The one thing that can rip apart a championship team more than anything is dissension in the locker room. It doesn’t matter how much talent you have, if you are not together, you are not going to win. I always tried to head it off before it even started and hit it head on when it did. This is how I would do that and how I take the same approach in resolving family conflict.
Set and Communicate Clear Goals
At the beginning of every season, I would lay our goals out clearly and specifically. I would tell them that we needed to put our individual goals and desire below the team goals. Getting everyone to an agreement about where we wanted to go as a team set a foundation for avoiding future conflict.
Conflict Still Happened
But when it did surface that one group wasn’t getting along with another group or one individual was having problems with another individual, I always tried to bring it out into the open. I would bring both sides together and discuss the issues openly and honestly. Issues like that cannot be allowed to fester below the surface. Ultimately, I would try to find agreement from both parties to not let the conflict at hand hinder us from our overall goals and direction.
It’s the Same with Family
Not everyone in a family is going to be happy with each other. Kids are not always (or maybe never) happy with the rules set by mom and dad. Brothers and sisters certainly don’t always get along. Yes, you love each other, but self-interest is powerful and conflict is going to happen. In my family, everyone understands that we have the goal of being the best family we can be together. When that becomes the key focus, the dissension in our family begins to disappear.
