Leadership Lessons From the Basketball Court

This weekend, I watched a youth basketball game with my son. While he was captivated by the three-pointer swishes and court-side drama (including an overzealous parent who was ejected for swearing at an opposing player!), I couldn’t help but take mental notes of two contrasting coaching styles.?

1. No ‘i’ - nor ‘unit’ - in Team

During warm up, both Coach A and Coach B focused on individual skills - free shots, lay ups, the fundamentals. But Coach B integrated team formations and collective movement patterns. From the bleachers, it almost looked boring: Team B slowly rehearsed their movements like a choreographed dance, stopping and repeating when one player would mess up. But once that opening whistle blew, the difference was clear: Team A played like a collection of skilled individuals, while Team B’s skilled individuals played like a single unit.?

2. Monitoring For vs Reacting to Quality

Throughout the game, Coach B actively walked up and down the court. At times his eyes were laser-focused on the ball flying from hand to hand, hand to rim, rim to wooden floor. Other times, his gaze swept across all players, scanning the entire court, assessing the bigger picture - he even caught my son’s eye in the crowd, offering an encouraging smile and thumbs up. "Who's covering number 10!?" came before defensive gaps emerged. Feedback was quick, specific, and actionable. He wasn't just reacting to mistakes but proactively anticipating and preventing them. In contrast, Coach A was stationary, and feedback mainly consisted of frustrated reactions after errors had occurred.?

3. Growing People vs Growing Numbers?

During the third quarter, a defensive foul became a telling moment. Coach B used his timeout to pull the entire team together, having the player demonstrate the sequence while the team analyzed better positioning options. "Where else could your feet have been? What did you notice about the offensive player's hips?" Meanwhile, when Team A faced a similar foul, Coach A threw his hands up yelling "That's your third time!" and benched his player. By the fourth quarter, Team B's players were taking more risks, trying new moves, and encouraging each other. Meanwhile, Team A's players seemed to be playing not to lose - hesitating before shots, passing off responsibility, their shoulders gradually slumping with each missed basket.

The Takeaway

There are many factors that drive success - leadership being just one of them. But it is clear to me that leadership isn't just a title. These coaches reminded me it's a set of unique skills and qualities that directly impacts results, arguably irrespective of field-specific expertise or years of experience.?

My own leadership philosophy has been shaped by 4 core frameworks

• Schuitema's Care and Growth model (focusing on genuine care for people's development rather than just results)
• PMI's Project Management framework (47 processes for taking a project from start to finish)
• Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions (understanding how cultural dimensions influence leadership effectiveness)
• Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication (fostering empathetic dialogue, psychological safety and authentic relationships)

What frameworks or unexpected moments have shaped your leadership philosophy?