FanPost

"The whole of the sum is greater than the contribution of any individual."

Sorry for the tweaked paraphrase from Gestalt, a true master of group (team) dynamics.  This is my first post on any site, so hopefully you folks will bear with me.  I finally got enough inspiration, (Courage?) I have been reading "blog" sites for awhile now and found this one via some of the entries on the last day of the RMN.  I couldn't be more delighted, nor has there been a sight that I gained more true insight from.  In addition rival entrants are welcomed with open arms, even if once in a while one needs a little reminder of the intent here.

I was unsure whether to respond to an existing post or do this, so I decided to take the Bronco by the mane and hold on for dear life.

My background is in Mental Health, so be patient please with my views having that kind of bent. 

John Elway - Perhaps one of the ultimate team players, (once he got to Denver)  There was almost nothing he wouldn't do to try to make the team better.  Examples run the gamut of simply on a consistent basis many years restructuring his contract to provide more cap room , to the helicopter leap in which he offered up his body to whatever force would hit him, just to bring another level of acomplishment and motivation to the team.

Pat Bowlen -  Owner and individual with ultimate responsibility for the welfare of the team, including us fans.  Thank you for the letter today.   My compliments for being willing to provide an environment in which a coach has the support to do the things he sees as necessary for the team, and believing in their intent for what is right for the betterment of the whole. My compliments for recognizing the need to make painful changes in the coaching when it became evident the focus was no longer allowing for the further development of the team.

Mike Shanahan - Tried real hard for a few years to comprehend what it means to empower a team to achieve a greatness beyond your individual abilities.  In the latter years his lack of understanding of that concept, and his instance of installing his individual vision for how to achieve winning, became his and the team's downfall.  (No I am not saying it was his responsibility alone, but he was the coach overseeing, (ruling over?) and so much responsibility must fall on his shoulders, and lack of understanding of the concept contributed immensely to the dysfunctionality of the team.

Jay Cutler - Above average individual talent with potential for greatness.  Needs the support of the rest of the team to achieve greatness, and lack of composure often threatened his relationship in the team.  (My perception from just reading numerous sources, thanks to Guru et al!!)  As a member of a  team it is your obligation to work with all parts to contribute to the success of the team.  "I only play for my 'teammates' ", excludes multiple parts of the whole picture.  This attitude not only showed up in lack of willingness to communicate with management and owner, but even lately his 'teammates.'   Sorry, I don't recall the source that stated he was not even responding to his teammates communications.  Not to mention giving his attention to external recreational activities instead of being in facility.

 

Josh McDaniels - Ok, he made some rookie errors.  Part of the team support process is to recognize people are fallible, accept that reality, and help each other through these times.  Granted, some of his communication in the process was ambiguous.  He is still working on defining his relationship in the team.  He has gone a long way toward establishing that now.  He is in the role of a coach/leader.  He needs to be able to relate to the rest of the team in that role, and has been working toward that.  Often times when a team is dysfunctional, a change in leadership is needed, as was the case here.  Also, as these modifications take place people will decide whether they fit in the new team concept or not.  Sometimes that decision has to be made for one or more of the members.  The Coach has been actively doing that.  Imho he is very good at understanding and setting the guidelines for a team to function in a way that they empower themselves to things unimagined through the individual talent.  

In an environment that creates stars and devours them at the same time, the most efficient thing to do is to use this team first model to provide the support for great talents to excell because of the greatness created by supporting members.  So the sum of the whole functioning for the good of the team, wil alwaysl be greater than the group of individuals, no matter how talented.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.