What a TEAM can do

There have been hundreds of articles and commentaries written regarding the University of Florida Gators 2nd NCAA basketball national championship. A lot has been expressed about their success as repeat champions, yet when I think about Induction and professional development I am drawn to the story about the TEAM.

Head Coach Billy Donovan’s after the game press conference mentioned that this team may not have the best players in history, or the most skilled or have the slick style, yet when it comes to the word TEAM they are the national benchmark. In a NCAA basketball world where talented players regardless of years on the court leave for the NBA, the 2006 Gator National Champions all agreed to pass up millions (this is plural) and return for another trip to the Final Four. That was a year ago. How did they know they would reach their goal? Sixty-three other teams all had the same opportunity to cut the net, yet after a month of tournament playing, after the final buzzer, Florida was the one with the scissors.

Donovan described his team using words like: Unselfishness, Sacrifice, and Together. What words would use to describe your team?

If you are trying to figure out the secret to their success, perhaps listening to Joakim Noah’s reflective comments might help, “I feel like it's always about what is going to happen next….”

As with Induction, for them it was not about the now it was always about their future.