Robert Greene's bestseller, 'Mastery', shares many translatable ideas about social intelligence in career advancement. How can we apply them to basketball?
It's the Work.
Player or coach, your work ethic informs your results. Repetitions make reputations. Michaelangelo's 'Pieta' crafted in his mid-20's, reflected twenty years of craftsmanship. Starting at six years old, he trained ten hours a day, at least fifty hours a week, 2500 hours a year, transforming perspiration into inspiration.
Bill Bradley, from age twelve, practiced over 25 hours a week at the craft that brought Princeton to the Final Four.
Develop the Right Persona.
Does a blustery style mask insecurity? Still waters run deep. We must understand the distinction between what we and others want and need. During my clerkship as a student in medicine, the intern, Anne Knowlton, explained that she noticed a huge difference between my written notes and participation on 'rounds'. "You have to speak up." We have to contribute without disrupting structure and understand the roles of power and ego in our situation. Show the coaches you care by your energy, attitude, and work.
See Yourself as Others See You.
Greene explains that Ignaz Semmelweis' groundbreaking work on maternal infection was largely ignored because of his confrontational style and rancor with his department head. I used to work with a great neurologist in the Navy, Dr. Pleet. With a difficult patient, he would say, "I'd like to think that I'm smarter than all the prior doctors you've seen. But that's not likely. Something about you or your situation is unique and hard to solve." His patients appreciated that he saw them as special.
As a coach I have a clear philosophy about preparation, process, teaching, and communication. But none of that matters unless players and families see it firsthand as authentic and transformative. Criticism and feedback help me to help them. Great players thirst for coaching because they know refinement means improvement.
Engage Your Community.
I'm not Al McGuire, the former Marquette coach and broadcaster. A parent was hounding him about his son's playing time. "You're in insurance, right. You know nothing about basketball. Don't tell me how to coach." As a player or a coach, you encounter a certain amount of distracting noise. You must learn to focus on the signal and ignore the noise. You can't ignore your supervisor or challenge their authority without accepting the cost. Eventually, in mastery you will find your own niche.
Make the big time where you are and concentrate on adding value to your community. The amalgam of good work, the right dose of leadership and humility, self-assessment and correction, and patience help you navigate the social intelligence challenges.