Know Your Role: How High-Performing Teams Win Through Clarity and Trust

Leadership lessons from championship teams on execution, accountability, and team success

One of my favorite docuseries is The Last Dance, which chronicles the 1997–1998 season of the Chicago Bulls as they fought their way to a sixth NBA championship under the leadership of Michael Jordan. Beyond the nostalgia it brings me from my formative high school years, the series does something far more valuable—it reveals how each key player’s background, personality, and role shaped how the team responded to adversity, both internally and externally.

The Bulls had the greatest basketball player of all time. But Jordan alone did not win championships. It took the steady leadership of Phil Jackson and the disciplined execution of Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoč, Steve Kerr, and Ron Harper to form a team capable of beating the Utah Jazz in a hard-fought Finals series. If you’re a sports fan, it’s must-see television. If you’re part of a team committed to winning for your organization, it’s a masterclass in how championships are actually built.

Basketball, at its core, is a game of defined roles. Guards control tempo, forwards create scoring advantages, and centers shift the opponent’s strategy through physical presence. While modern basketball has blurred these lines through increased athleticism and versatility, the principle remains unchanged: high-performing teams win championships when individuals understand their responsibilities and execute them in service of the whole.

The same is true in high-performing organizations. Strong teams invest early in clearly defining roles, responsibilities, and processes. When that foundation is missing, performance suffers—and frustration follows. Teams begin to complain, not because they lack talent, but because they lack clarity.

In basketball terms, roles are defined by how each player contributes from their position, while processes are the plays everyone understands and executes together. When one player repeatedly ignores the play to chase personal stats, trust erodes. When trust erodes, risk increases. A teammate expects movement that never comes. Timing breaks down. A clean play turns into a turnover—one that was entirely avoidable.

At no point should a player drift aimlessly on the court. Every movement is deliberate, designed to set the team up to score. Or, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson famously said during the Attitude Era: “Know your role.”

I genuinely enjoy being part of a team. Working alongside dedicated people toward a shared objective is something I naturally gravitate toward. I may not always have the perfect technical skill set for every mission, but over more than 20 years of serving on—and leading—teams, I’ve learned how to be a force multiplier.

By observing habits and tendencies, understanding the experiences that shape people’s perspectives, and being willing to listen, adapt, and compromise for the sake of the team, I’ve seen success more often than not. When the team wins, the victory is shared. When the team loses, we lean on each other, learn, and move forward together. We believe in one another too much to let a single setback slow our momentum.

The Last Dance captures this truth perfectly. The Bulls faced challenges that could have ended their championship run—some self-inflicted, others entirely unpredictable. What kept them moving forward was a collective desire to win. Not as individuals, but as a team. A willingness to play their part in something bigger than themselves.

That story wouldn’t be remembered the same way if each player hadn’t understood—and executed—their role exactly as required. Championships, like great organizations, aren’t built on individual brilliance alone. They’re built when people know their role, trust the plan, and commit fully to the team’s success.

-----------------------------------------TEAR LINE--------------------------------------------

• Championship teams don’t win on talent alone—they win when individuals execute their assigned roles in service of the whole. Role clarity and disciplined execution create trust, timing, and momentum that no individual effort can replace.

  
  

• When roles and processes are defined early, teams perform with confidence instead of confusion. Clarity eliminates unnecessary friction and allows people to focus on winning rather than wondering where they fit.

  
  

• Trust is built when people do their job and trust others to do theirs. That shared belief is what turns a group of capable individuals into a team that can withstand adversity and keep moving forward together.