Justin Langer: Why a legendary NBA coach’s secrets to success are just as relevant to business and politics

What a mess the Coalition has been over the last couple of weeks. Sure, the Liberals have now got a new leader with Angus Taylor taking over from Sussan Ley, and the National Party is now back on board, but the daily chaos in plain sight has been shocking. On Tuesday night, I watched two Liberal MPs talking publicly about their party’s current mess. Pointing their fingers at everyone else, I literally felt like throwing my dinner plate at the TV. I wonder how many of us feel like this when we watch politics these days? I do regularly. But this article is not about politics. Rather, it is about what politicians, and organisations, could learn from the business of sport. Around five years ago, former State Liberal leader Liza Harvey asked me to address her party. At the time, Mark McGowan was like Hercules. In contrast, the Liberal Party were falling to pieces, thanks to infighting and a perceived lack of team cohesion. Giving it to them straight, I drew the analogy of jumping into the ring with Muhammad Ali. Not only were they taking on the world champion, but they were doing it without a trainer, cornerman, doctor and referee, while fighting with a blind fold on and their hands and feet tied together. History now shows the election result that year was the same outcome as fighting Ali would have been. The Liberal Party were obliterated. The great lesson was that you can’t win anything on your own, especially if you aren’t giving yourself the best chance. The old saying in politics — “If you can’t govern yourself, you can’t govern the country” — could never have been more relevant. Phil Jackson was one of basketball’s most successful coaches, winning 11 NBA championships — six with the Chicago Bulls and five with the Los Angeles Lakers. A giant of a man, he was two metres tall. His physical presence not only provided him with a significant advantage during his playing career, but it likely gave him credibility when coaching towering NBA players as well. What I admired about Jackson was that he was never afraid to march to the beat of his own drum. He was unique, authentic and supremely successful. Known as the Zen Master, he blended unconventional Eastern philosophies with more-traditional basketball strategy. Alongside his on-court triangle offence system, he used meditation, mindfulness and Native American teachings to inspire his players. It makes me smile that he was able to adapt his unique style and personality when he coached superstars including Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O’Neal. Having read Jackson’s book, Eleven Rings, this week, there was one concept that hit me hard. Jackson described five stages every team moves through on their journey to excellence. Some teams get stuck in stages one, two and three. Others transcend, move forward and enjoy the sweet nectar of success. Borrowed from the book Tribal Leadership, the five stages that Jackson spoke of made everything I’d experienced in cricket make perfect sense. Going a step further, they highlight the complexities of building great teams that I’ve witnessed — not only in sport — but topically, in politics and business today. So, what are these steps? Stage 1 - Life Sucks: Characterised by total despair and hostility. Thankfully rare in elite sport, but I have seen glimpses in dressing rooms where hope has died completely. Sandpaper Gate was a perfect example where Australian cricket was brought to its knees. In politics, a landslide election defeat is another example. As is a company declaring bankruptcy. Stage 2 - My Life Sucks: Individuals going through the motions, disconnected and apathetic. Players show up, but their hearts aren’t in it. They’re passengers, not participants. These are horrible places to be in. In business, as Jackson describes, is where the environment is “filled primarily with apathetic people who perceive themselves as victims and who are passively antagonistic. Think The Office on TV”. Stage 3 - I’m Great (and You’re Not): This is where it gets dangerous because this stage looks successful from the outside. Players pile up personal statistics, chase individual accolades, compete against their own teammates as much as the opposition. Jackson observed most NBA teams get stuck here, because the entire culture rewards individual brilliance. Sound familiar? How many talented teams have imploded because people cared more about their own agenda than the teams? I see this in sport, business and politics regularly; especially in losing teams. Stage 4 - We’re Great (and They’re Not): This is where the breakthrough happens. When teams can progress to here, the magic begins to happen. This is where championships live. The team unifies, players genuinely celebrate each other’s success, and collective achievement becomes more satisfying than personal glory. This is where people will describe a good culture. I saw this with Australia’s great cricket teams where the superstars — who could have dominated headlines — chose to make everyone around them better. Stage 5 - Life Is Great: Such environments are hard to describe. They are almost spiritual, where you’re playing for something that transcends just winning. Jackson said his best teams occasionally touched this level. I have felt it in fleeting moments: when the team is so connected, so present, the game was like a dance of excellence. These environments are intoxicating, but rare. The genius of this five-stage concept is not just in identifying the stages but rather being aware of where your team currently sits and then doing something about it. It is understanding that you can’t reach steps four and five by talking about them, just as you can’t change your environment by simply hoping for the best. Change and progress often needs structural changes and strategies that encourage individual stars to involve teammates, respect individuality and constantly work towards a ‘We versus Me’ mentality. In Jackson’s case he achieved this by empowering others to lead, rather than micromanaging. He taught players to stay present during championship pressure, focusing on the moment, rather than drowning in fear or past failures. He understood each player’s motivations and met them where they were, not where he wished they would be. He embraced individuals rather than stymy them; while still demanding they work within the parameters of his team’s expectations. The biggest lesson that’s stayed with me was that sustained excellence requires transcending individual achievement for something larger than yourself. It’s not about suppressing talent or ego, it’s about channelling them toward collective success. You don’t create selflessness through slogans or lectures. You create it through systems that require cooperation, leadership that builds genuine trust, and a culture that makes ‘We’ more rewarding than ‘Me’. Most teams never escape stage three because moving to stage four demands something uncomfortable. It means surrendering control, trusting teammates, accepting that your individual brilliance is important but matters less than collective cohesion. For the best periods of Australian cricket, I have described it as like being in a nightclub 24/7. The environment, whilst constantly challenging was so much fun. Every time we walked onto the field, we expected to win, and usually did. Those players are still like my brothers today because of the respect and trust we still have for each other. Often it takes masterful management, when dealing with egos and attempting to build cohesive teams. John Buchanan our Australian cricket team coach was another example of another unique character who was able to gel together a team of superstars — Warne, McGrath, Ponting, the Waugh brothers, Gilchrist, Lee, Hayden, Gilliespie, Martyn and Co — into a team that achieved extraordinary results. As I see it, the Coalition could take some lessons from leaders like Jackson and Buchanan. They are presently nowhere near stages four and five, where ordinary teams become extraordinary. For our country this is not only disappointing, but it is also disrespectful. Without honest assessment, cohesion and teamwork, they are not only hurting themselves, but also Australia.