Recently, I visited our home office and me and was having a great time catching up with several members of our team. While covering subjects like family, work, cashflow, church, and LeBron James, the subject of sabbaticals came up. Our company is very, very generous when it comes to vacations and time off but we do not have designated sabbaticals. However, a friend of mine said, “You should take a sabbatical.” I did not know how to take it.
On the positive side, the statement could be an expression of thanks for 16 years of production, dedication and hard work. On the negative side, the statement could be interpreted as I was irritable, looking tired and worn out. It was a fun conversation so I choose to take the positive side.
In either case, a leader’s energy is not infinite. There is a limit to how much any person can give their church, business, non-profit, educational facility, or athletic organization.
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat, featuring the aforementioned LeBron James along Dwyane Wade, to win the 2010-11 NBA Championship. One of the keys to winning the title was how the team was utilizing its 38-year-old starting point guard Jason Kidd. For more reasons, read How Did The Dallas Mavericks Beat The Miami Heat? In A Word – Leadership! which I wrote at the time.
Back to Kidd. He was a Hall of Fame talent but at age 38 was 11 years older than any Heat starter. Managing his time and energy was critical to maximizing his production. The same is true for the top leaders in your organization. You can either saddle up your top leaders with everything they can handle and wait for them to cry “Uncle!” or you can steward their energy well.
The following are 3 Steps And Benefits For Resting And Getting The Most Out Of Your Best Leaders we learn from how the Mavericks managed Jason Kidd:
- Give Top Leaders Strategic Breaks Each Day – It compounds over time. During the 2010 training camp, trainer Casey Smith convinced head coach Rick Carlisle to lower Kidd’s playing time by three minutes per game. While this does not sound like much, it adds up to resting Kidd for six full games over the the course of the season. He entered the play-offs fresher.
- Give Top Leaders Designated Times Of Rest Prior To The Busiest Times Of Year – Prior to entering the playoffs, the Mavericks sat Kidd down for two full games. This was met with some obvious resistance especially after they lost the first game. Smith was adamant, however, and said, “I’m like, ‘No, he’s still sitting out the next game.’ ‘But we need to win.’ ‘I know we need to win, but we need him.'”
- Teach Top Leaders About The Value Of Sleep – Smith said, “We let him sleep a lot. No early mornings.”
So what was the impact of investing in Kidd’s energy?
- More Success – John Maxwell teaches in his book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team, The Law of The Edge. What this law teaches is when two evenly matched teams face off, the difference is leadership. Over two regular seasons with Kidd at full strength, the Mavericks went 34-18 in games decided by 5 points or less.
- More Creativity – Kidd had increased energy allowing him to make more unscripted and instinct-driven plays during critical times.
- More Options – Kidd now had the energy to take on difficult assignments like often guarding the other team’s best player. This also allowed Coach Carlisle to focus his energy and efforts in other areas.
Simple question – are you stewarding the energy of your top leaders well or are you loading them up with everything you can until they cry “Uncle!”
The information for the article was gleaned from Ian Thomsen’s excellent new book The Soul Of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between LeBron, Kobe, Doc, and Dirk That Saved The NBA.
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