Larry Bird took over as coach of the Indiana Pacers with a solid three-year contract in hand. At the end of the first year the Indianapolis Star asked about his plans for the team the following year. He said, "I don't know if I'll be here."

The reporter was surprised: "Why? You have a 3 year contract!" Bird answered, "I haven't talked to the players yet. If they don't want me back, I'd be a fool to return."

The reporter asked Reggie Miller if the players wanted Larry back. Reggie said, "We'd be fools NOT to want him back. He's a player's coach." By that he didn't mean that Bird was easy on the Pacers but that he honored and respected them.

For all his brilliance as an individual player, Bird always understood that basketball was a team sport and that the coach should be a team leader who earned what Greenleaf called "legitimate power and greatness" through the example of serving. It so happens that Bird and Greenleaf were both Hoosiers, and the Hoosier character also honors that attitude.

You will also find a lot of servant leadership principles in Phil Jackson's book: "Sacred Hoops: Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior."

Don Frick
Don Frick | 01.05.06 - 3:28 pm | #