During his storied career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson won more championships than any coach in the history of professional sports. Most importantly, he managed to never shy away from coaching in his own way, from a place of deep values. Jackson has been jokingly called a “Zen master” by sportswriters, but that nickname reveals an important truth: He’s a coach who inspired, not goaded; who led by awakening and challenging the better angels of his players’ nature, not their ego, fear or greed.
It’s the story of a North Dakota pastor’s kid who grew up to become one of the most innovative leaders of our time. In his quest to reinvent himself, Jackson explored everything from humanistic psychology to Native American philosophy to Zen meditation. In doing so, he developed a new approach to leadership based on freedom, authenticity and selfless teamwork that shook up the hyper-competitive world of professional sports.