Almost every successful business runs on teamwork. That sounds obvious until you watch a store where people are busy...but they're actually making more work because they're not working together.
The issue usually isn't effort. It's role confusion. People don't know whether they're supposed to put points on the board or set someone else up to. Credit (and a clear frame) to Jake Mauro for putting language to this: in most teams, you have Scorers and Playmakers.
Scorers: Points on the Board
Scorers are your front line. They're with customers, driving results, and finishing the work that shows up on the scoreboard.
They thrive on competition and outcomes. They want a clear target and room to chase it. Without Scorers, nothing lights up...no matter how clean your meetings look.
If you lead Scorers, your job is not to sand down their edge. Your job is to give them standards, coaching, and a path to win without creating chaos for everyone else.
Ask yourself:
- Do they know exactly what "winning" looks like this week and this month?
- Are you clearing obstacles...or adding check-ins that slow them down?
- When they miss, do they get feedback fast enough to adjust?
Scorers don't need fluff. They need clarity and accountability.
Playmakers: The Assists That Make Scoring Possible
Playmakers are the people who make the win possible from one step back: managers, support roles, coordinators, and the teammates who keep the operation moving.
A great Playmaker sees the whole field. They build systems, remove friction, and put Scorers in position to succeed. For them, a clean assist often feels as good as scoring because they understand the mission is bigger than personal highlight reels.
If you lead Playmakers (or are one), watch for this trap: invisible work gets undervalued, so people start chasing credit instead of impact. Don't let that happen. Call out the assists. Make the behind-the-scenes contribution visible in your culture.
Practical Playmaker ownership looks like:
- Fixing the process so the same problem doesn't hit the floor twice
- Anticipating a bottleneck before it becomes a customer issue
- Coaching a Scorer through a tough stretch without taking the ball away
- Keeping standards consistent when the day gets loud
Respect Every Role - Out Loud
A team only works when people understand and respect both roles.
Scorers can't win without Playmakers setting them up. Playmakers can't succeed if Scorers won't finish. The moment one side starts treating the other as less important, trust drops...and so does performance.
I've seen stores where the front line gets all the praise. I've also seen the reverse: so much process and oversight that the people closest to the customer feel managed into paralysis.
Both are leadership failures. Your culture should make one thing obvious: we win together, or we don't win cleanly.
What Leaders Should Do With This
If you're running a team, don't leave roles implied. Make them intentional.
- Name the roles in plain language. Help people see whether their primary job is to score or to create scoring chances...and why both matter.
- Define ownership. For each major outcome, who finishes it and who enables it? Ambiguity here creates duplicate work or dropped balls.
- Coach to the role. Don't train every person the same way. Scorers need sharper performance feedback. Playmakers need clearer systems, priorities, and decision rights.
- Celebrate the assist, not just the close. What you praise, you repeat. If only the scoreboard gets recognition, Playmakers will either disengage or start competing for the wrong wins.
- Watch for role drift. Sometimes a Playmaker starts trying to be the hero on every deal. Sometimes a Scorer refuses help because they want full credit. Pull people back to the job that serves the team.
Knowing Your Role Is a Competitive Advantage
Great companies aren't built by accident. They're built when people know their role, own it, and support the mission without needing constant applause for every contribution.
Whether you're a Scorer or a Playmaker, your part is vital. The leader's job is to make that clear, keep ego from rewriting the org chart, and build a team where assists and finishes both get respect.
Know your role. Own your role. Help the person next to you own theirs. That's how the whole team wins.
Ryan Giles