The other night, before the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks were scheduled to play Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals playoff series, Warriors coach Steve Kerr sat down with the media. However, instead of taking questions and speaking to what he anticipated would happen on the court that night, he made a very impassioned statement about the tragic events that had played out about 350 miles away at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas earlier in the day and his frustration that we, as a nation, were dealing with this reality again. He talked for about two to three minutes and then ended with, “It’s pathetic; I’ve had enough” before getting up and walking out. (If you didn’t see his remarks, you can watch them here … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPvf5RgCU08).
While some would say that an NBA basketball coach has no business speaking to social or political issues—that he needs to confine his remarks to his area of expertise—there were a couple of very powerful insights that came to me in the wake of Kerr’s remarks.
First—I’ve come to believe that a what a person believes tends to often and largely be the result of their life experience. As a result, I’ve also come to believe that when you get to know someone’s story, you will in all likelihood understand more fully why they believe what they believe and hold the opinions they hold. For instance--most of us, if we follow basketball at all, know Steve Kerr as an all-conference basketball player at the University of Arizona and a role player on those dominant Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls teams of the 1990’s who now coaches in the NBA. What most of us don’t know about him is that he’s the son of an academic that specialized in Middle Eastern issues and, as a result, Kerr’s family lived in that part of the world for most of his childhood and early adolescence. We also don’t know that his father, while serving as president of the American University of Beirut, was killed at age 52 in January of 1984 at the hands of a Lebanese militia group using suppressed handguns. Steve was 18 and a college freshman at the time. In other words, Steve Kerr has a personal connection to the horror of gun violence and has experienced the repercussions of losing a loved one at the hands of individuals who used firearms in an irresponsible and violent fashion. When you know this about his story, you can more fully understand why he had a heightened sensitivity to the events in Uvalde and had the visceral reaction he had. But—when we don’t care or take the time to hear someone’s story, then their beliefs and opinions won’t make sense to us.
I believe, far too often, we hear what someone believes and, if those beliefs don’t align with our beliefs, we write them off and don’t even bother to listen to their story. We label. We classify. We stereotype. We let the difference of opinion get in the way of getting to know them and potentially understanding what it is about their life experience that led them to embrace the ideas they embrace. I think this kind of approach explains why so many people are intrigued and enamored by Jesus but turned off and disenchanted by His church. Jesus realized that there was more to the person than what he/she believed, and he took time to become familiar with their story regardless of whether they believed what He believed or not. Rather than labeling and pigeonholing, he listened and loved. And that’s why many people, who had very little in common with him, were fascinated by him and drawn to him. But his church, on the other hand, has acquired the reputation of being uncaring and tone-deaf. We’re more concerned about callously and insensitively pontificating our message than we are about graciously and respectfully earning the right to be heard.
Steve Kerr’s actions also reminded me of a second thing … that one of the key ingredients of effective leadership is saying clearly what you believe—not for praise … not for glory … not because you’re grandstanding or trying to sway public perception or some other motive. You say it with conviction and passion because it’s what you believe and you’re willing to stand behind those beliefs.
Whether you or I agree with Steve Kerr is irrelevant. He has a right to his opinions, and he has a right to share them as he sees fit. He has a right to use the platform He’s acquired as the head coach of a championship caliber team to say whatever he wants to say. You and I have the same right. We can use the platform we have to say whatever we want to say. That’s one of the blessings that comes with living in this place called America.
But here’s something I’ve noticed that tends to separate run-of-the-mill leaders from great leaders. Run-of-the-mill leaders stand out in superficial ways. They try to find some relatively painless and uncomplicated way to stand out from the crowd. But great leaders—they do it the hard way. They take stands they could be criticized for taking—not because they want to stand out, but because they want to do the right thing. They are willing to do unpopular things in the interest of making things better. They are willing to step outside of business as usual in hopes of replacing what is with what could be no matter how difficult the prospect or how long the odds. They are willing to take risks—not for the sake of the risk, but for the sake of the reward they believe is possible. And in doing so, they inspire others to take a risk to achieve what they believe is possible.
At the end of the day, that’s the kind of boss people want to work for—not one who habitually stirs the pot and unnecessarily creates drama, but one who’s willing to be resolute in matters of principle and stand behind his/her beliefs … who lives with conviction and is prepared to live with the fallout of what that conviction entails. Steve Kerr provided an unmistakable demonstration of what that looks like in real life a day or two ago.