As the 2008 preseason begins and thoughts turn toward racing, it is time to evaluate the Proman recipe for success. What makes a cycling team or any partnership successful? Everyone knows that cycling is about teamwork, but what is the essence of teamwork? Why does one partnership win when another blessed with the same quality equipment, talent, and financial support not see the same successes?
Teamwork is the combined effort of the group to achieve a common goal. Key components to the formula are that the common goal is agreed upon by every person in the collective, and that each person in the team works, to the fullest of their ability, to achieve the goal. If there is one person within the group who has any hesitation about the goal, and does not fully commit to the achievement of that goal, the team will not succeed. There will be distrust within the group should one member hold anything back for herself. All people must believe that the common goal of the team is going to benefit each individual as well, and be willing to sacrifice her own personal goals for the betterment of the group as a whole.
In this day of individualism and the destruction of the nuclear family, it is a rare thing to find a group of people all in agreement on working toward a common goal that does not have the individual front and center. Even the amazing Discovery Team had Lance front and center; every athlete knows that Lance would not have had the palmares he did were it not for the hard work, dedication and sacrifice from his Discovery Teammates.
When the group coalesces it is magic and the magic is contagious. Once the group believes in the formula, they can overcome almost any challenge. I have been blessed to work with two teams that have woven this magic. The first was the 2001 - 2003 Saturn Team. We used to say, "It does not matter who wins the race, as long as it is a Saturn Jersey on the Podium." With this as our mantra we won the World Cup Series twice and were the Number One ranked UCI Team for two consecutive years. The second team is the Proman Squad. The mutual respect and teamwork begins at the top with Niki and me working side by side to ensure that our teammates have what they need to achieve the goals of the team.
We work to balance personal goals with those of the group and in return ask each teammate to set aside her own goals when asked in order to form a cohesive, winning team unit.
Continued from newsletter & blog.........
A good team and a great team are separated by fractions of an inch at the finish line. Riders on a great team will fight until they are empty to ensure a team victory, whereas an athlete on a good team will keep something in reserve for herself just in case she finds herself in a place to capitalize on an opportunity leading to personal success. It is difficult to teach personal sacrifice for the betterment of the team; those who ride it, live it in their daily lives and treat all of humanity as part of their community with respect, love and trust. When asked to sacrifice for the team, they are willing to do so, trusting that their work will benefit the unit and in doing so, ensure the continuation of the team and therefore benefit them and their sport.
The teamwork formula is delicate. Tread upon by disrespect, dishonesty, or selfishness, it us uprooted, shattered in dismay and can rarely be rebuilt. I have been witness to this many times. Big years, like Olympic years, pose real threats to teamwork. Although an individual qualifies to represent her country at the Olympics it requires a team to get her there. Lean sponsorship years also wreak havoc with a cohesive team unit. When there is less to go around, the typical response is one of individual greed, and in doing so the individual shorts her teammates, thereby denying the necessary ingredients for the team’s success.
Teamwork requires each individual to come to the group with trust in the mission, love for their sport and an understanding of what is required of them as members of the team. The 2008 Proman squad will be tested in the year to come, but I am confident that the team that Niki and I have assembled from our sponsors, to our athletes, to our partners has what is required to face the challenges head on and finish at the top of life’s podium.
Thanks for reading - Giana Roberge
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