Jocko Willink's Extreme Ownership presents timeless leadership lessons. Let's steal from them and apply to our basketball programs.
StoryShot #1: Leaders Have the Greatest Impact on a Team’s Performance
StoryShot #2: Actions Must Be Underpinned By Beliefs
StoryShot #3: Take Ownership of Your Team’s Mistakes
Be accountable. When people insist they are infallible their followers cannot trust them. Outcomes depend on both skill and luck; luck is a cruel mistress. Do not traffic in excuses.
StoryShot #4: Don’t Let Your Ego Influence You
"Ego is the enemy." Ego leads us to overestimate our capability and make less informed judgments. Overconfidence led General George Custer into a slaughter at Little Big Horn. A controlled ego helped General William Tecumseh Sherman march to the sea.
StoryShot #5: Identify Your High Priority Tasks
Be good at what we do a lot. No easy hoops - stop transition, compete in the half court defense (contain the ball, no middle), and excel at pick-and-roll defense. Get and keep everyone on the same page.
StoryShot #6: Support Every Team Member
Value everyone on the team and be a good teammate. We never know when a fully engaged teammate who works hard at practice will step up in the moment.
StoryShot #7: Simplify Concepts to Avoid Mistakes
Strive for simplicity and clarity. Offensively, our tenets follow from spacing, cutting, screening and passing. Defensively, everyone's goal is no easy baskets with at most one bad shot.
StoryShot #8: Provide Orders That Even Your Weakest Member Can Follow
The only 'bad' question is the one not asked. Give players safe spaces in a supportive culture.
StoryShot #9: Be Clear and Delegate
Provide an end state (vision) that team members understand and present "intermediate stages" that everyone can work toward. My coach preached "win this quarter" and I believe in "win this possession." What is our plan to wear down our opponent and to play longer and harder than they do?
StoryShot #10: Debrief After Every Plan
Our "After Action Review" examines successes, failures, and how we can improve going forward. We can make corrections using the "sandwich technique" of stating the correction between statements of praise and support.
StoryShot #11: The Essential Features of an Effective Plan
What's our process? Every action during every practice should advance the team narrative. Writers use the phrase, "Kill your darlings" about eliminating the fluff.
StoryShot #12: Leading Up
Erik Spoelstra says, "every team has a pecking order." The "chain of command" needs respect and trust. When factions and agendas exist, teams fall apart.
StoryShot #13: Leading Down
When times are tough, the team leader has to look in the mirror first. What more can I do? Communicate positively, clearly, and energetically.
StoryShot #14: Break Teams Down Into Smaller Teams
Most coaches work with position groups. That includes traditional grouping like guards and forwards, but situational groupings like pressure groups, comeback teams, and sometimes delay groups.
StoryShot #15: Do Not Let Fear Influence Your Decision-Making
In Frank Herbert's Dune, Paul Muad'dib steadies himself saying, "Fear is the mind-killer."
Think back to excellent coaches from our past. What made them special? Were they more knowledgeable and task-oriented or was it their energy, communication, positivity, and trust on top of technical competence?
