Do you ever feel like you’re playing – or working – with a bunch of losers?

The Sports Grouch has felt that way rarely but it made him find another team.

Our friend Rick Houcek asked if I knew the single most essential thing team mates do for each other.

Without it, team unity and morale, plans, strategies and goals – no matter how brilliant – will fail miserably.

Let’s say you’re lucky enough to play on a major league baseball team.

Before the season, the team agrees: Our goal is to win the World Series.

Everyone pledges his personal 100% best effort.

Later you overhear 2 team mates talking about how they love the life and the money but they don’t feel a strong need to win a World Series. Too much hard work, discipline and sweat. The fame and money are

The fame and money are enough for them.

After hearing that, what should you do?

If your answer is: “They’re entitled to their opinion. I won’t make a big deal out of it. We can probably win even if they only give 50%.”

Think about this. You just became an accomplice to their half-hearted effort.

You share their guilt for inferior team performance.

Their opinion does not make them bad people. But it makes them ill-fitted for the achievement-driven team they play for.

The big 3

Most of us think of 3 options about commitment.

We buy in, support it fully and stay on the team.

Or we don’t buy in, don’t support it fully and leave the team. That’s OK.

What’s not OK is to not buy in, not support it fully and stay on the team.

There are only 2 options.

1. Commit and stay.

2. Don’t commit and go.

Rick says too many teams in sports, business, politics, you name it, allow members to stay on the team who don’t fully support the team’s mission, goals and majority decisions.

Does full buy-in mean you can’t disagree?

Heavens, no.

Quite the opposite.

Disagreement is a healthy and necessary part of making high-quality decisions. It must be encouraged, not discouraged.

Every achievement-driven team needs to constantly ask these questions:

• Is this the best solution, or are there others?

• What could go wrong?

• What if our information is incomplete or incorrect?

• How can we recover from a setback?

Disagreement before a decision is made is different from lack of buy-in after. Disagreement before a de

Disagreement before a decision is made leads to:

• Productive dialogue.

• Uncovering problems and vulnerabilities.

• Exploring many options.

• Clear understanding of potential dangers.

• Smarter decisions.

Are you dealing with winners or losers? Write me at ChronicleSports@yahoo. com .