3 Lessons From Coach John Thompson

Legendary Georgetown Men’s Basketball Coach John Thompson passed away one year ago today, but his lessons in communication, motivation and conflict navigation remain relevant for leaders of all backgrounds.

Here are three in particular we'd be wise to reflect on:

1) Know your personnel

Long before he stalked the sidelines of McDonough Gymnasium, Thompson worked for United Planning Organization in Washington, D.C., where he supervised a group of young people who’d recently served time in jail.

He quickly realized that to be effective, he had to adjust his messaging.

“Cussing was the only way to reach some of them,” Thompson writes in his autobiography, I Came As a Shadow.

“You couldn’t be like, ‘Pardon me, would you please refrain from sitting on that desk?’ That ain’t gonna work. ‘Motherf----r, get off that desk!' I didn’t speak that way to every kid. I knew better than to fall into the stereotype that every poor Black child is a hoodlum. But for some of them, cussing was a way to connect. They didn’t take it in an abusive way, it was just the form of language they understood best.”

As leaders, we’re often guilty of trying to speak to our personnel uniformly. We think that what’s good for one should be good for all, and convince ourselves that the shared experience of the team is enough to unite each member.

Thompson, though, recognized that reaching this group began with shifting communication styles. The kids were receptive because they saw he could relate.

We must know how to engage a wide range of personalities if we hope to earn trust.

2) The harshest message is sometimes the only one that resonates

When Thompson learned one season that a group of his Georgetown players was routinely drinking beer, he berated them.

Still, the drinking persisted.

“The next practice, I ran the hell out of them before giving them a water break,” Thompson writes. “Every player had his own water bottle with his number on it. I had put Heineken in the water bottles of the beer drinkers.”

When one player suggested his drink didn’t taste right, the coach went berserk.

“I hit them with every curse word in the book and might have invented a couple more on the spot. ‘It’s not Gatorade, it’s what y’all were drinking last night. Y’all think I’m stupid? I know what y’all are doing, and it better stop!’”

As leaders, we occasionally encounter underlings who simply don’t get the message. We cajole and encourage, hoping their behavior will change, but words aren’t always enough.

Thompson realized the only way to get through to these players was to embarrass them on the spot. The harshest message is sometimes the one the group needs most.

3) Be careful what you say during hard times

There was nothing soft about Thompson. He was tough, firm and held those around him accountable.

But he knew when his players needed a pick-me-up as opposed to a verbal thrashing.

“I usually went easier on my players when we lost,” he writes. “I was taught to be careful about what I said immediately after a defeat because it’s easy to say something you will regret. The kids you’re beating up are already deflated.

“You can be totally mad at a kid sometimes, but you have to try to suppress it because you’re trying to get him to act,” he added. “There’s a difference between communicating with a person and motivating a person.

“Communication is when someone understands what you are saying. Motivation is when they act on it.”

We must choose our words wisely when our team members are at their lowest.

May Coach John Thompson continue to rest in peace.