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PATTON ON LEADERSHIP

General George S. Patton has been a hero of mine from a young age. Papa Neighbors would tell us grandkids war stories and of his memories seeing Old Blood and Guts roll by leading his 3rd Army. From the time I first watched George C. Scott portray the legendary general, I have been a believer in many of his leadership techniques. While I have learned for myself there are some methods that don’t translate from actual warfare to the battles we wage building a basketball program, it would be naïve to dismiss them all. I have mentioned before in our Newsletter the book Patton on Leadership by Alan Axelrod. It is a very brief biography of the Four-star General followed by short excerpts from leadership moments during his illustrious career. My copy of the book is full of notes and scribbles on ways it has pertained to coaching teams at all levels over the years. I came across the Motivational Posters via the iphone AP stumbleupon. Each week I will add a personal relevance to each of the posters and share with the Newsletter group. I will send the entire set of posters now as many of you may be able to place relevant stories to them based on your own experiences. As mentioned, some of his methods and techniques can’t be worded the same or followed play by play in to-day’s society and some school settings. But just like with everything else we share, take them and make them your own. Fit your team. Fit your philosophy. Fit your program.

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GET OUT OF THE OFFICE

One of the best things I ever did as a high school coach was

move my desk into the gym one summer. I bribed the

school custodian with my lunch desserts for a week and a

couple of Tiger T-shirts and he helped me rig a set up just

off the edge of the court. I was able to do everything I

could have normally done in my office, but there I was in

the wide open gym.

It didn’t take long before our gym was full from 8 am to 8

pm with players working on their game. I was readily

available to guide as needed but most importantly I was

there and visible. I was out of my office and on the front

lines with them during the hot days. From that summer on

it was a rare occasion that there was not some one waiting

at the door for me to open the gym in the morning and

someone there to help me lock up at night.

The other thing this poster reminds me of is a PaPa

Neighbors quote that went something like “the village idiot

can make 95% of the decisions you have to make as a coach

on a daily basis, it’s those other 5% that make you a coach

and a leader.” You can’t make decisions like that from a

chair that swivels or reclines.

To this day, I do my best thinking walking around an empty

gym or sitting in a bleacher rather than behind my desk.

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Patton may have said it, but I learned it from Gary Blair. He didn’t want a room full of yes people. He would always say if every-

one in here has the same ideas then someone is obsolete. And as the newest staff member that made me EXPENDABLE!!!

As an assistant you can not expect all of your ideas to be put into action but that doesn’t mean they are not heard and aren’t

valuable. Too many young assistant coaches stop providing the ideas the first time one of theirs is not used. Too many long time

assistants get stuck in the its-the-way-ive-always-done-it rut. Have an original thought and the courage to share it.

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