7 Leadership Lessons From an NBA Coach

Avery Johnson overcame the odds as a player in the NBA. Despite going undrafted in the 1988 NBA Draft, Johnson went on to play 16 seasons in the league for six different franchises, becoming one of only two players less than six feet tall to play in more than 1,000 games. In 1999, he was the floor leader of the San Antonio Spurs championship team (and was nicknamed the “Little General' for his leadership skills).
In 2004, he joined the Dallas Mavericks as a player/coach, but before the season began he decided to retire as a player and to concentrate on coaching. In his first full season as head coach in 2005–2006, he was named NBA Coach of the Year as he guided the Mavericks to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance. He left the Mavericks in 2008, and after spending three years as an ESPN/ABC studio analyst, was hired as the new head coach of the New Jersey Nets before the 2010/2011 NBA season.
Bringing a unique perspective as a leader has been important for Johnson throughout his career, and particularly when he took over for a Nets team that had won only 12 games in the previous season. He considers the qualities of being a good leader in the NBA very similar to those necessary for succeeding in the business world. Inc.com's Lou Dubois caught up with Johnson to discuss his seven keys to leadership, regardless of whether you're leading a team of 15 NBA players, a Fortune 500 company or are a young entrepreneur.

1. Cultivate Relationships to Build a Winning Culture
When I was hired by New Jersey, I knew the number one thing I'd need was patience because this was a total rebuild, for lack of a better word. It was a decimated situation, with the team having won just 12 games the year before I got here, going through two coaches and just kind of holding on for life, like any struggling business does. And we were moving into a temporary home for two years before our new arena was finished in Brooklyn. We wanted to come in and just totally change the culture of where we're going and implement a totally new vision, so we turned over the roster quite a bit (though we're still not done yet), were able to bring in (General Manager) Billy King who has done a magnificent job at retooling this.

We have great ownership obviously and that's the only way you can do it in this business if you want to succeed. The good businesses all have great owners. And most importantly, being new to town, Billy and I share a vision on how to treat players. I meet with my players quite often in a one-on-one setting to see how they're feeling, what they like, what they don't like; and whether I agree with them or not, it's all about relationships with players and employees. That's key to the winning environment we're trying to build.

2. Know When to Push Your Employees
Coaching in Dallas was a great opportunity for me because having played there, I had an understanding of the personality and dynamics of the players that were there and the organization in general. So when my playing career ended, I had the chance to become an assistant head coach under Don Nelson, where he hired me to run a bunch of different practices. And when he was out sick or tossed from a game, I got the chance to coach—a great training ground. So when I officially became a head coach, the transition was relatively easy. I had background there with the Mavericks and a strong relationship with (owner) Mark Cuban, understanding what he wanted and where he wanted to go. So we just kind of hit the ground running. But to me as a leader, the key was knowing what buttons to push because of my familiarity with the players and the organization, and knowing what we needed to take that next step. That was a huge advantage.

3. As a New Leader, Respect Is Key
What makes me an effective leader? I think I bring credibility because of the way I came into the NBA, being undrafted and playing as many games as I did in my career. Sixteen years of being an undersized player and not being drafted, along with all of the different teams I played on (six in total). All of the playoff games, heated battles and high-pressure situations I've been in have helped, and to have a resume of coaching four years in Dallas as an assistant and head coach, being part of a lot of great moments and disappointing moments, is big. Through it all, I think it's about keeping my head high and continuing to work no matter how tough it can get. The guys know that they have somebody that's experienced as a player and as a coach, who has gone through a lot of highs and quite a bit of lows and knows how to get through them. Most importantly, my guys know I'm a rock that they can lean on for all of the highs and lows.

4. Discover Your Different Voices
I saw it in Steve Kerr when we were teammates in San Antonio. He was really impactful on my career and in actually helping me to become a better leader. He always talked about the different voices you have to have in order to be an effective leader. What voices do you need? You need a teaching voice, a disciplinary voice, an angry voice, a loving voice, and an incensed voice. So having those different voices that you have to have and knowing when to apply which one at what time, and with which employee, is so important. Players respond to those different voices.

5. Address Challenges Before They Arise
As an NBA point guard, you can see plays and progress on the court before they happen, which is why point guards are called the on-court leaders. Trying to get your teammates or employees to understand things before they happens, whether in training camp, preparing for the regular season or playoffs is vital to success. And again, that's what happens all the time as a coach and in business. So just being able to prepare individually but also to prepare your team for what is around the corner—that's what coaches, point guards and good business leaders all have in common.

6. The Six C's of Good Leaders
Really good leaders are more consistent in their approach both on and off the court. For me, I believe that what you do on the court (or in the office) parallels what you do off it, but it also parallels any business. In any business situation, if you're a CEO of a company or leading any group of people, you need to follow what I call the C-plan:
• Great communication
• Strong character
• Competitive drive
• Consistency in the way you lead
• Compassion
• Confidence
Those are the skills that a lot of successful leaders have in common.

7. Focus on Small Victories, Not Just Big Wins
I talked to the media a lot this year about small victories, and in a rebuilding process, I think that's so important to preach as a leader. The big victory for us is to become a 50-win team and a perennial playoff contender, but we're just not there yet. So I make it a point to focus on details and small victories. For us, it's learning how to practice, learning how to watch film, taking care of your body, getting in the weight room, knowing when to party and when not to party, trying to get the players to understand when to be a good teammate. Because it's more of a reconstruction project, we are happy with small victories. The big wins will come.

THE MANAGER AND THE LEADER

The manager administers;
the leader innovates.

The manager is a copy;
the leader is an original.

The manager maintains;
the leader develops.

The manager focuses on systems and structure;
the leader focuses on people.

The manager relies on control;
the leader inspires trust.

The manager has a short-range view;
the leader has a long-range perspective.

The manager asks how and when;
the leader asks what and why.

Managers have their eyes on the bottom line;
leaders have their eyes on the horizon.

The manager imitates;
the leader originates.

The manager accepts the status quo;
the leader challenges it.

The manager is the classic good soldier;
the leader is his own person.

The manager does things right;
the leader does the right thing.

Keys to success

A major part of the process of achieving success and living the kind of life that you dream of is to give. Many people think that to get what you want you have to take it. There is a universal truth though that the true path to get what you want is to give. When you give, you get. What you sow, you shall reap. If this is true, then what is it we must give? I'll show you the way…

1. Give Others Your Honesty. The world we live in has a simple rule that most follow: Lie when you have to. Unfortunately, this may make some people wealthy but it make us humans poor. To achieve success is to become wealthy not only in money, but in character. To be successful, truly successful, is to be able to attain your goals and keep your character at the same time!…
        How about you? Are you honest in all things? The problem with little lies is they become big ones. Lies spin out of control. You get caught in one lie and you lie to get out of it etc. In all things and at all times, give others your honesty.
2. Give Others Your Respect. Most of the time we give people respect based on what they have done or what they have accomplished. We gauge whether or not they are "worthy" of it based on what we know of what they have achieved or who they know or are related to.
        But I believe we should have a higher standard: We respect people not for what they have done or for who they are related to or for what they can do for us. Instead, we respect people for simply being.…
3. Give Others Your Vulnerability. We are taught to "be strong." And yes, we should be strong. But we have also embraced something that I think keeps us from having the kind of life that we long for. It is an idea that keeps us from experiencing the kind of relationships that would bring deep meaning to us. It is the idea of vulnerability.…
        "But Chris, make yourself vulnerable and people will step all over you!" It is true that this will happen. But I have also seen that most people will be drawn to you. They will help you. They will open up to you. You see, we are all broken people inside. We all have secrets. Yet everyone plays the poser. When one let's down their veil, others soon follow—and we all win.
4. Give Others Your Care. Too many people are running around this old earth not caring about others. The days of "Look Out for Number One" and "Winning Through Intimidation" are over! Let's bring about a new day when we can care about others and succeed!
        Take the time to show people you care. Listen to them. Empathize with them. Love them. Now, I don't mean that you have to go around hugging everyone—that probably wouldn't fly in corporate America anyway—but we can take some time to step back from business and be human! And I have found that when we do so, our business succeeds as well!
5. Give Others Your Passion. There is nothing this world needs more than passionate people. And people need passionate people. Living in this day and age can be tiring. The hustle and bustle of it all can wear you down and tire you out. Give your passion to others and fire them up.
        Don't just be humdrum—be excited. Give people all the energy you can muster up. And you will find that energy reciprocal. They will get energized and passionate. This in turn will fire you up more when you are already charged and get you going altogether when you don't feel like moving at all!
6. Give Others Your Experience. We all have areas that we excel in and they are usually areas that we have experience in. One of the things we can do to make our lives more meaningful and be of utmost help to others is to show them the way through the experiences we have.
        Sometimes it will be what they should do: Shortcuts to take, people to meet etc. Sometimes it will be what they should not do: Shortcuts not to take and people to stay away from! Whatever it is, we can be of service to others by giving them our experience and ultimately it will make us all better!
7. Give Others Your Help. All in all, what we want to do is to help others. Zig Ziglar says that if we will "help others get what they want, we will in turn get what we want." If we want to be successful, we should consider ourselves servants of other people. What can we do to help them and make them better? This is the true path to greatness and success, not only in business but in life!

Self-Improvement and Growth Plan

Follow this example personal development plan for the next nineteen weeks, then modify it to suit your continuing personal growth interests.
Proven success factors of highly successful people include having a personal improvement plan and sticking to it. This example personal development plan will provide a structure and template for personal improvement. Focusing on one aspect of personal growth each week for nineteen weeks will typically bring significant cumulative growth benefits.
Personal Development Begins by Building Awareness
Self awareness is a fundamental component of personal growth. The first half of this example plan is devoted to building self awareness. The second half extends personal growth to the outside world.
 

 Week One – The personal development planner should begin by taking an honest and detached look at her life. What areas of life are working well? Which areas deserve improvement? Once grounded in current reality, develop a life vision.
 

Week Two – Discover or clarify life purpose this week. Everyone has a purpose in life, a set of behaviors and demonstrated life qualities which, when lived, bring meaning and purpose to living. Reflect on this throughout the week and write down a personal understanding of life purpose under the caption "My Life Purpose Is."
 

Week Three – This week the personal growth enthusiast should focus on personal strengths and passions. What are the activities that are always enjoyable, easy, and bring excellent results? List these under the title "Personal Strengths and Passions."
 

Week Four – Learn to meditate. Take a class, read a book, or research meditation on the Internet.
 

Week Five – Learn the art of living in the present moment. Life is a series of present moments which are lived in an instant and then lost.
 

Week Six – Practice self awareness of behaviors and personal qualities this week. This week notice the qualities or characteristics being demonstrated during daily activities. Are these consistent with the personal development vision of week one?
  

Week Seven – Focus on core beliefs and values. Starting with the phrase, "This I Believe," capture deeply-held core beliefs. Repeat for "These Are My Top Values."
 

Week Eight – This is the week to face and overcome limiting fears. Personal growth often involves moving out of one's comfort zone. Acknowledge the fears that are limiting growth and decide to move ahead with courage.
 

Week Nine – Devote this week to all things positive. Refrain from all forms of negativity, including negative self-talk, demeaning jokes and gossip, criticism, whining, and complaining. Acknowledge the negative, then look for improvement opportunities.
 

Week Ten – Learn effective goal setting techniques in support of the personal development vision and plan. Research the SMART process and apply it to this plan.
  

Week Eleven – Be grateful and appreciative this week. Express appreciation and gratitude for the basics of life as well as any special benefits enjoyed.
 

Week Twelve – This is the week to focus on self care. Decide now to take better care of both physical and mental health aspects of daily life. Make definite commitments and set goals.
 

Week Thirteen – Increase self awareness of time utilization by starting a time and activity log. Briefly record all activities, accounting for increments as small as fifteen minutes. At the end of each day determine if the time was well spent and supportive of the personal development plan.
 

Week Fourteen – Become a generous listener. Listen carefully to understand what is being said and the underlying emotions. Learn to reflect back both the thoughts and emotions, confirming the speaker was heard.
 

Week Fifteen – Focus on improving relationships. Life's greatest satisfactions come from relationships. Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of each relationship.
 

Week Sixteen – Practice generosity. Being generous benefits the recipient of generosity and the giver. Being generous to others is an easy way to become happier.
 

Week Seventeen – Set personal boundaries. It's important to not only identify personal boundaries but to learn how to communicate these to others.
 

Week Eighteen – This is the apologies and forgiveness week. It's time to make long-overdue apologies for behaviors that were hurtful to others. This is also the week to forgive—forgive self and forgive others.
 

Week Nineteen – Reflect on the past few months of personal growth. Notice both the gains and areas where growth was slow. Build a custom personal development plan for the next four months by modifying this example plan.

Bring yourself up

We all have goals and tasks that we want to accomplish but unfortunately we don’t always find ourselves motivated to do our tasks or to pursue our goals.

One of the big differences between successful people and those who didn’t succeed yet is the ability of the first group to motivate themselves to work on their goals.

Certainly we all want to be successful and that’s why I decided to write this post to tell you about 5 surefire ways that can help you motivate yourself.

1) Know exactly what you don’t want: Sometimes knowing exactly what you don’t want can motivate you more than knowing what you want. Wanting to be rich will certainly motivate you but not wanting to be poor, miserable, broken, sad or helpless can sometimes motivate you more.

Visualize the worst scenarios that can happen If you didn’t work on your goals can give you a strong motivational boost.

2) Combine both positive and negative motivation: In order not to fall in the trap of negative thinking you must use both positive and negative motivation techniques. Just like you should remind yourself of the negative consequences you should use visualization and images to remind yourself of the amazing feelings you will get when you succeed.

For example if you want to get rich you can hang on the wall above your computer a picture of your dream house or dream car. Each time you will look at them you will get motivated.

3) Don’t wait for the right mood or the right time: Lots of people mistakenly believe that people who are highly motivated always feel good while pursing their goals while the truth is that those who are self motivated have learned how to work even if they feel really bad.

Its not about waiting for a good mood to start but its about learning how to start even if there is no good mood.

4) Use motivational media: No one can underestimate the effect of suggestions we receive from songs, movies, pictures ..etc. If you are getting these suggestions anyways then why not make some of them positive by filtering out the negative media you get subjected to and increasing the positive media you encounter?

5) Lack of knowledge results in lack of motivation: Why would a person who want to do something badly never become motivated to do it? For example I know many people who would die to lose weight but in the same time never try to do it. The reason some people lack motivation is that they don’t know what to do in order to solve their problems, had those people educated themselves about possible solutions they will become motivated to pursue their goals

Know thyself

A key element of "knowing thyself" is sorting out what's really important to you. Without a clear sense of our personal principles and priorities, it's almost impossible to bring the picture of our preferred future or vision sharply into focus. Investing time and effort to uncover and articulate our personal principles has many important benefits:

• We'll have a strong foundation to build our leadership upon. James Kouzes and Barry Posner's study of credible and effective leaders led them to conclude, "Values are directly relevant to credibility. To do what we say we will do (our respondents' behavioral definition of credibility), we must know what we want to do and how we wish to behave. That's what our values help us to define."
• Clear personal principles give us a much stronger sense of our personal "bottomline." Knowing where we stand clarifies what we won't sit still for.
• It's easier to make choices between conflicting opportunities that arise — where to invest our time, what behavior is most appropriate, and where we need to concentrate our personal improvement efforts.
• We'll be much closer to finding our personal energy source and developing that critical leadership passion.
• Our self-identity, self-confidence, and sense of security will be strengthened.
• Our principles will provide the stable and solid core we need to transform the rapid changes coming at us, from terrifying threats into exciting opportunities.
• We can more clearly see to what extent our personal values are aligned with our team's and organization's values. To clarify our core values, we can develop a comprehensive list of all our possible values. Now rank each one as "A" (high importance), "B" (medium importance), "C" (low importance). Review the A and B values. Are there any that are essentially the same value or one that is an obvious subset of the other? If so, bring them together and rename, if necessary. Rank order the remaining list from highest through to lowest priority. We should now have your top five core values.
  

Focusing on our core values:

• Ask ourselves whether these are our true, internal "bone deep" beliefs or an external "should" value. We often don't recognize a lifetime of conditioning that has left us with other people's belief systems. We need to replace any "should" values with our own.
• Examine each core value to ensure that it is our end value and not a means to some other end. For example, wealth is seldom a value in itself. It's usually the means to status, power, security, recognition, freedom, accomplishment, pleasure, helping others, or some other end value.
• Write out a "statement of philosophy" that outlines and explains each of our core values. This is for our own private use, so we should be as honest and candid as we can.

These exercises are rarely done quickly. It could take dozens or even hundreds of hours to sort through the "shoulda's", "oughta's" and "coulda's" to get to our basic, core principles. The more meditation, contemplation, and writing time we put into this, the truer and more energizing our core values will become.

How to motivate others

A major function of leaders is to support the motivation of other individuals and groups. (There is debate as to whether a person can motivate another versus whether a person can only support another to motivate themselves.) 

There are approaches to motivating people that are destructive, for example, fear and intimidation. While these approaches can seem very effective in promptly motivating people, the approaches are hurtful, and in addition, they usually only motivate for the short-term. There are also approaches that are constructive, for example, effective delegation and coaching. These constructive approaches can be very effective in motivating others and for long periods of time. 

Different people can have quite different motivators, for example, by more money, more recognition, time off from work, promotions, opportunities for learning, or opportunities for socializing and relationships. Therefore, when attempting to help motivate people, it's important to identify what motivates each of them. Ultimately, though, long-term motivation comes from people motivating themselves.

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Do i have a Life: Do i have a Life: Do i have a Life: Problem Solving trick

Do i have a Life: Do i have a Life: Problem Solving trick

Do i have a Life: Do i have a Life: Problem Solving trick: "Do i have a Life: Problem Solving trick"

Do i have a Life: Problem Solving trick

Do i have a Life: Problem Solving trick

Problem Solving trick

A person is tracking down a difficult problem, often one that is not completely reproducible. In a status meeting, the person announces that the problem is solved. Someone asked, "what was the cause of the problem?" The person responds, "I'm not really sure what the problem was, but I changed xyz and the problem went away, so I must have fixed it".

Nine times out of ten this approach has not really fix the problem; it just masked out the real problem. In a few weeks or months, the problem will reappear. Never assume that a problem has been corrected until you can identify the exact condition that caused the problem and convince yourself that the particular change made really explains the behavior you have seen. Ideally, you should create a test case that reliably reproduces the problem, make your fix, and then use that test case to verify that the problem is gone.

If a situation occurs, where a change was made and the problem mysteriously goes away don't stop there. Undo the change and see if the problem recurs. If the problem does not reappear then the change is probably unrelated to the problem. If undoing the change causes the problem to recur, then figure out why. For example, try reducing the scope of the change to find the smallest possible modification that causes the problem to come and go. When this does not identify the source of the problem, add additional tracing to the system and compare the "before" and "after" traces to see how the change affected the behavior of the system. Experience has proven once a condition found that makes a problem come and go most people can usually find the solution.

Building wisdom

 God is Greater . . .

 Christ paid a debt He did not owe,

because we owed a debt we could not pay.

 It is as much the business of a physician to alleviate pain . . .

as to cure the diseases.

-- John Gregory (1725-1773), "Lectures on the Duties and Qualifications of a Physician"

 There is just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go,

and that is to travel that way yourself.

-- Abraham Lincoln

 It takes all kinds of people to make up the world.

-- Gerald W. Kelley, math teacher, Harrison (Ark.) High School

 Opportunity + Ability = Responsibility

 Stop giving directions;

just say, "Follow me."

 There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man.

The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.

-- Hindu proverb

 Love is a temporary emotional condition brought on by a

physical reaction to a biological urge. [too many think]

-- Abigail Van Buren

Pride is our national heritage, even those people who have overcome it, manage nevertheless to be proud of their humility

-- Mark Twain

 The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient

while nature cures the disease.

-- Voltaire

 Prayer:

Key of the Day,

Lock of the Night

 If two people agree on everything,

only one person is doing the thinking.

 If you can't have what you want,

change your mind.

 No Jesus = No Peace

Know Jesus = Know Peace

 He who implants courage in the human soul is the best physician.

-- Karl von Knebel

 You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean itself does not become dirty

-- Mohandas Gandhi

 Love makes burdens lighter, because you divide them. It makes joys more intense, because you share them.

 The happiest people are those who are too busy to wonder whether they are or not

 People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.

 Happiness is only found by those who are striving to make others happy

 All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.

 Optimism is man's passport to a better tomorrow.

 Four things do not come back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the Neglected opportunity.

-- Arabian proverb

 Were it not for the perpetual succession of rebellious sons, we would still be gnawing bones in the caves of Mousterian man.

-- Dean Sperry of Harvard

 Doing nothing is the most tiresome thing in the world because it is impossible to quit and take a rest.

 Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

-- Franz Kafka

 One must have a dream if one is to have a dream come true

-- from the musical "South Pacific"

  Vice, like virtue, advances by degrees.

-- Jean Racine

The purpose of the doctor:

To cure sometimes,

To relieve often, To comfort always.

-- Socrates

  The young close their ears to our advice and open their eyes to our example

  It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors

-- Plutarch (AD 46-120)

Good judgment comes from experience and, unfortunately, experience often come from bad judgment.

 Often we need not so much to be taught as to be reminded.

-- C. S. Lewis

Life is full of surprises. Dont insis on everthing being predictable

 Every day is fishing day; not every day is a catching day.

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel

 The seven states of man:

spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills.