One of the common traits present in almost all successful businesses or organizations is effective teamwork. In the LinkedIn article “The Warriors Way: How to Build a Winning Organization,” writer Michael Berman describes how the Golden States Warriors’ ownership successfully shifted the organization from “being a perennial loser” to being a team that has won multiple championships and is currently the most dominant basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA)(Berman, 2016). The following paper will summarize “The Warriors Way: How to Build a Winning Organization” while simultaneously identifying the key elements of teamwork that help build high-functioning teams.
In the beginning of “The Warriors Way: How to Build a Winning Organization” Berman writes, “The overall guiding principle of an organization is its mission or vision statement” (Berman, 2016). Berman cites that once the Warriors organization was able to declare its mission (or set its organizational goal), which was to win an NBA championship despite being considered the “laughingstock of the league” at the time, it was able to take the necessary steps and attain vital pieces to make its vision come to fruition (Berman, 2016). Indeed, a shared vision is one of the foundational elements of a successful team because it creates a “clear unity of purpose” (Stanford University, 2007).
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Berman then states that successful teamwork also derives from hiring the right personnel. With the Warrior’s vision securely in place, the organization exhibited that successful teamwork comes from “hiring the right people and giving them the space to make the proper decisions” (Berman, 2016). To this point, the Warriors demonstrated two important aspects of teamwork that contribute to success in business. First, the Warriors placed the right people in leadership positions, and strong leaders are another foundational element of successful teamwork. According to Berman, the Warriors hired NBA legend Jerry West “as an Executive Board member,” respected marketing wizard Rick Welts as President and COO, sports agent and contract negotiator Bob Myers as Assistant GM and “Vice President of Basketball Operations,” and then two successful coaches in Marc Jackson and Steve Kerr (Berman, 2016). Second, it is important to note that these leaders performed so well because they bought into the Warriors’ vision and were also, as mentioned above, given the space to use the skills for which they were hired. As the article “Characteristics of Effective Teams” notes, it is important that hired personnel are given the freedom to express their ideas and allowed to carry their own weight, which leads to organizational responsibility (Stanford University, 2007).
Finally, “The Warriors Way: How to Build a Winning Organization” discusses the role that innovation has played in the Warriors’ success as an organization. In the article, one of the Warriors’ co-owners, Joe Lacob, is quoted saying, “Think out of the box, and do the unexpected” (Berman, 2016). With this dogma in mind, the Warriors set out to change the way the game of basketball is played at the professional level. The Warriors innovated new offensive and defensive schemes, which ultimately baffled their competition. The same dogma can be applied to other industries as well. Essentially, the Warriors and the way in which they chose to innovate followed the Blue Ocean Strategy, a business strategy in which an organization will create new market space where there previously was none. For example, the Warriors sought out players who could be interchangeable on the court instead of traditional position players.
The Golden State Warriors have been quite successful in building an organization based on teamwork. Certainly, most people think of Steph Curry and Kevin Durant when they think of the Warriors. However, the organization’s success on the court started with a clear vision from the organization’s owners, the hiring of skilled, amiable leadership, and a focus on innovation. All of these items are essential in the building of a high-functioning team.
- Berman, M. (2016). The Warriors Way: How to Build a Winning Organization. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/warriors-way-how-build-winning-organization-michael-berman
- Stanford University. (2007). Characteristics of Effective Teams. Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/class/e145/2007_fall/materials/collins_effective_teams.html
