THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS have explained what a championship culture is, who great team teammates and great team leaders are within that culture, and how they prepare in order to fill either role. However, without an ability to communicate, our efficacy as both great teammates and great team leaders will be severely limited. Poor communication is one of the most glaring signs of an ineffective and underperforming team. By the same token, great communication is one of the hallmarks of championship-caliber organizations. We appreciate that the toughest thing two people can do is communicate. Mission accomplishment almost always depends on it, though. In the photo appearing on the first page of this section, The Program teammate Ghislaine Stonnaker is using hand and arm signals to communicate with aircraft pilots on the flight deck of a ship. Miscommunication there will have very serious consequences. The same is true in our own daily lives, on all the teams of which we are privileged to be a part.

A few years ago, Mac had the honor of listening to a World War II veteran speak about his experiences on D-Day in Normandy. The older veteran spoke hauntingly about coming ashore in one of the early waves. The first few waves sustained massive casualties and were pinned down by German machine-gun fire. This soldier spoke about the death and destruction occurring all around him. Every man found his own hole or ditch on the beach and threw himself down in it. Momentum stopped. He related that the individual soldiers with him withdrew into themselves and they stopped communicating. Even though thousands of soldiers were on the beach with him, he felt alone. Not until sergeants forced him and his fellow soldiers to move, and the men began to communicate, did that feeling subside. Subsequently, they were able to attack as a team.

Regardless of the battlefield, we see a very similar phenomenon occur. During an athletic competition, a team is hit with some form of adversity and communication ceases. Maybe they make a costly error, a teammate is injured, or the other team goes on a ten-point run. The athletes’ focus turns internal, they stop communicating with one another, and, because of it, they are unable to play as a team. Performance continues to deteriorate. You can always come back after the other team scores a touchdown. It is very difficult after they score three straight. A lack of communication allows it.

This happens in corporations as well. If adversity hits and communication ceases, cooperation and cohesion suffer. Sections no longer work toward accomplishing the organization’s mission, but rather focus on their own needs and desires. Jealousies, misunderstandings, and friction flare up and interdepartmental rivalries become more important than the success of the organization.

Thankfully, we don’t stop communicating because of adversity. Adversity occurs and we don’t know how or what to communicate. This section will cover both.