You Win in the Locker Room First: The 7 C's to Build a Winning Team in Business, Sports, and Life

Chapter 6Commitment

It's not about you.

It's about committing yourself to your team.

Commit if You Want Commitment

Mike Smith

When talking to my team about commitment I like to tell them about the hen and pig and their roles in breakfast. The hen is involved in creating the eggs for breakfast, but the pig is committed. He has to sacrifice everything. To be a great leader, coach, and team member you must be more than involved. You must be committed. A leader must do a self-evaluation to make sure that his or her level of commitment is greater than that of anyone else in the organization. This commitment will come in many forms. You must commit to doing everything in your power to make sure you have created the right environment for your team to thrive, grow, improve, and enjoy the journey. You have to be committed to making your team better. You have to be prepared to make tough and sometimes unpopular decisions. You have to spend time developing your players' gifts and strengths. Everyone on the team and in the organization must see that commitment in your actions every day 24/7—it can't be a sometimes thing. It must be an all-the-time approach. You cannot have different levels of commitment based on how well the team is performing or how well an individual is performing. You have to show your team that you are willing to do whatever it takes to help them be the best they ...