Phil Jackson is a retired American professional basketball
coach and former player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest
coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association. He was the head
coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 until 1998, during which Chicago won six
NBA titles. His next team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won five NBA titles from
2000 until 2010.
His coaching career offers many leadership lessons, among
them:
1. Teamwork
Phil Jackson believed strongly in teamwork. His employment
of the triangle offense showed his thoughts about how a team should work
together, having no one ‘glorified’ at the expense of the rest.
Although he had big characters like Dennis Rodman or Kobe
Bryant in his team, he never allowed these stars to become the centre of the team.
He emphasised a team centred form of play that became very successful in the NBA.
It is the same for all teams. A good team leader knows how
to use each member’s strengths to their advantage. While it is sometimes
tempting to glorify the “CEO” to above the rest of the company, it is important
to note that the best companies in the world don’t have “Stars”.
2. Role playing
Phil Jackson used the power of role playing in his
practices. It is said that in a practice against an important opponent, Jackson
had one of his players of a similar build dress exactly like his opponent so
that his players could visualise beating and overcoming him in practice.
Events often happen in the imagination of a person before
they are brought into reality. You, too, use the power of role-playing to help
your team visualise the success before they actually have it.
