Leadership Lessons from the Winning-est Coach in NBA History
So you want to be a great leader. One of the most effective ways to do so is to model the behavior of other great leaders. Notice, I didn’t say “actions.”
Corporations spend millions and millions of dollars annually to develop their managers’ leadership abilities. The focus of most of these programs is on the actions one should take to become a more effective leader. As a result, most such programs deliver marginal impact because they focus on the doing, and not the being, of leadership.
On Friday, March 11th, 2022, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 104-102 in a seemingly meaningless regular season. However, this win made Gregg Popovich, the Spurs head coach, the NBA’s all time winningest basketball coach.
I recently read this terrific article that I encourage you to read which illuminates three foundational leadership lessons learned by observing Gregg Popovich from the perspective of those that worked for him: humility, heart and relationship.
As I read the article, Popovich’s responses to questions quickly reveal his humility. He attributes his success to his players and coaches and support staff, deflecting the attention from himself. What he says is true, success is never the result of the leader alone. In fact a leader of others could never be successful without the efforts of those they lead. There are however, so many leaders who have over inflated egos and truly believe it’s all about them. This exists in politics, the military, sports, business, non-profits, boards of directors and with volunteers.
Gregg Popovich is a humble man who knows none of his success would have been possible without his players and coaches.
The next lesson is heart. Gregg Popovich apparently has a big heart and is not afraid to reveal it to those he leads. I remember early in my career I used to say I’m two people: the person I am at work and the real me. That is so inauthentic. You see, I was either afraid or unwilling to reveal my true self at work. I was trying so hard to be successful, I played a part that I believed I needed to fulfill my role. If you know me, you know I don’t do that anymore– I fixed that years ago.
Great leaders are willing to be vulnerable and expose their authentic self to those they lead. They are in touch with their values and are willing to both reveal and lead from them. They are unafraid of how they will be perceived. I believe vulnerability is an asset, not a liability. Gregg Popovich embodies that, being himself and exposing his big heart.
Last is relationship. I’m not sure why, but many leaders believe they should not get too close to their employees. Naturally, there are lots of reasons why someone might behave this way, but not committing to or valuing relationships with those we work is a big mistake.
“Relationship” does not mean your employee becomes your best friend, but rather you have a level of mutual understanding and connectedness. This could mean that you both know about each other's families, your favorite hobbies, or vocation and you support each other in what’s important to you.
Regardless of your line of work or your avocation, relationship is the foundation of all accomplishment. And those relationships that are built on mutual trust and respect will always win out over superficial relationships. So as Gregg Popovich has demonstrated, don’t be afraid to have meaningful relationships with your employees as it builds loyalty and commitment.
The one common thread in each of these is a reference to who Gregg Popovich was being, not a result of what he was doing.
Maya Angelou, an American author, poet and civil rights activist sums it up perfectly: “At the end of the day, people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”
How we make people feel is a direct result of who we are being when we’re with them. And as Gregg Popovich can show us all, being humble, sharing your heart and fostering relationships are foundational to great leaders.