Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, how do you build a winner? This is prompted by an article I read in the Wall Street Journal looking at Leon Rose, who is the front office executive behind the now NBA champion New York Knicks. Leon Rose took the job leading the Knicks organization in 2020. They were a team at that time that had gone some 50 years without a title. A team that was known for dysfunction, for, not being able to build a consistent winner, let alone a contender. But what's interesting is not just that Leon Rose built a champion, but the way he did it. And he, he talks about in the article about how he really wanted to prioritize an underdog mindset. He went looking for players that at least in his mind, were seen as imperfect or overlooked. He built a team around Jalen Brunson and undersized guard, OG Anunoby, kind of a guy that another team was looking to get rid of. And Karl Anthony Townes, a guy that another franchise had decided was not good enough to be a cornerstone player. Leon Rose talks about how in his mindset towards building an organization, it isn't just about talent. It's about grit, it's about character, it's about perseverance, it's about fit within an organization. I found this article interesting for a variety of reasons. One is I wish more of my Cleveland sports franchises understood this. building an effective team in sports or in business and ministry, in anything, is not just about collecting as much talent as you can. Character, perseverance, and even the way people fit within the framework or culture of an organization matters. but I'll tell you what else struck me about this. It made me think of when God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse because he tells him that the next king is going to come from his family. And Jesse lines all of his sons up and one by one, Samuel looks at the tall, strong, handsome guy in front of him and says, this must be the guy that God has chosen. But none of them are. It ends up being the runt of the litter, the son that Jesse hadn't even remembered to have show up for this selection process. David, who ends up not just being chosen by God, anointed by God, but goes on to be the greatest king that Israel will ever know. God tells Samuel, he says, man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. In other words, God is saying there's more to it than just looking like a king. Vibing like a king. my point is this. I really have two intended audiences here in this episode. If you're the leader of an organization, of a company, of a nonprofit, whatever it is you exercise your leadership in, there's a lesson for us leaders to learn from this, and this is that we don't just look for who can, speak the most eloquently or write the most eloquently or sell the most product. We're building a team. And in a team dynamic, different things matter. The, New York Knicks didn't win A championship because 1 through 12, they're the most talented team in the league. They won the championship because they're the best team, because they're organizational leader. Understood that dynamic. Do you and I think about that enough as leaders. the second group of people I have in mind here are people who might themselves think of, at least in their industry, that they're not the most talented. maybe you look at everybody who does what you do, and you think, man, they all do it so much better than me. And maybe that's right. But are you a person of grit, of character, of perseverance? Do you go out of your way to celebrate the wins of other people and to fit in organizationally? Because the flip side of this is also true. It's not just for those who build teams, but for those who are on teams. your value to the team doesn't have to be that you're the best player. It can be that you help the team become the best it can be. And I guess the last group I have in mind here, too, are, parents. Because this is a message we need to teach our children and celebrate with our children. Of course, the most talented kid growing up in any arena, sports, theater, dance gets celebrated. But as parents and adults, we should be celebrating the glue guys, the glue girls who hold a team together, the ones who do the dirty work, the ones who don't need the recognition, the ones who show up early and stay late. I'm not a Knicks fan. I wish the Cavs had won the title. But I am learning from this Knicks championship how to be a better leader, how to be a better teammate, and how to be a better parent. I hope you'll join me in learning all those lessons. Hey, thanks for checking out Wake Up, Look Up. For more content, be sure to visit the Christ Community Chapel app or website cccchapel.com.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!