When I was 12, I started playing basketball. My first coach was Nesa, a young, calm guy. After a few months of practice, it was time for my first game. There would be a referee and an audience, including my dad, which made me anxious.

The day came. I was on the bench as the game started. After 5 minutes, the coach yelled, “Ilic, get ready!” I was not ready. I didn’t want to go. But I couldn’t just leave. So I got up and got into the game shortly after. As I stepped onto the court, I felt a bit less anxious. I looked at my father in the stands, and he had a hopeful and encouraging face. I took the ball and started dribbling with the idea of scoring to make my dad proud. After several dribbles, the ball bounced off my foot and went out of bounds. I screwed up!

On the next possession, I dribbled toward the basket but lost the ball, and the opponents scored. My coach called a timeout, sat me down, and said, “It's ok. You just forgot to pass the ball! This is a team sport.” He reminded us of a play we practiced and asked me to run it. I felt relieved he wasn’t angry.

We returned to the court with a new plan. I got the ball and dribbled a few times before passing it to my teammate Marko. Another teammate set a screen for me. I went around him and was wide open. Marko passed me the ball, and I was all alone in front of the basket. An easy layup was coming... but I missed.

Even though I missed that layup, I got the point! The fact that we worked together so that one of us could have a chance to score their first-ever point was a mindset shift for me. I often go back to that moment when I realized what teamwork really means. It means working together to create opportunities for each other. And sometimes we will mess up and miss those opportunities. That’s why team play is also about supporting each other even when we fail, so we can learn and make the most of our opportunities in the future.

What can we learn from this story? My coach understood our anxiety and guided us calmly through our mistakes, turning them into learning opportunities. We weren't a team yet, but after the game, we were closer. He reminded us that basketball is a team game: "When one of you scores, the whole team scores!" This applies to any team!

🗝 Habits of an Effective Democratic Team Leader

Being a great team leader and team player is about what you do on a regular basis, especially when your team is facing an adaptive challenge. Here are some habits you should focus on.

🤝 Collaboratively setting the team's agenda

It sounds obvious, but only a few teams have a clear agenda set at least 24 hours before the meeting. This is a democratic leadership practice where the leader involves team members in deciding priorities, topics, and goals for meetings. This approach fosters engagement, ownership, and ensures diverse perspectives are considered. It also allows everyone to come prepared. A great agenda has clear agenda items & their goals, dedicated time for each item, and next steps. This is your game plan!

🎭 Effective Facilitation

This is the most overlooked skill! If you want to lead your team democratically, you need to know how to include others effectively in the conversation, how to surface and handle differences, how to guide decision-making. You need to call on the quiet ones, balance the over-participators, play devil’s advocate, etc. Check out more facilitation tips HERE. The facilitator is a playmaker!

🤲 Active trust building

The Institute for Corporate Productivity discovered that high-performing teams are characterized by strong relationships and trust. Team members who trust each other and collaborate effectively achieve better outcomes. Read how to build trust HERE.

🛡️ Creating a culture of psychological safety

Google's Project Aristotle study found that the most successful teams shared psychological safety. Team members felt safe to take risks, speak openly, and admit mistakes without fear. Leaders can foster this by encouraging dialogue, listening actively, and valuing diverse viewpoints. How? Discuss team norms before you launch a team or at the beginning of the next meeting. Brainstorm 2-3 norms that you want to practice to start creating a positive working environment.

⏱️ Invest your time in regular check-ins & feedback

A Harvard Business Review study suggests that frequent, short check-ins make teams more effective by keeping them aligned, addressing issues promptly, and adjusting to changes efficiently. Practical takeaway: Implement (bi)weekly check-ins to maintain momentum, ensure alignment, and quickly resolve any emerging issues. Meet with team members for 15-30 minutes once a month to discuss their life and work.

🎯 Practicing accountability

Effective teams and team players hold each other accountable, which is easier said than done. Start by discussing and establishing a norm for mutual accountability to avoid power dynamics. Then, model this behavior by holding yourself accountable. Next time you're late, forget to do something, or break a team norm, acknowledge it first and share how you plan not to repeat that behavior again.

🧘 Being Present

Being fully present enhances your self-awareness and ability to observe team dynamics. This awareness allows you to "read the room" and make more effective leadership interventions. Learn more about the art of being present HERE.

⚡ Action Item

Choose one habit and focus on it for the next 3 weeks. You don't need a leadership title to practice these habits. If there's no meeting agenda, propose one. Discuss accountability in the next meeting or add it to the agenda. Begin 1-on-1s with teammates to build trust and relationships.

📚 Article Recommendation - 6 Conditions of Effective Teams

For a deeper dive, I highly recommend the excellent framework "6 Conditions of an Effective Team" by Ruth Wageman and Richard Hackman. You can find a short explanation of this useful & practical framework, together with research & additional articles, HERE.

Let's finish with wisdom from the great basketball coach Phil Jackson: "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team."