WHAT RICK CARLISLE CAN TEACH US ABOUT LEADING A TEAM TO A CHAMPIONSHIP

Championship teams require a leader that leads like a champion. Many talented teams have not become champions due to a lack of leadership. This time of the year, with a few days off for Christmas and right before conference season is about to start, is a valuable opportunity to perform a self evaluation of our leadership mindset. Is the way we are leading championship quality? Because if it isn't we can't expect our teams to perform like champions during conference season. I was reading an article by Dwain Price of the Star-Telgram about Rick Carlisle. From this article I find 3 things that Rick Carlisle can teach us about leading our team to a championship.

1. He find ways to keep his players out of their comfort zone. We must take time to think about ways to make our teams uncomfortable that lead to improvement, but that doesn't cause them to lose their confidence. Rick Carlisle, "We won the championship last year because we were uncomfortable the whole time. Part of my job is to make sure that we have a healthy discomfort every day knowing that there are the things that we're going to have to do extremely well--even better than last year--to put ourselves in a position to defend the title.
2. He not only defines roles, but he works with players to get them to accept their role. At times coaches are quick to define roles and stop there. We must make a focused effort to help our players understand and accept their roles. The influence of getting one player to accept their role can be huge. Rick Carlisle, "There won't be any doubt about what people's roles are. Role definition is one of the things that has been a real positive with our group. It's not just the definition of roles; it's the acceptance of roles. You can define roles all you want, but if you have guys that are hesitant or unwilling to accept them, then you're going to have problems. Shawn Marion, from the beginning of the season was more than willing to come off the bench and do what he had to do to help the team win and that set an unbelievably great positive tone."
3. He welcomes the challenges of leadership. Championship coaches approach leadership with a champion mindset. They understand the power of choice, they choose to respond to challenges and obstacles with positivity even before the challenges and opportunities rear their ugly heads. Rick Carlisle, "I hop the job is tougher. I'm not looking for it to be easy, I promise you."