The Lane Well Traveled

When Phil Jackson was named head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1989, more than a few basketball experts scoffed at the selection. With a reputation as a sixties flower child and a flake, during his 13-year playing career Jackson was thought of as a free spirit whose unorthodox style was novel at best, and more than a little “out there.” How times change. With a fresh approach to the game emphasizing selflessness, teamwork and compassion over intimidation and individual effort, Jackson’s Bulls became the first team in 30 years to “three-peat,” winning three straight NBA titles.

Noting that leadership, motivation and teamwork are just as important in business as in basketball, Jackson believes what he calls a “mindful” approach can prove equally successful in managing a sales force. In his recent book, Sacred Hoops (Hyperion, 1995), Jackson says that by tapping into team members’ need to participate in something larger than themselves you begin to build an effective organization.

“Creating a successful team,” he says, “whether it’s an NBA champion or a record-setting sales force, is essentially a spiritual act. It requires the individuals involved to surrender their self-interest for the greater good so that the whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts.”

A Vision Of Compassion

Soon after joining the Bulls as an assistant coach Jackson noticed that a one-dimensional style of play had come to dominate the NBA. Typically only two or three players would be involved on offense while the rest of the team watched. Consequently, he believed, most teams performed below their true potential. With perhaps the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan, on the court the Bulls ranked among the greatest offenders. To counteract this direction Jackson began to develop a much more team-oriented vision for the Bulls, based on what he had learned as a player and a coach and also as a student of the Lakota Sioux Indians and Zen Buddhism.

“My first act after being named head coach,” he explains, “was to formulate a vision for the team. I had learned from the Lakota and my own experience as a coach that vision is the source of leadership, the expansive dream state where everything begins and all is possible. My vision could be lofty, I reminded myself, but it couldn’t be a pipe dream. I had to take into account not only what I wanted to achieve, but how I was going to get there.

“I vowed to create an environment based on the principles of selflessness and compassion I’d learned as a Christian in my parents’ home; sitting on a cushion practicing Zen; and studying the teachings of the Lakota Sioux. I knew that the only way to win consistently was to give everybody – from the stars to the number 12 player on the bench – a vital role on the team, and inspire them to be acutely aware of what was happening, even when the spotlight was on somebody else. More than anything, I wanted to build a team that would blend individual talent with a heightened group consciousness. A team that could win big without becoming small in the process.”

Dubbed the “triangle offense,” Jackson’s resulting formula depended on a steady flow of movement to create opportunities. Rather than forcing the ball down opponents’ throats, the Bulls would think and move in unison, luring the defense into making mistakes, and then quickly capitalize. Success depended upon awareness, cooperation and individual sacrifice for the greater good of the team.

The Jordan Factor

For a team that had until then relied on Michael Jordan’s magnificent skills and creativity to deliver more than half the team’s scoring punch, the new scheme was nothing short of revolutionary. Selling the plan to Jordan, who had once referred to his teammates as “my supporting cast,” would prove Jackson’s most daunting task. But Jordan had been stung by critics who said he would never achieve true greatness until he wore a championship ring. In the playoffs opponents keyed so much on Jordan that his teammates were forced to produce in the clutch – and often failed.

“I felt that if we were going to rely on one guy to do 80 percent of the work,” Jackson says, “then we were going to have problems stepping into our own at critical times of the game. So we told Michael, ‘Yeah, maybe guys are not as talented as you’d like them to be, but this is as good as they’re ever going to be. This is as good as we can get under the present situation. But if we run a system, everyone is going to have an opportunity to perform. They can’t do the spectacular one-on-one things you can do, but they can have some level of success.'”

In fact, Jordan and the rest of the Bulls took to the new system quickly and, despite losing a tough seven-game playoff series to the rival Detroit Pistons that year, came back the next to sweep the Pistons en route to winning the franchise’s first championship.

The Mindful Manager

There’s more to Jackson’s coaching success than selling Michael Jordan on a new offensive scheme, however. His theories of compassion and selflessness extend to his coaching style as well, which he describes as “low-key, not comatose – but close to it.” Unlike so many coaches who use fear and rage to motivate, Jackson believes that his calm demeanor will do more to inspire players’ self-confidence than any amount of ranting.

“Many coaches are control-oholics,” he says. “They keep a tight rein on everyone from the players to the equipment manager. Everything flows from the top, and the players dare not think for themselves. That approach may work in isolated cases, but it usually only creates resentment. I like to bring a player to a place where he can see for himself, to guide him there, rather than have a direct confrontation. I don’t like to hit people over the head with a hammer.”

Jackson freely admits, however, that teaching players to embrace a new paradigm for teamwork and success requires constant reinforcement. Players frequently stray from the system, lose their concentration and revert to counterproductive behaviors. These are the occasions that test even Jackson’s calm leadership style.

“The relationship between a coach and his players is often fraught with tension,” Jackson explains, “because the coach is constantly critiquing each player’s performance and trying to get him to change his behavior. Having a clearly defined set of principles to work with reduces conflict because it depersonalizes the criticism. The players understand that you’re not attacking them personally when you correct a mistake, but only trying to improve their knowledge of the system.”

The Zen Of Preparation

During a game Jackson knows that the coach has little minute-by-minute effect on the team’s performance. In sales and basketball alike, the leader’s most important work takes place long before a salesperson comes face to face with a customer, or a player sinks the first basket. Ideally, Jackson says, players will enter a game with clear minds, ready to perform in the moment without reacting to the myriad distractions that inevitably crop up.

To clear both his own mind and the players’ minds before tip-off, Jackson employs three methods other coaches might consider eccentric. In the first – meditation – players sit together in silence and monitor their breathing and the random thoughts that inevitably break their concentration.

“Little by little,” Jackson explains, “you start to discriminate raw sensory events from your reactions to them. Eventually, you begin to experience a point of stillness within. As the stillness becomes more stable, you tend to identify less with fleeting thoughts and feelings such as fear, anger or pain, and experience a state of inner harmony, regardless of changing circumstances.

“For me, meditation is a tool that allows me to stay calm and centered during the stressful highs and lows of basketball and life outside the arena. During games I often get agitated by bad calls, but years of meditation practice have taught me how to find that still point within so that I can argue with the refs without being overwhelmed by anger.”

Once a basketball game is underway, breaks in the action often come at critical moments when everyone’s adrenaline is running in overdrive. To keep players focused and their minds clear at these times, Jackson has developed a special visualization technique.

“During time-outs,” he says, “the players are often so revved up, they can’t concentrate on what I’m saying. To help them cool down mentally as well as physically, I’ve developed a quickie visualization exercise I call the ‘safe spot.’

“During the 15 or 30 seconds they have to grab a drink and towel off, I encourage them to picture themselves someplace where they feel secure; it’s a way for them to take a short mental vacation before addressing the problem at hand. Simple as it may seem, the exercise helps players reduce their anxiety and focus their attention on what they need to do when they return to the court.”

Jackson refers to his third method for keeping players focused and their minds clear of clutter as “intimacy with all things.” The key here rests on the unique and inviolate bond each player feels with his teammates that cannot be penetrated by the media, other teams, the fans or anyone. With a player of Jordan’s talent and celebrity this task proves particularly difficult. By keeping the press out of practices and restricting the number of outsiders who travel with the team, Jackson believes the players maintain an appreciation for the pleasure of playing basketball and belonging to a team.

“Basketball is a form of play,” he says, “but it’s easy for players to lose sight of this because of the pressures of the job. As a result, my primary goal during practice is to get the players to reconnect with the intrinsic joy of the game. Some of our most exhilarating moments as a team come at these times.

“When you’re young and in the public eye, it’s easy to get caught up in fame’s seductive web. But the truth is the players aren’t fighting for the media or the public, they’re fighting for the inner circle of the team. In coaching, whatever way you get a team to play hard is acceptable. My particular way is for them to find a way to play for each other where they enjoy playing the game together.”

Moment Of Motivation

Perhaps the most important leadership lesson Jackson has learned, however, is to trust his gut feelings. When confronted with difficult choices he believes that a true leader must have faith that experience is both a teacher and a guide.

“I find it amusing,” he says, “when people ask me where I get my ideas for motivating players. The answer is: in the moment. My approach to problem solving is the same as my approach to the game. When a problem arises, I try to read the situation as accurately as possible and respond spontaneously to whatever’s happening. I rarely try to apply someone else’s ideas to the problem – something I’ve read in a book, for instance – because that would keep me from tuning in and discovering a fresh, original solution.

“Ultimately, leadership takes a lot of what St. Paul called faith: ‘The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). You have to trust your inner knowing. If you have a clear mind and an open heart, you won’t have to search for direction. Direction will come to you.”

Parts of this article were excerpted from Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior by Phil Jackson. Copyright (c) 1995 Phil Jackson. Reprinted with permission by Hyperion. Available at your local bookstore or call 1-800-759-0190.

Jackson On Zen And The Art Of…

…Visualization “During the heat of the season it’s easy to get wound up so tight that you strangle your own creativity. Visualization is the bridge I use to link the grand vision of the team I conjure up every summer to the evolving reality on the court. That vision becomes a working sketch that I adjust as the season develops.”

…Success “Success tends to distort reality and make everybody forget their shortcomings and exaggerate their contributions. Soon they begin to lose sight of what made them successful in the first place: their connection with each other as a team. As Michael Jordan puts it, ‘Success turns we’s back into me’s.'”

…Losing “Losing is as integral a part of the dance as winning. Only by acknowledging the possibility of defeat can you fully experience the joy of competition. Obsessing about winning adds an unnecessary layer of pressure that robs you of the freedom to do your best.”