If you saw the 1980 Winter Olympics then you remember how the US Hockey team stunned the world by beating the Soviet Union. I still recall my fathers shouting and laughter, everyone in the house dance and cheered, and neighbors everywhere went nuts. The movie Miracle with Kurt Russell captures this moment in time. In the movie Russell plays US team coach Herb Brooks. Brooks understands that in order to beat the Russians he must get his team to work together.

That’s a hard thing to do because the Russians are good at this sport but Brooks has a plan to beat them. Brooks doesn’t select the best players to beat the Russians. Brooks selects players based on their ability to work together. Brooks doesn’t want the show-boats or the guys who are self-serving. He needs guys who are cogs in a wheel.

In the movie Russell states, ‘I’m not looking for the best players. I’m looking for the right ones’. What, do you expect to get into a group and you’re just going to have a Vulcan mind-meld with your co-workers and teammates? You think you’re going to read minds, and know everything they know and be just like them? That’s not going to happen.

The reality is, building good relationships takes work, and that hard work leads to building trust. You can’t just show up and expect things to function well. You have to make them function well.

The truth is, being able to work with people who ARE NOT LIKE you gives you the opportunity to grow as a person. And it gives them the opportunity as well. If you were all perfect, there wouldn’t be a need to train, communicate or solve problems. You would never have to do a thing. Being mature means dealing with the fact that you have differences, dealing with the fact that you might not agree politically, religiously or whatever. But, you’re willing to put that away and make something good out of nothing.

Yes, you’re a cog in a wheel. But if you know that, and can get others to be cogs as well then your wheel is going to travel pretty far. So, what’s the trick?

Be competent-This means having the ability, knowledge and skill to do something successfully. Lots of ninjas are ninjas because they pad their resume and like to do a lot of talking. But they can be sniffed out. No one likes a talker. It’s best to say less and do more. Be good at your craft rather than being mediocre. Being competent and continually seeking ways to improve shows your team you are willing to do what it takes to make the whole team function exceptionally. In the movie Miracle Brooks wasn’t looking for the best, he was looking for those who were good enough for the job and willing to do the work as a team to become excellent. He took 26 undisciplined men, taught them how to work as a team while using their skills, in order to be the best.

Be trustworthy-Are you able to be relied on? Are you honest and truthful? Do you protect the information you’re given by your team mates or do your spread vitriol and gossip? Are you going to be a reliable source of information as well or are you undependable, a cheat and a fraud? A small lie is no different from a large one. The minute you are dishonest with a team-mate, that’s the end of trust, and don’t even think for a minute that someone is going to put up with that. Being untrustworthy also affects the information your given, the respect your shown and a lot of other bad stuff. In Miracle each player had to believe his teammate would be there to cover him, there to receive the puck, and each trusted the other would do their job.

Respect your team-Talk straight with your team. Not being straight with any one of them demonstrates that you don’t believe they are mature enough to handle what needs to be said. Don’t lie, give respect and you get respect. Treat everyone the same. Sure, you’re going to have varying levels of friendships with each member, but when it comes to work related matters everyone is a cog in a wheel. Everyone should be treated fairly. I know a guy who got back from deployment and he dropped paper on everyone in his team. No one saw it coming and no one knew why. If you have a problem with someone, give them respect enough to sort it out with you. Last time I checked, not a single person on this planet is a mind reader. Tell people what you need, what you want and give back what you’re willing to take. Be able to put your differences aside in order to get the mission done. Pettiness is a lack of maturity. Giving respect demonstrates you can see all sides. In Miracle each player is told to list who they are and where they’re from. They do this over and over until one night they each say, “America”. They come from different places but they finally get it; they have one fight and are one team. Also, he tells them not to take cheap shots. “This is not about old rivalries” To win they need to put that aside.

Don’t quit-Quitting shows you don’t think highly of yourself or think highly of your team. How can you let your team catch you when you fall if you don’t give them a chance to? If you quit during training how will that translate to real life? Quitting on your team means they have one less cog to keep the wheel from collapsing.

Stay positive-Being positive allows you to see solutions to problems and to treat failures as opportunities to learn. Being positive gives you energy to accomplish goals and it can motivate others. Lastly, staying positive tells your team you have enough trust in their abilities to get out of a bad situation. Doing this keep a team intact.

 Be willing to learn-Be willing to take constructive criticism. Don’t be hyper-sensitive and a hot head because it gets in the way of learning and fitting in with others. Spend all of your time finding ways to be the best at what you do, and share that knowledge with your team. Your team will share their pot of wisdom with you.

There are no perfect teams. Even the nutjobs in the movie Stripes pull it together. They have to in order to accomplish their mission. Having perfection means you’ll never have the opportunity to grow. Teams come and go, there is ebb and flow, as people transition in and out. Make perfection while you can but it doesn’t last long. Do what you can with what you’ve got while you can make it last.

Throw aside pettiness because that’s for little kids. In fact, some kids can get along a lot better than many adults. I have met many so called ‘gunslingers’ who are petty, little men. Act like a man.

The miracle of the movie was the players were able to put their egos aside, be open to new ideas, try new ways of playing and in the end Coach Brooks crazy idea actually worked because it was based on showing a team how to work together.

Even Murray had the smarts to see the logic in that.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechmiracle3.html

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