Great Examples Of Collaboration And Sportsmanship

Thinking about great examples of collaboration and sportsmanship, here are 2 things that caught my attention this past week:

• How superior collaboration led to the safe rescue of the Thai soccer team
• The sportsmanship displayed at the FIFA world cup finals

Collaboration: The Thai soccer team rescue was due to incredible collaboration by some 900 rescuers. It was an international effort led by Thai navy SEALs. I have previously written about the need for careful planning and superior execution. We witnessed that. Even the U.S. media noticed: by the time the third group was extracted from the cave, the rescue had become so routine that I had to look for the story in the media. I applaud the bravery and tenacity of all involved including the entire soccer team. I feel tremendous gratitude for the outcome.

Sportsmanship: I loved the way the players, coaches, and staff jointly celebrated France’s victory in FIFA world cup soccer championship. Croatian President, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, was exceedingly gracious to Emmanuel Macron, President of France, the French team and staff. Macron reciprocated. Croatia seemed to genuinely grasp that making it to finals was, in and of itself, an incredible achievement. While the Croatians were disappointed, they displayed great sportsmanship as did the French. This was very refreshing.

What are you going to do this week to set great examples of collaboration and sportsmanship to foster a sense of “win-win” between your team members?

Photo Credit: Flickr, Keith Miner

Thought for the week:

From an outstanding article in the Washington Post about the Thai cave rescue comes this:

Prayuth Jetiyanukarn, the robed abbot of the hilltop Buddhist monastery where the assistant coach often slept, penned a short letter to the young man, slipped it in a plastic tube and gave it to a Thai diver who promised to carry it in.

“Be patient. Try to build your encouragement from the inside,” it read, according to the abbot. “This energy will give you the power to survive.”

Note: It seems like great advice for dealing with any kind of adversity, especially for entrepreneurs!