4 Leadership Lessons from Phil Jackson

In the world of sports, as often in business, big egos and self-interest dominate. Big name coaches rule with an iron fist and role players can never dream of getting the kind of attention the star man does. Leadership is a crude game. And yet, Phil Jackson, one of the most successful basketball coaches of all time, espoused his Zen philosophies to push all that aside, leading to the dominating Bulls teams of the 90s and Lakers of the 2000s. Even with the spotlight on superstars like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, he managed to tap into something deeper and create teams that worked hard for each other.

In his autobiography, Eleven Rings, co-authored with Hugh Delehanty, he lays out lessons that leaders in every industry can really buy into.

A team that works together, wins together

If anyone knows how important it is to control egos, it’s Phil Jackson. With a star the size of Michael Jordan around, it was only time before his teammates’ egos got the better of them. To nurture his team towards success, he used the work of psychologist Carl Rogers. Instead of problem solving, he focused on personal growth. Instead of squeezing everyone into restrictive roles, leadership is about fostering an environment where your team can learn about themselves, develop and add their own creative twists within the team.

He also used the management book, Tribal Leadership, in which the authors set out five stages of a team. The first is a “life sucks” mentality seen in gangs and the last is a “life is great” mentality, where all the players buy completely into what their team is doing. It’s difficult to create that level of selflessness, especially in a world that celebrates ego and individual talent. One by one, starting with Jordan, he was able to get his players to buy into his system using their individual motivations in a constructive way.

Over time they learned to fight for each other, and became stronger as a result of it. Even the backups had an important role to play in the Bulls’ magical runs in the 90s.

“The strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”

- The Second Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling

Hear the unheard

Emotional intelligence is a very important skill for teams to have. Vulnerabilities aren’t easy to share. People would rather deflect them with jokes than admit what’s bothering them and ultimately, these issues can really derail a team.

Jackson talks about an old story where a young prince works with an old Chinese master to learn how to rule. The master sent the prince out into the forest to live in for a year. On his return, the master asked him what he had heard. He said he heard birds chirping, leaves blowing and the wind whispering through the trees.

The master let the prince finish and then sent him back into the forest to see what else he could hear. The prince spent a few days and nights in the forest, listening, until he started to hear things he hadn’t heard before. He came back and told the master, “When I listened most closely, I could hear the unheard—the sound of flowers opening, the sound of the sun warming the earth, and the sound of the grass drinking the morning dew.”

The master replied, “To hear the unheard is a necessary discipline to be a good ruler. For only when a ruler has learned to listen closely to the people’s hearts, hearing their feelings uncommunicated, pains unexpressed, and complaints not spoken of, can he hope to inspire confidence in the people, understand when something is wrong, and meet the true needs of his citizens.”

Be a friend, not a coach

Following his father’s murder, and not being allowed any privacy to mourn from the media, Michael Jordan understandably became disillusioned with the world of basketball. He had considered making the switch to baseball for a while and finally went through with it in 1993. Any coach would have fought tooth and nail to keep the best player of his generation from leaving, especially after having won three championships in a row. Instead, player and coach had a private meeting where they discussed Jordan’s future in earnest because Jackson treated his players as friends.

This can get complicated, since leaders who get too chummy with their team can easily see their authority undermined. Jackson wouldn’t go out of his way to socialize with his players unless it was in the interest of team bonding. But when it came down to his team’s fears, ambitions and needs, he was willing to give them the respect and time that a friend would, without imposing his own self-interest on them.

Sometimes, do nothing

Leaders are often the ones rushing to put out fires. Yet sometimes, there needs to be an element of trust that your team can do it themselves, especially if there’s an internal dispute.

In the world of sports, with the media attention on high alert, harsh action is all but expected from coaches. Phil Jackson would often take a step back and do nothing for two reasons. One was that freeing your mind of a certain problem can often lead to inspiration about solving it. And the other was that his players, having picked up his own management techniques, trusted each other enough to solve disputes amongst themselves.

During his first run with the Lakers, Jackson had to deal with the twin egos of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The two superstars were fighting it out to see who the real star of the team was. People expected Jackson to weigh in but he kept his distance from the situation. As crazy as the situation got between the two players, his “non-action” set an example for the rest of the team. The other players refused to take sides in the feud and let it fizzle out.

It’s not easy to let a feud within your team continue without acting, but these things are often the result of a misunderstanding or clashing egos. Forcing the issue can only make it worse and non-action can allow the parties involved to solve the issue themselves.

Conclusion

Phil Jackson is one of the most successful coaches for good reason. His management style has focused very much on creating a harmonious environment for his most talented players to co-exist. This kind of leadership style has the most potential of maximising your team’s skills by getting them to buy into your mission and develop themselves within that system.