Here we are, with a handful of weeks left before it is summer in New England (did I miss spring?), and our middle schools and high schools and colleges are approaching the end of their school year and their spring sports seasons. Some of the ever-growing list of professional teams are ending theirs too. Other teams are just starting their next season.
We are deluged with an almost constant barrage of proclamations by the “winners” that they won (or will win) because they had or have the “best team” or they “wanted it more.” Or, if they’re honest, they will admit that they won by inches or by one or two points or goals, in the final round of play following weeks or months of competition.
I’ve always been wary of proclamations by the “winners,” be they players, coaches or fans (or managers or commanding officers), that theirs was “the best.” Whenever someone calls me or my team “the best,” I take those compliments with a grain of salt. There are many, many excellent teams and players out there, but none are truly the “best” or the GOAT.
I’m much more comfortable with someone telling me, or my team, that we are among the best, or hearing a teammate say, “I really enjoyed having you as a teammate.”
We all hear (and hopefully recognize) the “winner” who credits his or her teammates but really doesn’t mean it. We just know false modesty when we hear it. And then there are our would-be king’s self-proclamations of his excellence (daily, with no mention of team). But we won’t go into that here.
Telling you all of that will, I hope, help you better appreciate my real message today.
- Winning is not everything (sorry, Vince). But it is nice to win, and it is fun to win (or to watch “your team” win, or your nemesis lose (think the Yankees, or Army … Go Navy!)).
- Being a valued member of a “winning” team matters more. You don’t have to be in a league or play sports or keep score to be on a winning team.
- The development of a winning team takes time. Non-members may not see it coming, but if you are on one, you know it … and you work harder because you are surrounded by “winners”: teammates who are committed, dedicated, who grow together, who like working with each other, who don’t have to be told “Do your job!”
I’ve been on winning teams before (in business, the military and sports). I’m not talking about my beer-league hockey summer championship teams. If you need validation of my claim, take a look at GE Vernova’s stock performance since its launch in April 2024. I spent more than 40 years working alongside or directly for many of the people who are now running that business. I know a winner when I see one, when I’m on one.
That brings me to the point of this article. My latest “winning team” is the ConVal leadership team. That includes Superintendent Ann Forrest and her “team”: Amy Stevenson, Neal Cass and many, many more.
And it includes the ConVal School Board.
I’ve been Sharon’s representative on the board since just after I “retired” from GE 10 years ago. I’ve seen many other members come and go. Some were better than others. Some I knew better than others. Some of the boards performed better than others. Here are some personal observations for your consideration:
One common trait of all new board members: none of us, not one, knew when we started how difficult it is to “win,” for the students, the staff and the taxpayers, year after year after year. There are no “building years” for school districts. We have to perform each and every year. Our seasons overlap. There is no offseason.
Every year has its challenges, and there will always be new ones. Think COVID-19, withdrawals and (in my humble opinion) our currently dysfunctional and dangerous state legislature.
The current ConVal staff and board both have some of the most talented, dedicated, capable and effective people I have ever worked with. But none are “the best.” The diversity of our backgrounds, the respect for each other and each other’s opinions, the commitment to excellence and to our constituents: this is a winning team. Right now.
I’m often told this is a thankless job, or “thanks for doing what no one else wants to do.” Being on this team is thanks enough. It’s both an honor and a privilege to serve.
We are faced with many big challenges, too numerous to mention here. I ask you to support us, participate when we ask you to, and tell us what you think and feel, even if we don’t ask you. We are not where we want to be, not yet.
If you haven’t already thanked your board member, thank them (or thank them again) by telling them where you want us to be, what we’re doing right or how you think we could do it better. We will listen.
If we reach “our” destination and find out it doesn’t match yours? To use a naval expression, “We missed the boat!”
James M. Fredrickson, Sharon
Captain, U.S. Navy Reserve (Ret.)
James M. Fredrickson was commissioned as an Ensign in 1972 after completing the Navy ROTC program at Cornell University. He served four years on active duty as an officer and continued his career in the U.S. Naval Reserve for 24 more years, retiring at the rank of Captain (O-6). He has been on the ConVal School Board since December 2016.
