Michael Jordan didn't win alone. Learn why having the right team around you is the sixth habit of highly effective people and how to build yours.
Michael Jordan is the GOAT. Six championships, five MVPs, the killer instinct that defined an era. But here's what most people miss: Michael Jordan never won a single ring without the right team around you. Not one.
Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr—these weren't supporting actors. They were essential. Jordan could be the best individual player in the world, and it still wouldn't matter without people who understood the vision and executed it with him. That's Habit 6 from Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People—synergize. And it's the habit most young guys skip over because it sounds soft.
It's not soft. It's survival.
Here's the reality: you can't build anything significant alone. Not a business, not a career, not a life worth living. The whole is literally greater than the sum of its parts. One person's drive means nothing if the people around you are pulling in different directions or worse, dead weight.
Most young men don't think about this. You're focused on grinding, on being the hardest worker in the room, on outworking everyone. That's important. But if you're grinding alone, you're just exhausted. If your crew doesn't share your vision, you're fighting upstream every single day.
So what does synergize actually mean? It means finding people who get it. People who aren't competing with you but complementing you. Rodman wasn't trying to be the leading scorer—he owned the boards, the grit, the dirty work. Pippen had a different skillset than Jordan but was elite at it. They had roles. They had a shared vision. And when those elements align, something happens that none of them could create alone.
Start by looking at who's actually in your circle right now. Not your social media followers—your real circle. The people you talk to, spend time with, take advice from. Are they moving toward something or just existing? Are they pushing you forward or holding you back? Are they playing their position or are they threatened by your growth?
The hard part isn't finding talented people. It's finding people aligned with your values and your direction. You need at least a few people who believe in what you're building and bring something you don't have. That might be a skill, perspective, work ethic, or just someone who calls you out when you're slipping.
This is where Success Scholars focuses on the real work—not just personal improvement in a vacuum, but improvement in the context of the people around you. Because Habit 6 isn't about being a team player in the corporate sense. It's about being intentional about who you let influence you.
Your move: identify one person in your life who challenges you positively and adds real value. Then reach out. Tell them specifically what you respect about them. Start building that relationship intentionally. That's how synergy begins.