Knicks president Phil Jackson has a few things he wants the “pundits” to consider when they discuss who might be the “next” coach of the Knicks.
A day after firing Derek Fisher, Jackson posted this lengthy message on his verified Twitter account:
“Coaching: there is a book I wrote a few years ago that explains some of the philosophy I hold about coaching. When I was in grad school back in the ’60s there was a couple of major influences in the field of psychology. Carl Rogers was one of the therapists that caught my attention. His theory was that every human being is working towards self actualization. Inside that theory were characteristics of the fully functioning person: One, open to experiences, two, an avoidance of prejudice-living in the present, 3, ability to trust one’s feelings, 4, being creative and 5, was having a fulfilled life. I wanted this for myself and for the world. The other influence, Maslow, has a pyramid of hierarchy of needs: 1, basic needs: i.e. food/water, 2, safety-belonging, 3, self-esteem, 4 self actualization. Again this idea of self actualizaion was the ideal. I’ve head this belief that this is what drives most healthy individuals. These ideas are included in a book I wrote in 2011 called Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. You can check it out for yourself.”
“The style of leadership that I’ve been put in a box with is: transformational as juxtaposed to transactional. This style of leadership has more to do with the group goals and the esteem of an individual fed by the group achievements. It involves moving the organization or culture of a group towards a higher nature. Transactional management style is surely effective, but doesn’t match my personal nature. This is also a clue for people that inquire about who might work as a leader for this Knick team. Inside that style of play for that leader is the idea that there should be a system of play that includes this group. How that is done can include using the triangle [Jackson used the symbol rather than the word] system of basketball, but doesn’t exclude other systems that include group play. I won’t include the 7 principals of a sound offense, if you want to know look it up. It’s not the 7 Commandments, but when one needs a standard of measurement it’s as good as any I know. Being able to play in the any group is a joyful experience be it drama, music or sports. In sports the team that has the most individuals playing in concert together is usually the winner, which is how we judge success in this business, which is the ultimate goal for the Knick team.”
