Help the Helper: Building a Culture of Extreme Teamwork

Pritchard, a former NBA player and former general manager for the Portland Trail Blazers (and current director of personnel for the Indiana Pacers), and Eliot, cofounder of a Stanford University leadership initiative and former performance consultant for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, show how outstanding teams build a culture that recognizes and rewards those who help the helper. “Helping the helper,” a term coined by basketball coach Dean Smith, is what Pritchard and Eliot term “a willingness to do whatever it takes to help others succeed”—the pinnacle of teamwork. Their unique perspective and insight into the turnaround of once ailing basketball teams offer a fresh set of sports examples that business leaders will find relevant. Throughout, the authors showcase the types of behavior great teams demonstrate, from possessing a desire to be part of something bigger than oneself to boasting about others rather than themselves and valuing the identity of the organization over their own. Pritchard and Eliot show how to identify and turn around those who aren’t on board and explain why assessing a “good fit” is pointless when making new hires. Readers looking for new approaches to effective leadership will be able to use the book’s valuable lessons. Agent: James A. Levine, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (Oct.)