3 Leadership Lessons from Kobe (that deserve more attention)
Everywhere I turn recently, I see coverage about the life and tragic death of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant.
I’ve always been intrigued by Kobe. I remember when he entered the NBA at 18 years old, the youngest player ever. I remember listening to him in interviews and being fascinated by how mature and self-confident he appeared. Then I watched him compete against much older, stronger, more experienced professionals and he continued to impress me even more. Not only did he achieve results, he appeared positive and happy.
Over his 20 year career, he continued to improve and deliver amazing results, both individually and as a key leader of his team. Why is that? What about Kobe led to such powerfully impressive consistent results?
If you know anything about Kobe, you know that he was fiercely competitive. You know that he had a work ethic that was virtually unmatched. He was known for being the first guy in the gym and the last to leave. He set the standard for being committed to do ‘whatever it takes’ with his work ethic. You also know that he had amazing athletic ability and a real passion and love for the game of basketball. While each of those things mattered and contributed to his success, they don’t tell the entire story.
As I’ve watched Kobe and listened to him in several interviews over the years, I’ve picked up on 3 things that I believe don’t get enough attention when people talk about him. Each of these concepts are available to each of us and can make a profound impact on the lives we live and the contributions we make to others. I challenge you to embrace all three as deeply as possible.
1. Passion for learning & growth
Kobe embraced data and information around his performances. He studied his game film to find what was working and where he made errors. He also studied the game film of others to learn how he could adjust his own game for the better. And this wasn’t all about focusing on his strengths. I heard Kobe once say “I love losses. Losses are great. Don’t get me wrong. I hate losing but there are lots of things to learn from losses. You can see what went wrong so you can make adjustments for next time.”
This is probably the single biggest missed opportunity I see with senior leaders. Busy leaders don’t “study their own game film” so to speak. The higher we ascend, the busier we become, the easier it is to focus on the work and the organization and neglect to work on ourselves. Don’t fall into this trap. Get serious about getting regular honest feedback, learning from your mistakes and constantly working to improve them.
2. Commitment to life away from work
When I first heard about Kobe’s relentless work ethic and the hours he put in at the gym, I figured that his family took a back seat to his career. Later, I learned how much he prioritized his family. In fact, he began using helicopters to travel to and from his work activities so he can get regular time with his wife and kids. Even though his wife offered to do it, he would make it a priority to get home frequently so he could pick up his daughter from school so they could have some dedicated time together regularly.
You don’t have to reserve a helicopter to find your own version of this. I’m reminded of a CEO who made a decision to expand her travel as she pursued important big goals. She was committed to regular focused attention with her young children. One non-negotiable was a nighttime ritual of reading them a bedtime story. Regardless of where she was in the world, at the same local time, she would connect with her kids on a video call to continue the ritual and dedicated time together. She actually said later that her quality time with her children increased after she began to travel because she became very serious and intentional about some of these types of routines.
How do these examples strike you? How should you update your routines for yourself and your loved ones?
3. Regular Mindfulness Practice
First of all, I’d like to acknowledge that I was initially less interested in this aspect of Kobe’s life. I knew that Kobe practiced mindfulness meditation and that he was a big proponent of it to others. For me personally, the few times that I experimented with some version of meditation, I only became frustrated. However, this is something I have personally embraced for the last several months and I’ve become a very big believer. Kobe has talked about how daily meditation anchors him to whatever challenges he’ll encounter in the day ahead. He’s said that it contributed to a ‘slowing the game down’ in the moment so he could make better decisions and perform at his best version of himself.
I’ve discussed a similar experience with senior executives I coach who say that they now have greater energy and clarity to execute in big moments. It has ‘slowed down the game’ in board meetings and other high pressure settings allowing them to respond most appropriately. I love the analogy that experts make between exercise for the body and meditation for the brain. Regular physical workouts lead to better conditioning so we have the strength and ability to perform when needed. Regular mindfulness practice strengthens various areas of our brains and conditions us for those times when we need to be in an optimal mental state!
Ask yourself which of these traits you can embrace now to unlock your highest potential. If you’d like a thought partner in attacking one or all of them for yourself or others at your organization, let’s discuss. = I love this stuff!
See below for a few additional resources on some of the topics I referenced above.
Kobe Video: Studying details of others to improve yourself (4 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV50mHb1cS0
Kobe’s thoughts on meditation (45 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouguxNVO5VQ )
Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation (4 minutes https://youtu.be/Ni2Mxk0YAY0
