Like many Torontonians, I’ve been following the Raptors for a long time. From buying my son’s first Damon Stoudamire jersey to cheering on Vince Carter and Chris Bosh in the nose bleed section, I’ve been with them through thick and thin. I felt like I was watching a family marriage dissolve when DeMar DeRozen was traded.
And then Kawhi arrived – one of the most enigmatic sports figures out there. It struck me during game #1 of the NBA champion finals; yes, let’s just repeat that – the NBA champion finals (!) – something was different this time. But it wasn’t just Kawhi’s arrival. Many different forms of leadership from past and present forged a new future for this team.
Could it be that it’s the recognition and celebration of diverse forms of leadership that are major contributors to the success of this crazy, brilliant, unprecedented season? Could it be that nurturing a community of different kinds of leadership is what’s making the difference this year? Maybe the leadership face has a new game face.
In the next few days, I'll be exploring 5 different forms of leadership - both inside and outside of the Raptors. Post Game 4 and that Lowry's last valiant bucket attempt, here's today's leadership theme:
Grab the ball when someone throws it to you
There’s been a lot of talk about the fresh energy of Nick Nurse. The “new” leadership of Nick Nurse, however is not “new” – far from it. By the time Nurse took on the lead role he'd already coached over 1000 games. He’d been coaching since he was 23. Championships were won under his leadership. In interviews on Danny Green’s “Green Room” Podcast, Nurse tells corny jokes and shares his zeal in catching whatever coaching opportunity came his way. From pub land in England to the corn fields of Iowa, he’s coached it all. Ask yourself, how many opportunities have you turned down to lead – no matter what they were and how far away? What kind of hard-core-gut-wrenching experience do you have in your field? After all, a championship is a championship, no matter how small. How many championships have you won?