It's easy to forget the "water carrier" an unsung hero in the shadows of stars.
Leaders serve. In The Captain Class, Sam Walker shared how a Manchester footballer, Eric Cantona, disparaged a Juventus midfielder, Didier Deschamps as a water carrier. Deschamps seldom scored but won multiple championships including a World Cup. When Juventus beat Manchester, Deschamps was asked how he felt about it. "I don't mind." Water carriers make plays more often than headlines.
Walker discusses other Water Carriers like USWNT soccer star Carla Overbeck and the Spurs Tim Duncan who helped author five NBA titles. Validation comes from more than big numbers.
Water carriers have other names... anteambulo ("I walk before") and 'glue guy' for a couple. Find guys willing to do the grunt work without celebration.
"Water carrier" often carries a negative connotation as a subservient figure, such as junior members of Congress who buttress positions of senior politicians or even media networks who do the same. Remember the rule of threes - live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Water is life.
In 2004, the Red Sox made a deadline deal trading star Nomar Garciaparra for steady but unspectacular shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. All they got was their first championship in eighty-six years.
Water carriers help earn titles...Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier.
What do water carriers do? Focus. Work. Sacrifice.
Who are water carriers? Secure in their role, adding value. They aren't needy. And they can get paid (Marcus Smart, $77M, 4 years).
Water carriers illustrate "distributed leadership" where production matters not just years of experience or title. "The emphasis is upon interdependent interaction and practice rather than individual and independent actions associated with those with formal leadership roles or responsibilities."
Lagniappe. "Live be design." Do not be a victim.
Lagniappe 2. Coach Hanlen shows the value of momentum transfer to get separation out of the triple threat position.