3 Leadership Lessons from LeBron James

Winning Spirit Born Out of Mistakes; Persistence is Example For All

The league’s undisputed best player is on the precipice of playing in his fifth consecutive NBA Finals, starting Thursday night against the upstart favorite Golden State Warriors.

Indeed, King James is in some rarified air.

No doubt James is a ridiculous, off-the-charts talent, capable of notching win after win with a less-than-stellar cast and leading teams on deep playoff runs than otherwise predicted.

But what can we learn about leadership from basketball’s reigning royalty?

HERE ARE 3 LESSONS GLEANED FROM JAMES' LEADERSHIP STYLE.

No. 1: Humility and patience are true leadership qualities.

After accepting his mistakes and learning from earlier hubris, James preached patience and downplayed the idea of a championship prior to his first season back in Cleveland after winning two Larry O’Brien trophies as a member of the Miami Heat.

No. 2: Team-building takes time and persistence.

Take the current 2014-15 campaign. An Opening Night roster of James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and a cast of others looked nice on paper. But as we all saw, the synergy between James and his new Cavs teammates wasn’t there — and for some time.

Rumors swirled that coach David Blatt was in over his head and that Love’s alleged lack of chemistry with James would force Love out.

But after acquiring sharpshooters Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks midway through the season, suddenly everything began to click. Roles were more clearly defined, and unheralded players like Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova began to shine bright in big moments.

Credit Blatt all you want, but James routinely gets the best out of players and takes full responsibility when trying to involve teammates fails.

No. 3: A focus on continuous improvement pays off.

“Could I foresee this?” James said recently to USA Today. "At the beginning of the season, I couldn't. I couldn't foresee us being in the Finals at the beginning of the season, because I just knew that we just had to get better, and I just saw how young we were and how young minded we were at that point in time.

“But I knew I had to lead these guys, and if they just followed my leadership, I knew I could get them to a place where they haven't been before.”

Professional athletes talk all the time about the mental part of the game; how integral it is to have that championship mindset, for that same drive and fire to carry over to teammates.

For his part, James said earlier in his career he never felt like he had to win games on his own, but has developed a greater ability to lead as he’s grown older and matured.

Can James and Co. provide a title to championship-starved Cleveland? The city’s first professional sports title since 1964 and James’ third title before age 31?

This is what King James returned for. A chance to deliver a title to Cleveland — to northeast Ohio — and firmly repair any remaining discord fans may have from The Decision.

For the rest of us, the chance to watch a new model of leadership rise.