Australian culture has ever been linked to and in many ways defined by its love of all things sport. Sport offers the average punter an opportunity to feel the highs and lows of a successful campaign, the thrill of a huge, sometimes unlikely win to the agony of a hard fought loss. In many ways this feeling of belonging to a body or movement focused on one outcome is very much like experiencing workplace culture.

Workplace culture is, at its core, the identity and heartbeat of an organisation. It’s the undercurrent on which employee’s find themselves swept in their daily dealings internally and externally to their workplace. If an organisation has the right culture it may transform the employee experience from one of daily duties to one of abject delights.

But what makes up the “right” workplace culture? What are the core elements of a successful “championship caliber” team? As Muhammed Ali once said “Champions aren’t made in the gym. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them- a desire, a dream, a vision”. Being a huge basketball fan, I found myself wondering about the makeup of the more successful teams in the NBA and what each of their individual players brought to the team, or culture, that provided the right ingredients for a championship run. As I thought about it, it occurred to me that very similar skill sets and capabilities also appeared in the workplace.

Let’s take a look at some of the common positive player types and explore how they are reflected in our own work environment:

Marquee/ Franchise Players: In sports these players are exceptionally popular and/or skilled in their chosen field. These are the game changers, the go to players, the rain makers and just as on the court they impact the game, in business they do the same. Every company has the “franchise” employees, whether or not they will openly admit it, and it is these employees that are often looked up to by the employee base, admired for their ability to bring success and relied upon in tough times. Be it through executive leadership, business development, product or technology development these people often take the lead in defining a winning culture.

Passion Players: On the court they are loud, brash, full of fire and exude a presence of pure belief in what they do and what their team will accomplish. In a workplace these people are, hopefully, not as loud but still manage to infect their fellow employee’s with the passion and belief in what they, the organisation and their team can accomplish. These are the people who provide the pick-up in hard times and they never back away from taking on responsibility to make a difference.

Rookies/ Veterans: Every team has a mixture of rookies and more experienced veterans. In the inevitability of an ongoing career continuum, NBA teams, like organisations, require the injection of fresh blood on a regular basis. The rookies, like new employees, bring a fresh outlook, renewed energy and in most cases a positive attitude. Counter balancing the raw and unbridled enthusiasm is the level headed, experienced and measured output from the veteran core. Both groups are essential to an organisation’s ongoing viability and diversification of thought.

Role Players- : These players are steady, generally reliable and have a clear understanding of what their role in the team is. What sets these players apart however, is their full acceptance and understanding of what that role is. These are the employees who excel at doing what they are capable of…. Every…..single…..day. For each team and organisation, these players are essential in providing a level of capability and required output consistently.

X-Factors: In my mind, and evidenced in recent years in NBA championships, the x-factor players are the ones that decide success. The x-factor can be anyone, what defines them is their actions when provided an opportunity to succeed. They respond at a level of high success when their team most needs it. In short, these players and employees give the team, the organisation, exactly what they need, when they need it. They do this when provided a system of opportunity and belief in their ability to deliver.

There is a distinct relationship between championship caliber NBA teams and the culture of winning created by the player types inherent in their organisations and businesses workplace culture. Not all teams with these elements will win a championship but the culture created by them will ensure they are competitive year in and year out. More often than not a championship run will be decided by an x-factor. Employees that could come from any area of the business, when placed in a position of trust and given opportunity provide the extra push, the extra output required for success.

So identify the different “player types” in your organisation, they will be there and remember, to unlock the full potential of a workplace culture, allow the x-factors to shine. Give them the opportunity and belief to succeed. They will perform at exactly the right time for you in exactly the right way and hopefully a championship will follow.