Many years ago I discovered a style of basketball defense played by small high schools called a box and one defense. Four players would form a box near the basket they were defending, and the fifth player would follow whoever had the ball. It’s a little more complicated than that, but this is the essence.
Several years later when reading Phil Jackson’s book — Sacred Hoops — it occurred to me that box and one was the style of offense — not defense — the Chicago Bulls were playing before he became head coach. Four players would stand around on offense, feed the ball to Michael Jordan, and then watch what he could do with it.
While obviously this is an overstatement, the principle is true. The end result? The Bulls were a good basketball team, but not a great one. They never won an NBA championship until Phil Jackson changed the offense.
The reason? Michael could not carry the team on his back for the four quarters of the game. Even this superman of basketball had his limits.
The way Phil Jackson tells the story is he initiated a conversation with Michael Jordan. He wanted Michael to endorse the offense approach known as triangle offense. This approach would involve Michael getting the ball less, and other team members getting the ball more. It also preserved Michael’s energy so he could play strong in all four quarters.
I recall that Michael’s response was, “OK, coach. I get it. I will play the triangle offense. But if in the fourth quarter we are losing, yet close enough that we could win, then I am taking over.” In the next decade, did you ever notice how many points Michael Jordan scored in the fourth quarter? A lot!
This approach worked. Within a few years the Chicago Bulls had won three NBA championships. Then Michael Jordan took time off to try professional baseball. When he returned to the Bulls, within a few years they won another three NBA championships. All the time they were playing the triangle offense for at least three quarters.
Implications for congregational committees, teams, and boards
Too many congregations use a box and one offense in the way their committees, teams, and boards function. They have a leader who initiates ideas, and the leadership or governance group simply responds to that initiative and authorizes the leader to move forward. It is a simple way to do committee, team, or board work with the following implications.
First, it calls for the least amount of investment by the majority of the members in the processes of leadership and governance. Ownership is low because the leader is carrying all the weight of responsibility. The leader carries the group on his or her back.
Second, it does not increase the capacities of the majority of participants to lead. No one is learning how to lead. They are only learning how to have harmony and generally hoping it is never their turn to lead. Or, some individuals are silently waiting their turn to lead.
Third, it assumes the focus should be on the leader and not the process of leadership. The difference between leader and leadership is not just a ship. Leadership is a significantly different concept of smooth sailing than is leader.
Fourth, it limits the capacity of the committee, team, or board to what the leader has the capacity to do. Like the Chicago Bulls, the group is waiting to see what the superstar leader can do. Effective deep change is avoided.
Fifth, many of the decisions are shallow ones based on a desire to make quick decisions, dispense with the agenda, and end the meeting. Success is measured by how quickly the meeting ends, not how effectively the work of ministry was accomplished.
Sixth, it burns out the leader before the game is over. The spiritual, emotional, and intellectual capacity of the leader limits what the group can accomplish. If the leader is distracted or absent, it makes the group leaderless without a way to move forward.
Seventh, it often results in control of the decision-making processes by the leader. The leader’s intentions and motivations may be genuine, but the tendency is to lead the group to do only what the leader wants. That is not always healthy and positive.