This resource stems from a Case Study found in the “What Do You Do When?” chapter of Jim Thompson’s book, Elevating Your Game.

I want to help my team do well, but some of my teammates don’t seem to care as much as I do. What can I do about unmotivated teammates?

You will work with people with differing levels of commitment throughout your life. It is actually rare to be part of a unified group of people who are all equally committed to the same goal. Here are some thoughts on dealing with this situation.

Reframe: Reframe this as an opportunity to work on your leadership skills and help your teammates improve. (See page 36 for more on reframing.) NBA star Shane Battier (@ShaneBattier) is known for making every team he is on better. Take this season as a personal challenge to work on being the kind of person who makes every team you are on better. And stay positive and keep working hard — you’ll stand out if you do, especially if others on the team do not.

Empathy is putting yourself in another’s situation so you can understand how that person sees things. Understand that your teammates may have a lot going on in their lives, such as family issues, conflicts with friends, money or health problems, or stress around schoolwork. Empathizing with teammates will increase your ability to influence them. Being angry because of their lack of commitment will make it harder for them to respond favorably to your leadership.

To read the full response, including more tools for dealing with teammates with different commitment levels, download the book excerpt found below.

To purchase the entire Elevating Your Game book, and to learn more about other PCA books, click here.

These books are used in PCA’s live workshops. To learn more about our interactive student-athlete workshops, click here.