What's love got to do with it?

Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the ‘me’ for the ‘we.’ - Phil Jackson

The Zen Master brings up a couple of virtues that are important for any team to move to a higher level. These elements are important for any cooperative unit to operate successfully.

Trust
Self-Sacrifice
Mutual Respect
Sharing
Communication

It is interesting that these virtues that a team needs to have in order to thrive are also necessary ingredients in the ultimate team environment: marriage. We tend to think that "love" conquers all, and that if you have that you can carry the day and succeed in a relationship. But many a marriage fails and on the courthouse steps one or both parties is forced to admit that "I love him/her, I just can't live with him/her". In almost all cases, one or more of the virtues listed above is seriously deficient within the relationship.

In team sports environments, we blame the lack of "chemistry". OK, I buy the elusive chase for chemistry. But we never hear what the definition of chemistry is. I submit that is the same combination of those five elements listed above that bind ANY successful relationship together. And when a team is able to cultivate these elements, they will find that they just love playing together as a unit. Success generally follows.

I always hear fans and pundits say that "chemistry" and it's link to success is a "chicken or the egg" argument. They imply that teams just pay lip service to chemistry after finding success and that there is no linkage. Without going all Dr. Phil on everyone, if coaches don't carefully monitor their teams attention and adherence to these virtues--success or chemistry will rarely follow.

LOVE - May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you - 1 Thessalonians 3:12