Eleven Rings: The Soul of success
by: Phil jackson & Hugh delehanty
As an assignment for class, each of us had to choose a book from a list of sport and health psychology related books that interested us and I chose to read Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Phil Jackson is a very well-known basketball coach that led my hometown's team to win six out of 11 NBA championships while he led the Los Angeles Lakers to win the other five. I chose this specific book because basketball is one of my favorite sports and I am also very interested in what a sports team needs to accomplish in order to win. In this book, Jackson focuses on his life in becoming a part of the basketball world and what steps he took to create his own leadership way in guiding his teams to great success.
In analyzing the usefulness and helpfulness of Jackson's book, I believe that both leaders and followers can benefit from reading it. In general, there are leaders and followers in all aspects of life whether it is in sports, the workplace, and/or a family. Not only is Eleven Rings told from the first person of Jackson's journey so that readers can relate well, but it also gives leaders a new way to look at how to lead their team and also allows followers of the team to learn how to work with each other. This book was very helpful in understanding that there is not just one leadership style that can lead to success and that a leader is capable in creating his or her own style.
Looking at tips that Phil Jackson provides in his book, the game of basketball is not all about the physicality of the sport, but also a lot about the mind and psychology. Growing up in a very religious family as both parents as ministers, Jackson did not completely drop his faith as he entered into a basketball career, but instead included it in his leadership approach. He also explored humanistic psychology and the Native American philosophy to Zen meditation. As Jackson incorporated his explorations, mindfulness and self-awareness were main components of his own leadership style. By including these specific concepts, he was able to get the players of the team to be mindful and aware of each other, as well as themselves as individuals. In playing the role of a leader, it is important to connect with your players and your players connect with each other. From there, players will learn new ways of working together on the court. By creating your own leadership style, it is also important to note that even though it may be tough to reach out to your star players, you can find a beneficial way in getting them to realize that they are a part of a team and that without the other players, you would not have succeeded so far.
As I connect Eleven Rings, I hope to use the information that I gathered to apply to my personal and professional growth in my life. In certain aspects of my life I play both roles of being a leader and a follower, and in learning about what kind of roles each plays in the book, I will be able to switch from role to role in order to provide to help needed for my team. In applying this book to my professional growth as a future sport and health psychology consultant, I hope to work with sports teams that are having trouble connecting with each other on the court or field and also connecting with the coach. I can suggest some tips that Phil Jackson provides in his book to the coach that he or she can try to reach out to the players and I can also do some activities and exercises with the players in terms of the roles everyone plays and how they affect each other while in play.
In analyzing the usefulness and helpfulness of Jackson's book, I believe that both leaders and followers can benefit from reading it. In general, there are leaders and followers in all aspects of life whether it is in sports, the workplace, and/or a family. Not only is Eleven Rings told from the first person of Jackson's journey so that readers can relate well, but it also gives leaders a new way to look at how to lead their team and also allows followers of the team to learn how to work with each other. This book was very helpful in understanding that there is not just one leadership style that can lead to success and that a leader is capable in creating his or her own style.
Looking at tips that Phil Jackson provides in his book, the game of basketball is not all about the physicality of the sport, but also a lot about the mind and psychology. Growing up in a very religious family as both parents as ministers, Jackson did not completely drop his faith as he entered into a basketball career, but instead included it in his leadership approach. He also explored humanistic psychology and the Native American philosophy to Zen meditation. As Jackson incorporated his explorations, mindfulness and self-awareness were main components of his own leadership style. By including these specific concepts, he was able to get the players of the team to be mindful and aware of each other, as well as themselves as individuals. In playing the role of a leader, it is important to connect with your players and your players connect with each other. From there, players will learn new ways of working together on the court. By creating your own leadership style, it is also important to note that even though it may be tough to reach out to your star players, you can find a beneficial way in getting them to realize that they are a part of a team and that without the other players, you would not have succeeded so far.
As I connect Eleven Rings, I hope to use the information that I gathered to apply to my personal and professional growth in my life. In certain aspects of my life I play both roles of being a leader and a follower, and in learning about what kind of roles each plays in the book, I will be able to switch from role to role in order to provide to help needed for my team. In applying this book to my professional growth as a future sport and health psychology consultant, I hope to work with sports teams that are having trouble connecting with each other on the court or field and also connecting with the coach. I can suggest some tips that Phil Jackson provides in his book to the coach that he or she can try to reach out to the players and I can also do some activities and exercises with the players in terms of the roles everyone plays and how they affect each other while in play.