We are very fortunate to have a Kevin Garnett to coach, and his teammates are fortunate to have a Kevin Garnett to lead. You may have your own Kevin Garnett or someone on your team that can develop into a Kevin Garnett -- not just from a talent standpoint but also from a leadership standpoint.
Here are some of the things I have observed Kevin doing, saying, or demonstrating that allow him to lead at a higher level than most.
• He always looks for teaching opportunities to help young players become “true professionals,” from the way they dress to the way they prepare for the game and for practice, to the way they interact with teammates.
• He lives the “team concept” every day in every way. In fact, last year Kevin wouldn’t do interviews without Paul Pierce or Ray Allen with him because he didn’t want the team to be “his” team; he always wanted it to be “our” team.
• He demands that the coaching staff coach him, call him out, correct him -- so that he can become a better player. He understands that coaching is not criticism, but a very important part of his improvement.
• He works on his game just about every day of our 287-day season. Understands that repetition is the key to being good.
• He is competitive and committed: he plays just as hard whether we are ahead or behind and whether he had 3 shots or 30 points.
• He shows everyone that the great ones just want to get better; always wants to know anything that will make him a better player.
• He often says, “it’s about what you are willing to sacrifice; that’s our way of life here with the Celtics. It’s about putting the team and winning before anything else.”
• He often says, “in order for this thing to work, we all have to sacrifice.”
• He always talks about defense: “We said from Day 1 that we were a defensive team that could also score.”
• And the ultimate sacrifice in today's me-oriented world Kevin says, “from Day 1 we said this is Paul’s team.” Everyone else wanted to make it Kevin’s team but he knew Paul deserved it because Paul had been with the Celtics during tough times.
The list could go on and on, but the point is that true leadership is not about oneself. It is the ability to get not only the most from your own ability but true leadership also means getting the most out of every teammate’s ability as well. Kevin does this by example, by teaching, by his public comments and by his unending commitment to team over self.
