Jamy Bechler in The Leadership Playbook gives great wisdom
on how we can all improve as leaders. It is not just for players and coaches,
it is for everyone. One of the points Bechler makes is that we are all leaders
in whatever we do. The book is designed to help us become better leaders
whether for our team, our business, or our family.
In each chapter, he brings out a specific principle of
leadership. He then reinforces each principle with 100’s quotes which apply to
the specific leadership concept, and numerous examples of people who have
successfully or unsuccessfully applied the specific principle of the chapter.
As coaches, we work hard to develop skills specific to our
sports. In basketball, we don’t expect a player to automatically be a great
shooter. We design drills to practice skills of shooting. The basic theme of
Bechler is that leadership is a skill that we need to work to develop. His book
is indeed an effective playbook to develop leadership skills.
Bechler Uses Famous Quotes Applied to Leadership
Bechler uses 100’s of quotes to support his leadership
concepts. Here are just a few of my favorites.
“A Year from now, you’ll wish you started today.”- Karen
Lamb
“There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So,
keep in mind that in the end, the choices you make makes you.”- John Wooden
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act
but a habit.”- Aristotle
“I have no choice about whether or not I have Parkinson’s
Disease, I have nothing but a choice about how I react to it.” – Michael J. Fox
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of
your presence and making sure that this impact lasts in your absence.”- Harvard
Business School
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of
changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the
service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“You have a choice to make when you’re not playing. Either
you’re invested and a great teammate, or you are not.” – Brad Stevens
“On good teams, coaches hold players accountable. On great
teams, players hold each other accountable.” – Joe Dumars
“The greatest
compliment to any player is he’s a great teammate. We can’t all be great
players but we can all be great teammates.” – Jay Bilas
“Talent is never enough. With few exceptions, the best
players are the hardest workers.” – Magic Johnson
“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time
thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a
while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.” – Vince Lombardi
Bechler’s Leadership Concepts
Leadership is the ability to influence other people’s
behavior. We all have the ability to influence- we are all leaders. Everyone can and should be a team leader. The most
successful teams have players with a sense of ownership. Coaches and captains
are “positional leaders.” Every player can exert leadership through personal
power of their relationships.
The first step in leadership is to lead yourself. “The best
way to improve the team is to improve yourself. The first person to influence
is yourself.” Success is a choice. To become successful, we sometimes have to
do things we don’t want to do to accomplish what we want to achieve. Through
your actions, you build trust with your teammates, which will give you a
platform to influence. “People will follow you because of who you are and what
you represent.”
One of the best ways to lead is by example. If you work hard
and are unselfish, you will help the team become hard working and unselfish.
“When your best player is also your hardest worker and most respected team
member then your chance for on-field success is increased.”
You don’t have to be able to influence everyone to be a team
leader. If you have just 2-3 people on a team with whom you have a positive
relationship- if you influence them- you are being a leader. To influence
others, you have to have a relationship with the others.
Three things leaders communicate to teammates: 1) Encouragement,
2) Information, 3) Accountability. Too often we think leadership is just
holding teammates as accountable. If you are going to confront a teammate, it
only works if you have built up trust.
While players don’t have to be rah-rah to lead, “Every
player should be leading verbally.” When a player gives praise, they are being a leader. When a player gives instruction, they are being a leader.
Jon Gordon in the Energy Bus talks about how “energy
vampires” kill a team. By our actions we can be positive or negative leaders. Every role is important. Everyone should try to star in
their role. Sacrifice and service to the team builds trust. Trust allows you to
influence teammates.
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