Gregg Popovich and the Spurs on Leadership

You probably don't remember it.  You were shopping for last minute Christmas gifts or going to an office Christmas Party.  Gregg Popovich, iconic coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, had done it again.  A year after being fined $250,000 by the league for resting players, Pop did it again on December 19, 2013.  He sat 38 year-old Tim Duncan and 37 year-old Manu Ginobili down for a Thursday night game at Oakland.  I think he might have even put them on a plane and sent them back to San Antonio.  He received harsh criticism from the league office.  Sports talk radio personalities blasted him for hurting the integrity of the game.  Fans who bought tickets were outraged that they didn't get to see two of the Spurs' starts play.  Do you think that game was the only time the Pop made strategic decisions to take care of his aging stars?  Didn't Duncan and Ginobili look fresh against those young Heat stars (D-Wade notwithstanding)?

Here's the deal.  Gregg Popovich knows what his job is.  He is NOT paid to:

• Make the Commissioner happy.
• Keep competitive balance on track for a December 19 game in Oakland.
• Please fans who bought tickets hoping to see Duncan play.
• Do what sports talk radio personalities think is the proper thing to do.

Pop is paid to win games, namely a championship, within the rules of the league.  If a coach can rest a player because his knees are bothering him, can't he rest a players because his knees are 38 years old?  As the Spurs dismantled the Heat in five games, Pop was giving leaders a valuable lesson:  do what's the in the best interest of the organization.

Pop's December decision did not win him any fans in the league office, but it might have won him a fifth Larry O'Brian Trophy.  Doing what's in the best interest of the organization will not always be understood by others.  I'll be there are people even within the Spurs' organization that didn't like it.  Doing what's best for the organization will bring about criticism, and Pop got plenty.  In 2012, he did the same thing and it cost him financially.  Doing what's in the best interest of the organization might mean financial sacrifices by the leader.  Do you think Pop would trade that trophy for $250,000?  Not a chance.  He did it for the trophy.  He did it because he could see the future, and did what he knew was in the best interest of the organization to achieve the desired future.  When we see someone win and hold the trophy, we sometimes forget the sacrifices, criticism deflected and strategic decisions to get them there.  This will be true in families, church, business and non-profits.  Leadership requires strategic decisions that the leaders knows to be in the best interest of the organization, no matter the criticism.