The level of leadership exhibited by Phil Jackson might never be replicated in the National Basketball Association history, or perhaps even in the history of sports. Jackson broke many records that had been in place for decades before he became a couch. Secondly, he was named one of the greatest coaches in NBA history in 1996, when with hindsight, his career was just fledgling. Finally, Jackson replicated his monumental success in Los Angeles, after leaving Chicago, which points to him as the primary bearing factor to the victories, not just the talent in the teams he led. The level of success described above reflects a leader who may not be conformed to one leadership style. Instead, success reflects a leader who applies the right leadership style to the right situation and in the right way. Such a leadership approach points to a situational style of leadership. The situational style of leadership combines understanding the self, the followers, and leadership styles (Hodges, 2019). Based on this understanding, the leader will apply the most suitable style of leadership in every situation. It is the combination of consistently right leadership that guarantees success. The situational leadership combination included three main leadership styles of democratic, coaching, and authoritative leadership styles. The key to Jackson's success lay in his ability to flawlessly apply the right leadership style to the right situation with consistency. As this research paper will reveal, situational leadership contains the attributes and approaches that would best fit the leadership style to begin the coaching journey, as reflected by the successful career of Phil Jackson.
Background Information: Phil Jackson's Leadership Career
Phil Jackson is arguably the most successful coach in NBA history, which makes him the most successful basketball coach in the world. First, Jackson won eleven career NBA championships as a coach, the highest in history. These championships combine his stint at the Chicago Bulls and two stints at the Los Angeles Lakers (Logan, 2019). Secondly, Jackson is celebrated for coaching some of the best basketball stars in the history of the NBA, including Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Finally, in both the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, Jackson superintended over the teams as they won three consecutive NBA championships each, a rare feat in the NBA, as it is among the most competitive sports franchises in the world. For clarity, the victories and feats outlined above do not reflect the abilities of the coach only. The standard NBA season involves over 80 games, and a seasonal victory will require a combination of several factors. This includes a talented team, effective management by sports administration, and the availability of funds to carry out the team's activity (Ballard, 2009). Without these factors, Jackson may not have attained his level of success. For example, after Michael Jordan's initial retirement, the Chicago Bulls performed well but did not win a national championship. Nevertheless, the consistency of Jackson's success in the two leading teams he managed reflects that he was a primary bearing factor in the success of the teams. A careful evaluation of Jackson's career shows that much of his success in the NBA stems from his unique leadership style.
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Situational Leadership
Situational Leadership Theory, the basis for situational leadership stems from the concept that no leadership style can suit all organization. Moreover, even within a singular organization, no singular leadership style can suit every situation within the organization (Hodges, 2019). Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard initially developed this theory and named it the life cycle theory of leadership in the 1960s. The theory later adopted the name situational leadership due to the manifest inaccuracies of the initial title. The life cycle leadership style suggests a chronologically adapting leadership style. For example, the leader will adapt one style at the beginning, then keep on adjusting it, based on the gradual advancement of the organization. This life cycle approach is an essential component of situational leadership, but it is incomplete (Hodges, 2019).
Situational leadership also involves applying different leadership styles contemporaneously in the same organization, depending on the type of followers and the type of situation. For example, when meeting privately with the star players of a team, the coach has to adopt a different leadership style than when meeting with the whole team or with the junior team. Similarly, a coach whose main strength is charisma needs to adopt a different style than a coach whose primary qualification is understanding the technicalities of the game. Therefore, situational leadership is comprehensive and factors all the elements of the leader to follower relationship. These elements include the life cycle of the organization but also the extent to the nature of followers, the abilities of the leader, and the specific situation that the leader is handling at that time (Hodges, 2019).
Coaching Leadership Style
A careful evaluation of Jackson's career will reflect that he was never the same kind of leader at all times. Jackson was able to adjust to different styles of leadership at different times. For example, when he joined a team, he would first focus on building top skills among the most promising members of the team. In this dimension, he applied the coaching style of leadership. Under the coaching style of leadership, leaders can identify the talents and capabilities of followers (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018). Upon such identification, the leader will enable the followers to develop advanced skills, based on their talents. Finally, the leader is able to aid the followers to apply these exceptional talents for the benefit of the organization. In the case of Jackson, players such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal were still highly talented professionals even before Jackson joined their respective teams (Ballard, 2009). However, these great players were not winning championships before Jackson joined their teams, but started winning after he joined the team. The said players not only won team championships but also personal awards such as the most valuable player (MVP). The approach taken by Jackson to achieve these feats falls within the coaching style of leadership. However, Jackson did not apply the coaching style in all his activities as a coach. He instead specifically applied it to the improvement of talent among the players, hence manifesting the situational style of leadership.
Authoritative Leadership
Besides the coaching style of leadership that Jackson applied in talent development, he also applied authoritative leadership on the pitch during matches. Typically, in the coaching style of leadership, the leader will develop the capabilities of the followers, then allow them some room to utilize the skill, including through innovation. However, during matches, Jackson would adopt a different approach that manifested an authoritative style of leadership. Under authoritarian leadership, the leader provides precise instructions and demands full adherence to them (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018). Jackson had a specialized formula for playing basketball as a team that included the triangle offense. During matches, he would carefully drill each of the players in the pitch regarding his expectations from them in the match (Ballard, 2009). No matter how talented a player was and how much results the player produced on the pitch, Jackson would take offense if the process of producing the results did not follow the set style of play. This authoritarian approach in the pitch would sometimes create conflict between Jackson and star players such as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan (Ballard, 2009). Indeed, some commenters argue that differences regarding how to play during matches, created a right between Jackson and Bryant, which resulted in Jackson leaving the team in 2004. Jackson seemed to understand that no matter how talented individual players were, winning matches was a team effort. He needed to organize his teams in a manner that will capitalize on their respective strengths and account for their respective weaknesses. However, most highly talented athletes tend to be egotistical (Alexis, 2019). Jackson could not count on the players to factor one another on their own accord. Although this style of leadership displeased some players and led to Jackson leaving the team in 2004, team members quickly realized the suitability of the style and insisted that Jackson returns to the team. In this regard, Jackson's style of situational leadership demanded that he allows the player's room to grow outside the pitch but absolute obedience when the game started. The level of success that Jackson attained in the NBA vindicated this combination.
Laissez-Faire Style
The near-absolute control that Jackson adopted in the pitch during matches differed exponentially with the casual and laid back approach that he adopted when the players were outside the pitch. Most coaches seek to ensure all-rounded discipline in their players, including what they did in their leisure, how they interacted with one another, and finally, their interactions with the media. Coaches also seek to influence the career decisions of the players working under them. However, in these issues, Jackson always took a laid back approach, which signaled an application of the Laissez-Faire leadership style. Under this approach, the leader swims with the current and allows the followers to lead the way (Hunt & Fitzgerald, 2018). As long as the said current does not create inordinate issues or affect the productivity of the team, the leader does not interfere. Even when the activities of team members affect team performance, the leader will only interfere in a limited version to limit the effects on team productivity. In the teams that Jackson led, team members would regularly exhibit an element of autonomy when not participating in games. Often, there would be rumors of infighting between top talents in the team. Among the notorious examples was the differences between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal (Hector, 2019). There was never evidence to reflect that Jackson would wade into these differences or try to quell them. However, there is also no evidence that these differences ever affected team performance. The Laissez-Faire leadership style provided the players a means to exercise some autonomy as an outlet for their egotistical personalities (Alexis, 2019). However, the authoritarian style during matches ensured that any shenanigans during matches did not interfere with the performance of the team during competitive matches. Once again, Jackson exhibited situational leadership by applying the right type of leadership to the right situation. It is the varied combinations of these leadership styles that ensured team success.
Conclusion
Based on the research, analysis, and commentary presented above, the most suitable leadership style that determines which attributes and approaches would best fit the leadership style to begin the coaching journey is situational leadership. The new coach should not approach the job with a specific leadership style in mind, which the coach will apply to all players and under all circumstances. Instead, the new coach should have and advanced knowledge of all main leadership styles and the ability to read and understand situations. Like a Leatherman set of tools, the leader will be able to determine which style of leadership applies to every situation. Based on Jackson's version of situational leadership, the coaching style is effective in developing the talent of players during practice. Talent development combines guidance and innovation, thus the coach should not adopt dictatorial tendencies at this level. However, during matches, Jackson would always adopt an authoritative approach where he would explain to his followers his precise directions and expect them to adhere to this direction meticulously. Finally, the coach should also understand that top professional athletes tend to be egotistical and these large egos need an outlet. To coach does not need to regulate the parts of the player's life that do not have a direct bearing on the playing of matches and the winning of games. The situational style of leadership makes the careful balancing act outlined herein possible.
References
Alexis, C. (2019, April 9). Leadership in Athletics: Transcendence of Character in Sports. Retrieved from https://fisher.osu.edu/blogs/leadreadtoday/blog/leadership-in-athletics-transcendence-of-character-in-sports/
Ballard, C. (2009). The Art of a Beautiful Game: The Thinking Fan's Tour of the NBA . New York: Simon and Schuster.
Hector, J. (2019, August 29). Kobe Says Shaq Was 'Lazy' And Shaq Says Kobe Should've Passed The Ball If He Wanted 12 Rings. Retrieved from https://www.bet.com/news/sports/2019/08/29/kobe-says-shaq-was-lazy-and-shaq-says-kobe-shouldve-passed-the-b.html
Hodges, D. Z. (2019). Where have all the leaders gone?. Dean and Provost , 20 (5), 6-7.
Hunt, J., & Fitzgerald, M. (2018). Styles of Leadership. IN Leadership: Regional and Global Perspectives . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Logan, R. G. (2019, December 11). Phil Jackson. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Phil-Jackson
