The 6 Games Great Teams Refuse to Play

Having spent most of my life as part of high-performance teams, I’ve been fortunate to gain a clear understanding of what constitutes a championship environment. Much has been written about the standards of excellence, accountability, selflessness, and culture that great teams possess. What rarely gets discussed are the traps that poorly led teams fall into. Why do some teams consistently fail, while others seem to always find a way to be successful, year after year?

Below are six games that poorly led teams and organizations play.

Pete Carroll created a culture that emphasized a relentless pursuit of each person’s competitive best. One of his standards was: No whining, no complaining, no excuses.

1) The Blame Game

Poorly led teams never face the first step required to get better: the decision to take accountability.

It has been said, “Nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Losing teams always find someone or something to blame. The best leaders accept the responsibility of leadership, and that begins with being accountable for the results of your team.

When you blame others, you are making excuses designed to shift the focus off yourself and onto other people. You can’t begin the process of fixing anything unless you take responsibility as the leader.

Jocko Willink teaches the idea of “Extreme Ownership.” The concept is rooted in each person on the team accepting ownership, no matter what. Don’t wait for someone else to initiate change. Take it upon yourself.

No one respects a leader who plays the blame game. It shows both weakness and insecurity.

2) The Complaint Game

The only thing complaining does is delay the process of finding a solution. Good cultures are rooted in being solution-oriented.

If you want to bring issues to the table, be prepared to have suggestions on how to fix them. This is how you create value for yourself and earn respect.

Complaining is a consistent fixture of poor environments, breeding negativity and reducing productivity. Teams that feature complaining consistently have low morale and reduced motivation.

Hall of Fame Head Coach, Bill Parcells, said it best, “Losers assemble in little groups and complain about the coaches and the players in other little groups. But winners assemble as a team.”

Throughout my career, I have consistently reminded the teams I’ve led to avoid this trap.

3) The Excuse Game

Excuses are just lies you tell yourself to make you feel better in the moment. Teams that consistently make excuses are led by leaders who are fearful, insecure, and in a state of denial.

Excuses are what teams use when they have zero answers, and if you have zero answers, you have no chance of changing anything. Leaders who make excuses create teams that no longer have control of their destiny. They have decided that outside forces control their future, and they create a team of victims.

Excuses may make you feel better in the short term, but they are a complete disservice in the long term.

Great teams are full of victors, not victims.

4) The Gossip Game

Nothing erodes trust and relationships faster than lies or gossip. Gossip is evidence of a toxic environment where the betterment of the team is disregarded.

Super Bowl champion head coach Pete Carroll had three rules for his teams. One of those rules was, “Always protect the team.”

Gossiping is a violation of this rule and leads to a team that has built a culture of lies, distrust, and cliques.

5) The Avoidance Game

This refers to teams that avoid having difficult conversations or making difficult decisions, even though they are vital to the best interests of the team and its ability to move forward.

Successful leaders accept the responsibility of making difficult decisions because they know that their number one responsibility is to put the team first.

You must do what is best for the team.

Avoiding confrontation allows many of the issues listed above to percolate, and it erodes the trust and respect of those you lead.

If you aren’t strong enough to have difficult conversations or make difficult decisions, you will never be an effective leader, and your team will suffer.

6) The Comparison Game

It’s been said, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and while that is true, comparison is also the precursor to jealousy and resentment.

When the players on your team or in your organization begin focusing on others instead of striving to be the best they can be, you’ve got a group of people who have lost sight of focusing on the things within their control.

What do winners focus on?

Their effort. Their mindset. Their goals. Their growth.

University of Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said it well: “Don’t be a blame guy. That’s the first sign of a loser mentality, when you blame someone else for a mistake.”

Leadership starts at the top. It’s the leader who sets the tone for any team and establishes the culture that will define a program.

I encourage any team that wants to be successful to ensure they do a few things: accept accountability, never allow yourself to be a victim, protect the best interests of the team, and focus on what you can control.

If you can do these things and avoid the losing games we’ve discussed above, you are on your way to establishing yourself and your team as consistent winners.

Keep striving,

George Carralejo