What makes a team a winning team?

As demonstrated by the 2023–24 Detroit Lions, building a winner begins with the complete buy-in from the team’s high performers. The team’s core shares the same work ethic, attitude and goals of the organization. While this Lions team came up a little short of their goal, they remain poised to be successful for years to come as long as they remember the core strengths that got them there.

The best teams in golf course maintenance are built like a successful NFL team. A superintendent should strive to surround themselves with a core of high-performing staff, who share the superintendent’s vision, attitude, and goals for the team. It takes an entire team to reach the finish line; a superintendent can never realize their full potential without the support of the team.

In this episode of Trailing Thoughts, we take an urban adventure into the heart of Detroit. The city is still reeling from emotion after watching the inspiring Detroit Lions claw their way to a bitter defeat in the NFC Championship Game. During a walk along a reclaimed green space known as the Dequindre Cut, we draw parallels between the revitalization of a team and the renewal of a city by its people.