. The team must have a collaborative climate. It is a climate of trust produced by honest, open, consistent and respectful behavior. With this climate teams perform well…without it, they fail.  With Aubrey Huff’s rally thong and locker room leadership, the team was destined to victory despite any mild slumps he had during the final 2 months of the season.  Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson’s unique qualities combined with the team cultural differences melded into a climate of acceptance through team members slumps.
6. The team must have high standards that are understood by all. Team members must know what is expected of them individually and collectively.  Rowand and Zito (the two highest paying salaries on the Giants) sat the bench when push came to shove because that is what was going to get them the World Series title.
7. The team must receive external support and encouragement. Encouragement and praise works just as well in motivating teams as it does with individuals.  Giants fans!
8. The team must have principled leadership. Teams usually need someone to lead the effort. Team members must know that the team leader has the position because they have good leadership skills and are working for the good of the team. Huff and Posey definitely stepped it up to lead the team and keep them positive.  Manager Boche maintained a good relationship with the team despite making some hard decisions to bench some players when needed.  The team members will be less supportive if they feel that the team leader is putting him/herself above the team, achieving personal recognition or otherwise benefiting from the position.  This is obviously not the case with the Giants.
   

   Huff and Burrell - team mates

So, how does this apply to life?  In my life, it applies tremendously with work.  If the Physical Therapist does not communicate with the patient, doctor, front desk, personal trainer, performance specialist, then the drive to success to achieve goals is a waste of time.  We must have a clear goal, working relationship, external support, experience, and leadership in order to help someone recover from an injury and return to desired activities (sports).  The one thing that was not mentioned in Larson and LaFastos list is FUN.  The team must have fun.  I believe that is if you do not know your team well enough to be Facebook friends or chat about personal life without apprehensiveness, you will be less successful.  After all, exercise and sport was meant to be fun.  This is one of the reasons why I entered Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine as a profession.

Aubrey Huff’s locker room antics carried the Giants through the late season.  The rally thong made light of the pressure of succeeding in the late season.  Sure there were probably a lot of jokes about Huff’s rally thong, but it worked.  And the hideous “Fear the Beard” of Brian Wilson and Sergio Romo showed that the team did not care about appearance.  The common goal and superstitions increased their team dynamics and confidence to kill the opponent pitching staff throughout the late season.

When I look back and remember the GREAT teams I was part of, it all makes sense.  I remember the 92-96 Mitchell, SD  Kernels. We were volleyball and basketball champs multiple years in a row in each sport.  Why?  Because we are ongoing team mates…the majority of the varsity basketball players were also on the volleyball team.  We also had a legacy to perform well.  Coach Gary Munsen had a history of wins.   With years of state championship wins, a town of fans behind you, a lot of talent, and most importantly teamwork, we were destined to win.  Again the underacknowledged contribution to these wins was the athletic training department – they kept us injury free and were huge component to the locker room antics leading us to success.

So, why do we not succeed in our lives now?  We don’t have the passion, drive, and teamwork that many people have in athletics.  This should be obvious in corporate and clinical settings.  Have more fun, foster teamwork, and you will see results.  Is your practitioner hoarding you?  This might be a sign that he/she is not a team player.  If they want what is best for you, they will refer you to the person that will help you most.  Does your employer foster teamwork outside of workplace settings?  This might be the missing link in your happiness in your profession.  Be the “Giant” today and initiate the team dynamics.  Start by wearing the red rally thong.

References:

http://www.ndt-ed.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Teamwork.htm

Cyclists – fit, function, or lifestyle

Tags

culture, cyclists, environment, exercise, fitness, san francisco, The Mission

I have commuted by bike for three years now. I love it! It is by far the quickest mode of transportation in the city, I am enjoying the outdoors, burning energy, creating energy and saving the environment.   I have come to realize that there are three distinct categories of cyclists in San Francisco.

1. “Fitness” – those that wear bike leggings and triathlon jerseys, have the lightest and most efficient/expensive multi-speed bikes.  These cyclists count every calorie they burn and will spend a lot of money to improve their cycling efficiency as they are training for the AIDS ride.
2. “Function” – those that typically have a rack of some sort on the back of their bike to carry workout gear or food from Rainbow Grocery.  These cyclists always wear reflective gear and have lights on the front/back of their bike.  Many of them do not own a car and will promote this on their bike with stickers.  They usually ride a variety of “hybrids“:  less expensive, more comfortable (flat handlebars), more durable, and less likely to get stolen off the bike rack while at work.
3. “Lifestyle” – those that basically look cool.  They are hipsters; they wear fashionable clothing while maintaining less than 2% body fat.  Many of them are messengers on bike.  They ride fixies (one speed bikes), wear their U locks in their belt loops and skull crusher caps without a helmet.  These cyclists are less likely to follow the law of the road and like to hang out at common bars in the Mission District.

I am a “Lifestyle” cyclist “wannabe” but truly am a “Functional” cyclist.  I ride by bike to work for convenience in my PT attire, clogs, and sometimes scrubs.  I also count my calories, but I wear a cool Timbuk2 bag.  I am a hybrid (fitness, function and lifestyle) cyclist.  Here is a great link to a video of a hybrid city cyclist.  The most important thing to me and most San Franciscans is that I am helping the environment, reducing car congestion, leading a healthy lifestyle,  and contributing to the cycling way of life in San Francisco.  With the recent trial of closing Market Street for cyclists and public transportation in San Francisco, I hope the cycling community in this city explodes.  Enjoy the ride and share the road!

Links to learn more about cycling in the city:

San Francisco Bike Coalition – advocacy, education to create safe biking environment in the city

Map My Ride – post your rides to track mileage, pace, calories; interactive cycling community

Lifestyle Blog – courtesy of Box Dog Bikes!

Market Street Closure – article highlighting the benefits of the closure

BikeRadar.com – latest cycling news on equipment, blogs, fitness for all styles of cycling

Bike Commuting Tips – Blog by Paul Dorn with many more links