Chapter 11Leadership Heart ’n’ Soul (Learn to Lead with Compassion and Spirit)
“Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.”
—Phil Jackson
Few leaders have ever attained the team success that Hall of Fame basketball coach Phil Jackson did during his coaching tenure in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The soul of Jackson's team success was recognizing that talent alone would not win championships. Rather, it would take bringing people together and getting them to sacrifice personal glories for the betterment of the team. Jackson learned throughout a remarkable basketball life that each individual's contributions held unique value to the organization.
Phil Jackson was like the music director of a symphony orchestra—able to bring incredibly talented people together to produce their best music. He didn't just “roll out the ball” and sit on the sidelines with his arms crossed. He established vision and invited his players to view it with him. Jackson’s championship leadership empowered every player to think for themselves and play instinctively by providing a well‐defined structure for how to operate. This structure became known as the “Triangle Offense” and it was the foundation for the 11 NBA championships that his teams won.
Know this: It took Michael Jordan until his seventh full season in the NBA to win a title. Kobe Bryant came together with Shaquille O'Neal, who was entering his eighth full season, to win ...
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