Rajon Rondo on Team Decisions

"It's What's Best for the Team"

  "My job is to play, whether Doc throws an 8th grader out there...I'll try to make his job easier and bring the best out in him."  That’s Rajon Rondo talking about how he isn't concerned with who starts and who doesn't.

Part of leadership is getting the team to buy into the importance of team over self, and that's what Rondo is talking about.  There are some great lessons in this quote if you spend some time thinking about it: leadership lessons, teammate lessons, and trust lessons.  Let's take a look at each of these:

LEADERSHIP LESSONS:  Rondo is basically saying it's not as important who starts and who doesn't; the key is that the best lineup at any given time in the game be what's best for the team.  He's putting team before individual and he fully understands that the best decisions for winning are decisions that put the team above the individual.

TEAMMATE LESSONS: This is a tough one.  In one sense, he's saying, "we want the best player out on the floor for that time of the game."  This gives that teammate tremendous confidence in that Rondo is saying, “I believe in you".  On the other hand, the player who's not out there may be thinking, "he believes in him more than he believes in me."  This is where leadership becomes tougher than people think -- that balance between keeping guys happy, motivated, and engaged when their number isn't called.

TRUST LESSONS:  What Rondo is really saying here is, "I trust the decision my coach is making.  I know my coach makes his decisions based on what's best for the team.  I trust this and now it's my job to help that player excel."

The ultimate lesson here is even bigger.  What you say can be very important to the success or failure of a team, an organization, or a business. Whenever a statement is made with an individual's name in it, you can bet that person will pay attention to it and he will make his own interpretation of the message.  So what you say does become important.  I just warn players to think first, talk second. And the same applies to us as coaches.

There are even more messages we can learn by Rondo's statement.  These are just a few to get you thinking.  It's a good exercise as you read articles on other teams and players as well as your own.  To quote one of Doc's favorite phrases: "I know what he said, but what did he say?"  

Doc Rivers

Pick & Roll Defense

A "Must Master" Part of Your Defense 

With the Pick & Roll being such an important part of all offenses in today's game, it has become imperative to have a consistent and simple defensive plan so your team can go into every game knowing there's a great chance to consistently stop the opponent's Pick & Rolls.

The system has to be sound in the five basic parts of the defense:

1. the player guarding the ball and how he adjusts his position to be the aggressor
2. the player guarding the pick setter so that he is always in the proper position to re-route the ball
3. the communication system
4. the protection behind the two players in the Pick & Roll -- so critical to the success or failure
5. the rotations out of the Pick & Roll action -- but how to keep from having to rotate so that like sizes stay on like sizes

I have seen teams try to employ 5 and 6 different coverages, often resulting in their being average in all of them.  Most detrimental is being tentative because there's no consistency.  

I want to introduce you to the system that most all championship calibre NBA teams employ.  It's the most detailed Pick & Roll Defensive DVD out there, and the beauty is that all levels will find it useful, from high school up to the highest level NBA teams.  It is based on soundness, simplicity and success.

BOOK QUOTE

"Pratice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better"

BY: by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, and Katie Yezzi

"The enemies of practice are pride and fear and self-satisfaction. To practice requires humility. It forces us to admit that we don’t know everything. It forces us to submit to feedback from people who can teach us."

What Separates "The Best" from "The Rest"

Observations from Training Camp

One of my favorite books is Training Camp by Jon Gordon.  Whenever I speak to groups -- whether basketball or corporate -- I tell them this is a "must read" for players and coaches, and from young grads to corporate leaders.

I'm writing this late at night after two days in Istanbul, Turkey, with our Boston Celtics team at Training Camp for the upcoming NBA season.  The NBA has a great program that sends different teams to compete against pro teams from other countries.  It's not only about competition, but also about sharing of the game with kids over here. (another of the many NBA initiatives that's not always known by the public but is such an important part of what the NBA believes in.)

Since we're in the midst of training camp, I thought it would be appropriate to share a passage from Jon's book:

"Because if you want it you’ll be willing to pay the price and invest the time, energy, sweat, and dedication that greatness requires. People think it’s all about talent. But talent isn’t enough anymore. Everyone here has talent. It’s about infusing talent with heart, soul, spirit, and passion. It’s about doing the things that make the best of the best better than everyone else. And these things have nothing to do with talent."

Holding Others Accountable

From Championship Coaches Network
Link: Hold Everyone Accountable

Greg A. Shelley, Ph.D., Colgate and Lafayette Leadership Academies

Excerpt from Dr. Shelley's new book: 50 Rules to Build Committed, Confident, and Motivated Athletes and Teams 

Holding others accountable is difficult, often uncomfortable, and yet absolutely necessary. If your athletes are going to grow and develop, and your team is going to mature and progress, you will need strong coach-player and player-player accountability.

Accountability is about empowering, encouraging, and "pushing" others to accomplish a task. It is a rare person that "enjoys" being held accountable. Who wants to be told they need to gain strength, work harder, commit more, improve their attitude, or communicate more effectively?

Similarly, it is also difficult for the person holding others accountable . . . as the process of holding another person accountable often ends with that person becoming angry, offended, or feeling "singled out". In contrast, holding others accountable should conclude with everyone involved realizing their goals and expectations are within reach. All parties should have a clear understanding of where they stand in relation to any previously agreed upon individual or team goals.

Holding others accountable is about helping others reach their goals and follow through with what they initially set out to do. Below are several coach considerations for establishing individual and team accountability.

Principles of Leadership

To help you be, know, and do, follow these eleven principles of leadership (U.S. Army, 1983). The later chapters in this Leadership guide expand on these principles and provide tools for implementing them:

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement - In order to know yourself, you have to understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others.
2. Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees' tasks.
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions - Search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later — do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.
4. Make sound and timely decisions - Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning tools.
5. Set the example - Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi
6. Know your people and look out for their well-being - Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
7. Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers - Help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.
9. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished - Communication is the key to this responsibility.
10. Train as a team - Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams...they are just a group of people doing their jobs.
11. Use the full capabilities of your organization - By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.

Article Link: Concepts of Leadership