I love to read and I love to share...

When I come across something that is timely and has meaning in this moment, I especially like to share. Please see this post from Willy Steiner - who shares his view of conflict and leadership in his new book, Discover the Joy of Leading: A practical guide to resolving your management challenges.

Please don't see this as a promotion for the book - see it as a valuable tool to add to your tool kit! Which of us does not want to discover the joys of leadership? I found the following from Willy interesting and useful - I hope you will too!

A Leadership Lesson from “Zen Master” Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson won 11 NBA Championships as a coach with the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers. He also won two while playing for the NY Knicks in the 70's. He wrote Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior in 1995. Jackson is an adherent of Zen Buddhism, which even influenced his style of play when he coached some of the greatest NBA talent ever. He was the “Zen Master.”

“In a controversy, the instant we feel anger we already have ceased striving for the truth and have begun striving for ourselves.” – Buddha

How often, after you have been in a testy exchange with someone, do you wonder how you let that get away from you or why you lost your cool? It can really damage careers and relationships.

As a Bulls fan and admirer of Coach Jackson, I eagerly read Sacred Hoops, and the following passage really hit a chord with me:

“In Zen, it is said that the gap between accepting things the way they are and wishing them to be otherwise is 'the tenth of an inch of difference between heaven and hell'. If we can accept whatever we’ve been dealt - no matter how unwelcome - the way to proceed eventually becomes clear. This is what is meant by right action: the capacity to observe what’s happening and act appropriately, without being distracted by self-centered thoughts. If we rage and resist, our angry, fearful minds have trouble quieting down sufficiently to allow us to act in the most beneficial way for ourselves and others”(p. 135).

Jackson mentioned this after a disagreement with one of his key players, Horace Grant, during a losing effort. Grant had asked for extra help because the player he was guarding was having a career night, and Grant knew he couldn't control him without some support. Jackson refused to listen to Grant or modify his defensive scheme, and the Bulls went on to a defeat that Jackson laid squarely on his own shoulders. During the game, Grant became incensed with Jackson and even cursed him. This was completely out of character for the devoutly religious Grant, but the battle between them caused them to lose the war—the basketball game that night.

What Jackson was saying is that, if he had stepped back and not let this become about his "stubborn resistance to playing defense a certain way" he would have seen that Grant was not questioning his authority or his coaching plans. He just had an unusual situation that called for some different thinking.

How often do we let our emotions get in the way of seeking the best solution? How often is it because the situation may call for a mid-course adjustment that throws our plans in some disarray? How often does it set us off because it robs us of the control we thought we might have over a complex situation? You need to be able to not have your emotions hijack the situation. That is what Jackson was saying happened to him in the situation with Horace Grant.

Phil Jackson never says that keeping a cool head is easy, but he learned to do it in some of the highest profile venues in the sporting world. His study of Zen Buddhism helped him in that regard, and his players responded to him remarkably well. 

When the seas are raging all around you, and you know your trigger is being pushed, ask yourself:

• Why am I so upset right now?
• How do I find a way to step back and calm down?
• Who do I need to work with to reach a good solution as expeditiously as possible? (This is a critical question, especially if the answer is the person you are angry at!)
• If I could step outside and observe this situation from the view of a neutral third party, what would I see that is different from what I feel I am seeing now?

Willy

Willy Steiner is the President of Executive Coaching Concepts, an executive coaching services firm dedicated to assisting senior executives in taking their individual and organizational performance “TO THE NEXT LEVEL”. He fine-tuned his skills in leading organizational change, building high performing teams and in devising innovative incentive systems with General Electric, RCA Corp. and Galileo International. Assisting executives in driving change by creating urgency, focus and alignment, with a keen eye for cultivating and sustaining necessary relationships, is an ongoing focus of his work. He is an expert in guiding organizations through complex international mergers and divestitures, blending distinct cultures and supporting growth in international markets.

For more about Willy, his new book, Discover the Joy of Leading: A practical guide to resolving your management challenges, and business, visit executivecoachingconcepts.com.