After objectively identifying the world’s most accomplished teams in sports history, the founding editor of The Wall Street Journal’s sports section proposed a lofty theory about the driving force behind a team’s ability to achieve and sustain historic greatness. He identified the character of the leader, the team’s captain, as the singular ingredient.
Seen by many as a ceremonial position, Walker reaffirms the modern commodity of a captain and rebukes assumptions that challenge it. Overshadowed by heavily endorsed celebrities and “G.O.A.T” (Greatest of All Time) athletes, effective captains may receive less notice but they greatly impact team performance with unconventional interpersonal skills. Interviews, historical records, and scientific studies are cited to support his claims, formula, and classification of so few elite captains. Readers are reminded that leaders of all kinds can embody exceptionality and implement unexpected approaches to make a team, company, society, or civilization work.
Origins of Elite Teams
Sam Walker combed through historical records of professional and international sports leagues, associations, confederations, and annual tournaments and developed a formula to distinguish the most accomplished dynasties. His terminology, criteria, rules, and the results of his study are highlighted below.
- 3 Criteria qualified a group of athletes as a team: The team had five or more members, the members interacted with an opponent, and the members worked together.
- 3 Rules for a team to have been considered an exceedingly credentialed team: The team played a major sport, it played against the world’s top competition, and its dominance stretched over many years.
- Claim 1: The team had sufficient opportunity to prove itself.
- Claim 2: The team record stands alone (p. 15-24).
Results (p. 27-30): 16 teams qualified for Tier One World’s Greatest Teams:
| The Collingwood Magpies Australian Rules Football (1927-30) | Cuba International Women’s Volleyball (1991-2000) |
| The New York Yankees MLB (1949-53) | Australia International Women’s Field Hockey (1993-2000) |
| Hungary International Men’s Soccer (1950-55) | The United States International Women’s Soccer (1996-99) |
| The Montreal Canadiens NHL (1955-60) | The San Antonio Spurs NBA (1997-2016) |
| The Boston Celtics NBA (1956-69) | Barcelona Professional Soccer (2008-13) |
| Brazil International Men’s Soccer (1958-62) | France International Men’s Handball (2008-15) |
| The Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-80) | The New Zealand All Blacks International Rugby Union (1986-90) |
| The Soviet Union International Men’s Ice Hockey (1980-84) | The New Zealand All Blacks International Rugby Union (2011-15) |
Extraneous Variables from the Historical Records Institutional
Excellence: It is important to note that historically, sports dynasties did not always have the advantage of enlightened management or more financial resources than other teams (p. 68). A culture of winning wasn’t necessary for superior performance.
Coaching Excellence: The coach was not the primary force behind a team’s success. Coaches on Tier One teams achieved their greatest success when they had a player serving as their proxy on the field (p. 86).
The “G.O.A.T”: The presence of an extraordinary and decorated athlete, or the “Greatest Of All Time,” did not guarantee success at the team level. Today, we have a hard time separating the influence of the group from the personality of its star. In many cases, we don’t (p. 153).
Social Loafing: One of the most confounding laws of human nature is that when faced with a task, people will work harder alone than they will when everyone joins in the effort — a phenomenon known as social loafing. There is, however, an antidote: the presence of one person who leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind that they are investing everything they’ve got into the task (p. 111).
Captain Profiles
Captains of the 16 Tier One teams did not match expected profiles of a superior leader: They lacked super star talent, they weren’t fond of the spotlight, they didn’t ‘lead’ in the traditional sense, they did potentially divisive things, and they weren’t the usual suspects (p. 48-49).
The Seven Traits of Elite Captains: Stories of leaders like Tim Duncan, Yogi Berra, Carles Puyol, Carla Overbeck, Jack Lambert, Maurice “Rocket” Richard, and more showed that they all shared the following traits.
- Extreme Doggedness and Focus in Competition. Captains of the greatest teams in sports have had an unflagging commitment to playing at their maximum capacity (p. 111). This also included a commitment to conditioning and preparation for the end goal of ensuring a victory.
- Aggressive Play that Tests the Limits of the Rules. In times of high pressure, captains were able to intentionally bend or push rules (without the intent to do harm) in pursuit of a worthwhile goal. The captain did not care how he was perceived by the outside world and remained entirely focused on the internal dynamics of his team (p. 90).
- A Willingness to Do Thankless Jobs in the Shadows. Leaders embodied the hidden art of leading from the back. They gravitated to functional roles and were less concerned about their own performance. The great captains lowered themselves in relation to the group whenever possible in order to earn the moral authority to drive them forward in tough moments (p. 153). This shows us that the best way to lead is to serve.
- A Low-key, Practical, and Democratic Communication Style. This is about operating on the same wavelength. Elite captains are not motivational speakers, cathartic orators, or necessarily articulate people, but they are consistently vocal. There is great value in quiet, unglamorous, team-oriented, and workmanlike captains that listen as much as they talk (p. 260). When they talk, leaders do so democratically, encouraging each person to take a turn. Successful leaders circulate widely and talk to everyone with enthusiasm and energy. The secret to effective team communication isn’t grandiosity, instead, leaders foster a stream of chatter that is practical, physical, and consistent (p. 170).
- Motivates Others with Passionate, Nonverbal Displays. Leading by calculated acts, eye contact, or pregame rituals propels a team to run faster, jump higher, hit harder, and push through pain and exhaustion. Tier One captains are masters of the art of automatically connecting with the brainpower of people around them (p. 183).
- Strong Convictions and the Courage to Stand Apart. Tier One captains do not hesitate to speak truth to those in power, like the team coach or owner. Even if it is uncomfortable to approach those in power, they do it because they know it will help the team play better together. They avoid group think and must operate at the margins of what members presently like and want rather than at the center of the collective consensus (p. 198). When conflict labeled as “personality clash” occurs, (the focus is on personal conflict) studies show significant decreases in trust, cohesion, satisfaction, and commitment with a negative impact on teamwork. “Task conflict” (arguing about the job at hand) has a basically neutral effect on performance (p. 200).
- Ironclad Emotional Control: Leaders handle outstanding circumstances like injury, political or team strife, or a personal tragedy with selfless emotional strength. This has a profound impact on a team in a decisive moment. While emotion can drive a team, it also can disable it. Elite captains serve the interests of the team at all times.
Cultural Intelligence Example: Brazil is another culture. Brazil does not have a uniform way of thinking, and there is less formal education. There are some very poor kids who only go to school for a couple of years before they start playing — and the captain has to know that. They need a leader who is a guide for many, many things. So being captain in Brazil tests the deepest nature of your personality. Leaders have to try to understand people and know their backgrounds (p. 151).
Emotional Intelligence & Interpersonal Relationship Skills: Both are exemplified by elite captains who are tasked with motivating, challenging, protecting, and inspiring teammates. These leaders have high emotional fluency and understand how to use “emotional information” to change people’s thinking and behavior. This helps teams perform better in settings where they have to interact with others. Emotional intelligence is closely correlated to the skills required to be an effective leader, and can be more significant in this regard than IQ, or even a person’s technical expertise (p. 163-164).
Note from the author: As a writer, I have observed this analogy: Captains are like the verb in a sentence. The verb may not be as memorable as the nouns, as evocative as the adjectives, or as expressive as the punctuation. But, the verb is the force that drives the yeoman’s work — unifying the disparate parts and creating the forward momentum (p. 265).
Walker, S. (2017). Captain Class. New York: Random House. Kindle Edition.